Continued from page 20
TUFF SUNSHINE
Dig Deeper, Peanut
(Declared Goods)
Brooklyn’s Johnny Leitera returns with
his second full-length LP under the Tuff
Sunshine banner. Dig Deeper, Peanut shows
no sign of a sophomore slump, and why
would it? Leitera proved his songwriting
mettle with Low Water before stretching out
for a pair of pseudo-solo EPs and 2015’s celebrated
full-length offering Fire in the Hero
Building. Songs like “We Seal Every Deal
with a Kiss” are framed by the rough-hewn
energy of the Violent Femmes and expose
raw emotional nerves a la Eels. “Like the
other leeches, I’m here to blood-let,” sings
Leitera with murderous intent during
“Move a Mountain.” It’s a lo-fi Detroitstyled
rocker that cribs from the bristling
blast of the Stooges’ Fun House while chugging
like Deep Purple’s “Highway Star.”
The song’s character may be a powder keg,
but he’ll get the job done. “When you hire
me to move a mountain, I make sure it’s
gone,” promises Leitera. A dose of New
York soul is added during “Two Kids in the
City.” “Sister Fader” is a garage-rock stomper
with a caveman beat from drummer Ani
Cordero and Leitera’s snaky guitar lead.
More vipers appear during grim riff-rocker
“Sunday Means Snakes.” Leitera sounds
like he’s desperate for survival and simultaneously
hell-bent on destruction while tackling
his private “mission: impossible.” “I
need the rest of my life, or maybe a little
longer,” sings Leitera against heavy and
hypnotic drums. Title cut “Dig Deeper,
Peanut” rides a Stax-styled Memphis soulrock
groove with a gliding bass line from
Turner Stough that would have done Duck
Dunn proud. “Sleepwalking” is another
slice of heart-on-sleeve soul-pop. The
band’s DIY aesthetic leaves your imagination
to fill the space of an R&B horn section,
but shimmering organ and Leitera’s tremolo
guitar will stand the hairs on the back of
your neck. The record returns to glam-rock
and post-punk territory for “Mask Away.”
The song’s stripped-back arrangement suggests
the minimalist rock of Spoon joined by
Keith Richards. You can add bass and
drums at home. “I can’t get much sweeter
without falling off the vine,” sings Leitera
while counting his curses during the beatific
acoustic strummer “Woe is Me.”
The album concludes takes a summery
left turn for the blissful pop of “Buttercup,”
featuring lead vocal by Cordero. With
ample variety across ten songs and not a
dud among them, a live set built around
these tracks in an intimate room like the
Empty Bottle or Schuba’s Tavern would set
ears tingling and lead many to dig deeper,
indeed.
- Jeff Elbel
8
24 illinoisentertainer.com june 2020
DARYL HALL &
JOHN OATES
Our Kind Of Soul
(Friday Music)
Making its vinyl debut, this reissue of
2004’s Our Kind of Soul takes a deep dive
into the roots of Daryl Hall & John Oates’
chart-topping blue-eyed soul. The duo’s
own ebullient “Let Love Take Control” fits
well alongside an urgent performance of
the Four Tops’ “Standing in the Shadows
of Love.” The album’s monophonic mix is
a throwback to the days of 7” Motown singles
and AM radio gold. The virtual jukebox
selections make for a perfect party
mix. Late great bassist T-Bone Wolk has a
strong presence throughout the set. He
propels a thrilling version of the Spinners’
“I’ll Be There” as Hall’s vocal takes flight,
and drives the classic Philadelphia soul of
Gamble & Huff’s “Used to Be My Girl.”
Hall croons blissfully during his original
song “Soul Violins.” He finds a natural fit
with Dan Hartman’s #6 1984 single “I Can
Dream About You,” recorded 20 years
after Hartman originally offered the song
to the duo, albeit with modified lyrics that
amplify the song’s sweet sense of melancholy.
Oates’ gliding background vocals
complete the song’s conversion to the
duo’s familiar sound, and Oates’ layered
harmonies are sublime during Marvin
Gaye’s hot-blooded “After the Dance.” A
string solo spices Hall’s pleading “Don’t
Turn Your Back on Me,” a song reflecting
the tone of 2003’s Do It for Love album.
Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady” is
infused with Norman Whitfield-styled
funk a la the Temptations’ “I Can’t Get
Next to You,” and is further heightened by
Charlie DeChant’s percolating saxophone.
Oates provides a biting and soulful lead
vocal during the Dramatics’ slinky “What
You See is What You Get.” Barry White’s
“Can’t Get Enough of Your Love” and Al
Green’s supple “I’m Still in Love with
You” are additional bright spots. Hall and
Oates close the album with a proper duet,
joining voices sweetly on the Five
Stairsteps’ Chicago soul classic “Ooh
Child.”
– Jeff Elbel
6
PAUL McCARTNEY
Amoeba Gig
(MPL/Capitol/UMe)
Lots of artists play informal sets at
record shops while promoting an album.
These appearances offer the chance for
fans to get up close and personal with
their favorites, but how memorable could
they be without the pomp and production
of a full-blown concert experience? If the
artist in question is Paul McCartney, the
answer is “pretty blasted memorable.”
Amoeba Gig is well worth shelving alongside
your tattered copy of #1 triple-livealbum
Wings Over America.As a double LP
set with a “mere” 21-song set list (plus a
bonus track on LP), this show recorded at
Hollywood’s Amoeba Records doesn’t
capture the nearly three-hour marathon of
Macca’s stadium dates. Nonetheless, the
set is full of surprises and fresh-at-the-time
gems that are no longer featured in
McCartney’s concerts. Some of these
songs have been available previously.
2007’s Amoeba’s Secret EP included four
tracks. A 2012 CD included in an issue of
British newspaper the Daily Mail included
Continued on page 28
TIM BURGESS
continued from page 22
rare neurodegenerative disease that is
often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease
because its symptoms are similar]. And
from diagnosis, they gave him three or
four years to live. But it turned out to be
seven.
IE: I’m very sorry for your loss, losing a
parent is tough no matter what the circumstances.
The last time we spoke, it
was all about your brand of coffee, Tim
Peaks.
TB: Oh, yeah! But I don’t know now. With
my friend, I do this thing called Tim’s
Diner at Kendall Calling, Every year,
Kendall Calling has a festival, a three-day
event, and we book the bands, bands that I
like; friends of mine, DJs, or people who
have books coming out. And we sell coffee
there, and all of the proceeds go to the
David Lynch Foundation for
Transcendental Meditation. And last year,
just on the sale of coffee over those three
days, we made over 10,000 pounds, and
the two years before that, about the same.
And it just means so much to me to be able
to do that. But as far as turning the coffee
into an enterprise, it’s not happening. I’m
not doing that. It started off as being something
I do as merchandise for the website
to put out. But then I gave it to a company
in Yorkshire, who do Yorkshire tea, so
they’re making it now. So there was no
cash incentive for me in any of that — it
was just a thing I did for the festival – a
nice circular thing where people actually
benefit because they get to learn about
Transcendental Meditation. So that’s kind
of it — it just makes me feel good.
IE: And you practice TM, of course.
TB: Yeah, I do. And I feel like I really need
it. Things are busy here. I’ve got my partner,
Nik, and she’s in a band called Factory
Floor and they’re on DFA, and she’s doing
solo stuff. And then I’ve got my other
friend, who I do Tim Peaks with, and he’s
been helping me with these Listening
Parties. And when I meditate, I’ve got all
those things on my mind, but then all of
those thoughts start to pull into place. And
there are lots of moments on my new
album — elaborate, theatrical moments —
that I don’t think I would have been able to
bring together otherwise—especially one
that combines electronics with folk guitar
and three-chord punk stuff. And the song
“The Warhol Me,” of course, reminds me
of the Velvets. But with everything
involved, I do feel like it sounds like a
record, even though it’s got all these crazy
things that are going on with it. Well, not
CRAZY, because people can make very far
out, amazing records. So it’s a solo record,
but I’m trying to bring everything I love
into one place.
IE: Your Listening Parties should do a
series on one-hit wonders, like Fuzzbox,
or even Kenickie, whose frontwoman
Lauren Laverne went on to a big career in
radio.
TB: I feel like I have to ask Lauren Laverne
because I feel like she would be upset if I
didn’t. Like Nick McCabe from The Verve
— I said, “I know you’re probably not
gonna do it. But I just have to ask you —
Do you wanna do it?” And he said he’d
think about it. And I was like, “Fine. Just as
long as you know that I’ve asked you.” But
now everyone wants to do one. Paul
Weller did one, Mike Skinner from the
Streets. Weller’s a really good guy.
IE: What about Liam and Noel Gallagher?
TB: I dunno about that. Bonehead did such
an amazing job. But there were rumors that
Liam WAS going to get involved, but then
I think he started going to bed early, actually.
But who knows? Maybe he thinks that
me and Bonehead did such a good job that
he might actually spoil it.
IE: In “Undertow,” you say, “I’m through
7with counting all the friends that I can
count on.”
TB: It’s a great lyric, and it’s actually not
referring to social media, but just to **life. I
made the whole album in a year, and during
that year, I made friends with a lot
more people than I fell out with. But there
definitely was some fallout with friendships.
There was a friend of mine, postschool,
and I’d really been bothered by the
friendship for a long time. And I could
have lived with it the way it was, but then
something happened that pushed it over
the edge. And then I just couldn’t live with
it anymore.
IE: And you have a song called “The
Mall.” In the future, your grandkids will
gather at your feet and ask for you to tell
them fables of the old days when kids
went to a tribal gathering place called
‘The Mall.’
TB: I know! Because people won’t be
allowed to congregate anywhere anymore!