THE OUTFIT
Viking
(Pavement)
Chicago rockers The Outfit have done it
again. On its second full-length album,
Viking (out March 27 via Pavement
Entertainment), the foursome — brothers
Mark (drums) and Matt Nawara (guitar),
Mike Gorman (bass) and Andy Mitchell
(vocals/guitar) — seamlessly merge mas-
sive hooks, edgy riffs, soaring vocal har-
monies and catchy choruses with pleasing
results. Mixed by multi-platinum produc-
er Ulrich Wild (Breaking Benjamin, Static-
X), the album’s overall sound is enor-
mous, robust, and melodic. From the
hard-driving and infectious opener
“Come Alive,” to the ’70s glam-rock vibe
of “Midnight Moses,” to the emotive and
heartfelt “Bleed in the Dark,” to the ram-
bunctious title track, the band creates a
fantastic blend of Cheap Trick-meets-Foo
Fighters influences. Mitchell’s mesmeriz-
ing Robin Zander-like vocal styling
throughout the entire album is uncanny.
“Sirens” contains a modern rock radio
vibe with a grunge rock swagger that con-
tinues on the Soundgarden-esque
“Wolves.” It’s rare when every track on an
album is a winner with no filler, but I’m
here to say that this is absolutely the case
with Viking. The ten memorable and
hooky tracks — combined for a perfect 35-
minute runtime — possess a high replay
factor, resulting in the most pleasurable
listening experience possible.
– Kelley Simms
9
THE CURE
40 Live: Curætion – 25
+ Anniversary
(Eagle Vision)
To mark four decades as a live act,
Robert Smith and the Cure staged and
filmed two special concerts during the
summer of 2018. The shows are collected
in 40 Live, including director Nick
Wickham’s Curætion-25 and director Tim
Pope’s Anniversary. One performance
offers a deep dive into the band’s evolu-
tion, and the other is a career-defining cel-
ebration. The Curætion-25 concert was
recorded on June 24, 2018, at the 25th
Meltdown Festival that was curated (get
it?) by Smith. Subtitled From There to Here
|From Here to There, the performance in
London’s Royal Festival Hall begins with
“Three Imaginary Boys.” A song from
each of the Cure’s 13 studio albums is
played in chronological order, tracing the
Cure’s evolution and ascent. After reach-
ing “It’s Over” from 2008’s 4:13 Dream, the
band offers a glimpse of the future by
introducing promising new songs, includ-
ing the melodramatic “It Can Never Be
the Same” with its rumbling and guttural
bass. Smith assumes the role of religious
skeptic during the skittering, syncopated
“Step into the Light.” Afterward, time
reverses course as the band plays a song
per album in anti-chronological order. The
backward march down the Cure’s devolu-
tion begins with “The Hungry Ghost” and
concludes with the bracing but melan-
choly “Boys Don’t Cry.” The setlist is a
diehard fan’s delight, eschewing the most
popular fare from an album like Kiss Me
Kiss Me Kiss Me in favor of beloved but
deeper cuts like the haunted “If Only
Tonight We Could Sleep.” The anniver-
sary was captured two weeks later on July
7, 2018, in Hyde Park under a canopy of
colossal trees and before a massive audi-
ence of 65,000. The exuberant set is heavy
with crowd-pleasers, including “Jumping
Someone Else’s Train,” “Inbetween
Days,” “Just Like Heaven,” “Pictures of
You,” “Friday I’m In Love” and “Why
Can’t I Be You?” Equal in ambition to the
Meltdown show but less esoteric, the fes-
tive and career-spanning Hyde Park con-
cert underscores the band’s considerable
impact since Smith, Michael Dempsey,
and Lol Tolhurst first performed as the
Cure at The Rocket in Crawley during the
summer of 1978. “If you had asked me
then, ‘What do you think you’ll be doing
in 40 years,’ I think I would’ve been
wrong with my answer,” says Smith.
There are very few limits upon the power
of a great Cure song. “That made the sun
go down,” says Smith upon concluding
“If Only Tonight We Could Sleep.” Smith
is aided by a seasoned band of Cure vet-
erans, including mainstay bassist Simon
Gallup and Disintegration keyboardist
Roger O’Donnell. Gallup is the keeper of
some of the Cure’s most memorable riffs,
playing the melodic bass hooks for songs
like “Lovesong,” “Close to Me,” and
“Play for Today.” O’Donnell layers
sparkling piano onto “The Caterpillar”
and raises a roar from the crowd with the
spectral opening synthesizer notes of “A
Forest.” The latter song is propelled by the
pulse of Gallup and Jason Cooper, the
drummer who has been aboard since
Boris Williams’ departure before "Wild
Mood Swings." Cooper shines with intox-
icating tom-toms on “Burn” while Smith
plays dissonant pipes. Relative newcom-
er, avant-garde guitarist, and former
David Bowie sideman Reeves Gabrels has
proven himself to be a pivotal Cure mem-
ber since 2012. However, his collaborative
work with Smith reaches back more than
20 years. Gabrels steps out for stylish
solos during songs, including “On a Night
Like This,” and unleashes pyrotechnic
fretwork on “Never Enough.” Gabrels
also provides the ferocious howl to
“Shake Dog Shake” and the quirky
acoustic texture to the nightmarish pop of
“Lullaby.”
24 illinoisentertainer.com march 2020
Staged under moody low light, the look
of Curætion-25 is stylized and creative. The
outdoor presentation of Anniversary is
vivid and lifelike. Each film occupies an
individual Blu-ray or DVD, with the pair
bound into a hardback book, including
sleeve notes and photos. Of the generous
57 songs split across the two concerts, only
seven are repeated from one performance
to the other. Both shows offer surround-
sound mixes that put viewers into the
audience. “It’s been a good first four
decades,” says Smith when saying good
night to the crowd. “Here’s to the next one.
Ha!”
– Jeff Elbel
8
THE BAND
The Band 50th Anniversary
Super Deluxe
(Capitol/UMe)
1969 was a banner year in the rock world,
particularly for British Invasion bands,
including the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and
Kinks. 50th anniversaries were celebrated
in 2019 for several landmark albums with
lavish box sets. From the Great White
North comes another monument to a
genre-defining album. Capitol has released
a lovingly-curated box honoring the Band’s
sophomore album, a foundational collec-
tion for the genre that eventually became
known as Americana. You already know
the unforgettable songs, including “The
Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “Up
On Cripple Creek,” “King Harvest (Has
Surely Come),” “Rag Mama Rag,” and
more. Guitarist Robbie Robertson garnered
the bulk of the songwriting credits, with
notable exceptions, including pianist
Richard Manuel’s “Whispering Pines,”
“Jawbone,” and drummer Levon Helm’s
“Jemima Surrender.” Still, there was no
denying the rare combination of talent to
which every band member contributed.
Imagine “Up On Cripple Creek” without
Garth Hudson’s shimmering organ or the
groundbreaking clavinet sound that influ-
enced no less than Stevie Wonder. “There
are five of us,” says Manuel from 1968,
quoted in an included essay. “But we think
like one.” The album has been remastered
on heavyweight vinyl and split across two
platters at 45 RPM for superior sound
reproduction. The set includes a reproduc-
tion 7” single of “Rag Mama Rag,” backed
with album track “The Unfaithful
Servant.” An album-sized book provides
liner notes, an essay by Anthony DeCurtis,
a 1969 interview from Rolling Stone maga-
zine, and photos of the Band in the studio
and concert. A portfolio of frameable
images by album photographer Elliott
Landy includes a shot of the Band standing
in the rain that was almost on the cover but
was ultimately rejected by Helm, who had
his back turned in conversation, coaxing a
broad grin from bassist Rick Danko. In
addition to the LPs, the album appears in
an expanded edition on CD with alternate
versions of most album cuts. An instru-
mental version of “Up On Cripple Creek”
allows you to make your best attempt at
singing in Helm’s inimitable voice, and
you can sub for Danko while singing along
to the instrumental track for “Look Out
Cleveland.” There’s one non-album out-
take of “Get Up Jake” (a worthy rocker
later included on the 1972 live album Rock
of Ages). Another CD contains audio from
the Band’s appearance the same year at the
Woodstock festival. The setlist features
four tracks from Songs from Big Pink,
including “Chest Fever” and acknowl-
edged classic “The Weight.” Also per-
formed is the group’s signature cover of
Marvin Gaye’s “Baby Don’t You Do It,”
songs by former boss Bob Dylan including
“I Shall Be Released,” and an encore of the
Four Tops’ “Loving You is Sweeter than
Ever.” A Blu-ray disc includes the 1997 doc-
umentary Classic Albums – The Band. The
program consists of interviews with the
group’s surviving members and fans, like
Eric Clapton and George Harrison.
Whether this is your chance to finally
become familiar with a classic, or an oppor-
tunity to take a deep dive into an old
favorite, take it. It is a revealing remem-
brance of a great album.
– Jeff Elbel
10
THE BOOMTOWN RATS
Citizens of Boomtown
(BMG)
The Irish rockers’ first album in 36 years
finds them reinvigorated and ready to do
the Rat. Citizens of Boomtown’s palette con-
nects to the group’s history while flinging
them into sonic settings not yet invented
when the group hung up its tails in 1986.
Singer Bob Geldof has described “Trash
Glam Baby” as the story of a sequined
tramp and living glitter ball, namechecking
heroes like the New York Dolls and updat-
ing the type of character once fêted in the
bubblegum punk of 1978’s “She’s So
Modern.” Garry Roberts’ guitar bristles
throughout Citizens. Roberts rages
through the leering rockabilly stomper
“She Said No,” while Geldof’s character
reaps his just reward for loutish behavior
toward his lady love. Thundering drum-
mer Simon Crowe drops the hammer with
a swaggering two-ton beat. Later, Crowe
points the shimmering California-pop
euphoria of “Here’s a Postcard” directly
toward summer sunshine. Bassist/produc-
er Pete Briquette explores electroclash with
“Get a Grip” and throbbing theme song
“The Boomtown Rats.” The gliding tones
of “Passing Through” recall latter-era
Bowie gems like “Fall Dog Bombs the
Moon.” Having experienced his share of
tragedy Geldof’s lyrics are stoic and haunt-
ed by loss. Alan Dunn’s sparkling piano
coda echoes textures former member
Johnnie Fingers once brought to “I Don’t
Like Mondays.” “Monster Monkey” has
swamp-rock mojo and the talking-blues
sizzle of John Lee Hooker, before veering
toward urbane club textures. The sting of
Roberts’ razor-sharp fretwork makes for a
unique hybrid electropop-blues and hints
at what might have happened if songs like
7
“$6,000,000
Loser” from Geldof’s solo cata-
log had been entrusted to his old mates.
Geldof’s lyric makes a sly nod to Chuck
Berry and John Lennon, and the song
serves as the tipping point from the Rats
you knew toward the Rats you hope to
hear again.
– Jeff Elbel
8