Bob Drake - 13 Songs And A Thing
by Andrew Carver
published: 3 / 8 / 2003
Label:
Rer Megacorp
Format: CD
intro
Bizarre guitar rock from American singer-songwriter and solo artist, Bob Drake
Often, when record labels send out a CD for review, it’s accompanied by a tipsheet where the label attempts to give a little history of the act and describe the music in question for the staff of whatever publication the CD is headed out to. Sometimes, the said tipsheet makes one wonder if the writer ever listened to the band. Sometimes they’re ridiculously overblown. Sometimes they’re completely incomprehensible. Sometimes (rarely) they’re actually accurate (you people at Camera Obscura — you tryna’ put me out of a job?!?). And then there’s ReR. I pity the writer at ReR Megacorp. I mean, imagine going into work and being told you have to make up a concise description of Ground Zero, Slapp Happy, or Faust ... any mortal would swiftly be driven insane. Which brings us to Bob Drake. “Bonnie Prince Billy meets Beefheart via the Beatles.” That’s it — the poor bastard’s finally snapped. (Alliteration is usually the first sign). But you can’t blame the writer. Personally, I’d say Drake’s music sounds like a chicken being chased by an SUV (I think the chicken escapes in the end). A guitar being thrown down a staircase, the first five seconds of David Bowie’s 'Diamond Dogs' an explosion in a flamenco dancer school, Tom Waits on a bender, a hoedown gone horribly wrong, an emergency phone call to the plumber, videogame saxophone, sleepy dragonfly, radio freakout ... There’s some frenetically plucked strings in parts, pots’n’pans percussion, some briskly strummed guitar, then some ominous, heavy chords (Drake does ominous very, very well). Things tend to speed up, then slow down, and fade out at unusual moments. So I wouldn’t say it’s “Bonnie Prince Billy meets Beefheart via the Beatles” — more like 'Times Ain’t Like They Used To Be' locked in an embrace with Mr. Bungle, plus bits of Finland’s Circle. Or something. Recommended to those who have bought other ReR releases, particularly Ground Zero and Faust, and anyone fond of oddness in general.
Track Listing:-
1 Chase2 Foam II
3 Abandoned Thermal Estalishment Blues
4 Rtuuf
5 Ten For A Dime
6 Move The King
7 In Case The Insulator Fails
8 Griffin
9 Pechan And Willy
10 Spicules
11 Plinth Shriveller
12 Building With Bones
13 And The Sun
14 Foam I
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Liam Gallagher and John Squire - Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 16/3/2024
Nico - Profile
Simon Heavisides - Destiny Stopped Screaming: The Life and Times of Adrian Borland
Dirty Honey - La 2 de Apolo, Barcelona 11/3/24
The Church - Interview with Steve Kilbey
Doug Dillard Expedition - Live At The Hotel Fremont, Las Vegas, September 1970
Byrds - Every Album, Every Song
Paloma Faith - Photoscapes 2
Stiff Little Fingers - Photoscapes
most viewed reviews
current edition
Lewis 'Burner' Pugh - Bullets for BreadDavid Cross Band - Ice Blue Silver Sky
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes - Dark Rainbow
Ty Segall - Three Bells
Ian Hunter - Defiance Part 2: Fiction
Kula Shaker - Natural Magick
Smalltown Tigers - Crush On You
My Life Story - Loving You is Killing Me
Erlend Apneseth Trio with Maja S.K. Ratkje - Collage
Texas and Spooner Oldham - The Muscle Shoals Sessions
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart