DITCHWATER
Never Say Never
(Pavement)
Chicago rockers Ditchwater has been a
longtime fixture in an ever-changing local
music scene since 1993. On its seventh
full-length album, Never Say Never,
Ditchwater sound “new and improved.”
With a loyal local fan base, Ditchwater has
continued to build their brand of heavy
rock on their own terms. With its current
lineup, vocalist Mike Meadows, guitarist
Mark Anderson, bassist Mason Brown
and drummer Mike Tignino, Ditchwater
has the necessary melodic chops that
results in a pleasing listen. On its 10 tracks
— including a faithful cover of
Motörhead’s “Iron Fist” — Ditchwater
create loads of chugging riffs, heavy
grooves, melodic hooks, soaring vocal
harmonies and memorable choruses.
Opener “Enemy of The People” is the perfect
start with its mid-tempo chug, while
follow-up track “My Last Breath” is a
hard-charging track with a radio-friendly
vibe. Vocalist Mike Meadows — who creates
an engaging, mid-ranged croon
throughout the album — sounds like a
melodic hybrid of Godsmack’s Sully Erna
and Metallica’s James Hetfield. From the
Godsmack-esque groove of “Against My
Better Emotional Reasons,” to the fleetfooted
call and response vocal pattern of
“The Way You Are”, to the emotive
“Hands Held Out,” Ditchwater has all the
bases covered. Although this type of
musical style has been done a million
times over — checking off all the familiar
active-rock/radio-friendly/modern rock
boxes — Ditchwater successfully captures
all the elements one would want in a hard
rock/metal record.
8
– Kelley Simms
FLEETWOOD MAC
Then Play On: The
Celebration Edition
(BMG)
“If music be the food of love …”
Fleetwood Mac’s landmark third album
Then Play On turns 51 years old this
month. The album is notable as the band’s
last to feature founding member Peter
Green and its first with Danny Kirwan.
This reissue restores the original 1969 UK
track listing, including Kirwan’s “One
Sunny Day” and “Without You” that were
dropped from the first US release (as well
as Kirwan’s “When You Say” and “My
Dream,” which were deleted from the
subsequent US pressing). Green’s hit
blues-pop single “Oh Well” parts one and
two are included as bonus tracks, as are
swirling instrumental “World in
Harmony” and Green’s explosive “The
Green Manalishi (with the Two-Pronged
Crown).” Although the album’s sonic
quality was initially compromised by
squeezing a generous running time onto a
single LP, this reissue divides a half-speed
remaster of the main album onto three
sides of two heavyweight platters of
audiophile vinyl. The essential “bonus”
cuts occupy side four. The album is bound
into a hardbound cover including a 16-
page book with an essay by Anthony
Bozza and foreword by drummer Mick
Fleetwood. The addition of thenteenaged
Kirwan coincided with an
expansion of the band’s early blues-rock
sound into psychedelic pop and beguiling
atmospherics. Although initial reviews
were mixed, Then Play On has aged into
its influential reputation as bold and
ahead of the curve among Fleetwood
Mac’s peers of the era. Then Play On is
often ranked only behind Rumours in
modern assessments of the band’s catalog.
The young Kirwan contributed half of
the songs, including sinewy opener
“Coming Your Way.” The song features
searing latin-rock guitar soloing a la
Carlos Santana, and furious afro-tribal
drumming and percussion from
Fleetwood. The album’s initial single was
Green’s “Rattlesnake Shake,” with its sly
and taboo ode to masturbation as a cure
for the blues. Bassist John McVie’s steady
bass anchors Fleetwood’s stomping beat
on “Sunny Day,” while Kirwan and Green
riff on par with the Bluesbreakers and
Cream. “Without You” is melancholy
British blues of the type that put the Mac
on the map. Credited to Fleetwood,
“Fighting for Madge” is a single propulsive
jam, while McVie’s “Searching for
Madge” is a scorching blues excursion cut
together as a collage by Green from different
studio takes – hear the band’s goodnatured
laughter In the background of the
third segment. “My Dream” follows like
as a mellow coda a la Derek and the
Dominos’ “Layla.” “When I Say” is an
emotive acoustic ballad with a “la la” chorus
reminiscent of Something Else-era
Kinks. Green’s slide guitar on “Show-Biz
Blues” and Fleetwood’s tambourine shimmer
with Gospel fervor, while Green sings
of hard times on the road and the need of
a good woman. Kirwan’s “Like Crying”
boogies amiably, albeit without the benefit
of either Fleetwood’s drumming or
McVie’s bass. The rhythm section returns
to underpin the twilit psychedelic ramble
of album-closer “Before the Beginning.”
The undeniable electricity of “Oh Well –
Pt. 1” makes inclusion of the single an
essential part of the story of Then Play On,
although it remains odd hearing the classically-inspired
coda repeat at the top of
“Oh Well – Pt. 2.” The iconic proto-metal
of “The Green Manalishi (with the Two-
Pronged Crown)” was Green’s final track
recorded with the band. The harrowing
song is an LSD-fueled nightmare about
the corrupting influence of money and its
impact on Green’s art and soul.
This Celebration Edition serves as a fitting
tribute to Green, who passed away on July
25. “All future incarnations of Fleetwood
Mac would acknowledge that our original
band, led by our patriarch and founder
Peter Green, lit a flame that leaves us with a
‘Love That Burns,’” writes Fleetwood. “Is
there nobody listening to my song?” sings
Green as “Before the Beginning” concludes.
The art has outlived the artist, half a century
later. The answer is a resounding yes,
we’re listening more closely than ever.
– Jeff Elbel
7
DEPECHE MODE
Live Spirits Soundtrack
(Columbia)
Rock Hall of Fame inductees Depeche
Mode remain a touring force 40 years into
their career. No stranger to selling out massive
stadiums around the world, the band
embarked on their longest trek yet with the
Global Spirit Tour. To commemorate the
outing, the final date in Berlin was filmed
for the 2019 documentary Spirits in the
Forest, which also chronicles the stories of
six devoted fans. But if you don’t want to
learn about the passionate fans, you can
experience the concert with the LiVE
SPiRiTS Soundtrack. Clocking in at nearly
two-hours, the show is a testament to the
band’s longevity. The setlist spans their
expansive catalog featuring songs like
“Precious,” “World In My Eyes,” “Walking
In My Shoes,” and “Enjoy the Silence.” The
best of their 2017 LP Spirit is highlighted
with “Where’s the Revolution,” “Cover
Me,” and “Poison Heart.” Though nothing
sounds as good as classics like “Stripped”
and “Never Let Me Down Again,” diehard
fans will love hearing deep cuts like
“Useless” and “The Things You Said” – the
first time they’ve been performed in over a
decade. The band even pays tribute to
David Bowie with an excellent “Heroes”
cover. And no matter how many times they
play “Just Can’t Get Enough” hearing that
iconic synth riff is always a thrill. Though
it’s a fun show, it’s not Depeche Mode at
their best. Being the final concert of the tour,
the band seems tired. Dave Gahan’s voice is
hoarse and shaky at times, while Martin
Gore disorients certain tracks by missing
his cue. Luckily, these moments are rare.
Gahan’s familiar velvety baritone returns
one he hits his stride and Gore can still
make the crowd soon with ballads like “I
Want You Now” and “Insight.” Their
exhaustion can be forgiven considering
they played over 100 shows on this tour. It’s
impressive they had this much gusto at the
tour’s end. LiVE SPiRiTS isn’t the definitive
live Depeche Mode experience – that honor
goes to 101. It’s not even their best performance,
but it’s still a blast for fans. The band
still know how to command the stage. Their
larger than life presence is as strong as ever
and they sound damn good aside from
some minor hiccups. A lot has changed for
Depeche Mode over the years, but one
thing remains the same, even when they're
not at the very top of their game: they still
kick ass.
– Ashely Perez Hollingsworth
7
LAMB OF GOD
Lamb of God
(Epic)
The 10th studio album in roughly 20
years from metal stalwarts Lamb Of God is
heavy on the usual themes yet seems more
relevant than ever. The opening track
"Memento Mori" (translates to "a reminder
of death") seems to point to everyday signs
as singer Randy Blythe observes: "The
hardest hour, the cruelest sign / I'm waking
up from this wretched lie / I fight it the
same, don't waste this day / Wake up, wake
up, wake up!" It's a blistering opening track
whose dreamy musical intro morphs into
the gotcha metal moment of the album.
"Checkmate" further comments on society's
current situation, dubbed "The American
scream": "A coup d'etat on full display, a
liar's sick charade, a traitor's grand parade
/ Narcissistic masquerades for those without
a say, systematic disarray." The instrumentation
is the classic "new American
thrash" that LoG has mined for decades,
with searing insight as well: "Divide and
conquer and close them in and bury secrets
deep / Make America hate again, and bleed
the sheep to sleep." As the album release got
delayed due to COVID-19, fans didn't fret
about the creative arc (they haven't strayed
from their brutal yet more groovy riffs in
years) but about the departure of drummer
Chris Adler. New drummer Art Cruz ably
delivers those rapid-fire beats for the
smoothest of transitions. "New Colossal
Hate" is one of the groovier tracks with big
guitar hooks and an extended musical
breakdown toward the end. "Gears" indicts
the addictive nature of commercialism
("commercial gods keep you in line...while
you are dying for always more"), while
"Reality Bath" questions "is this the new
abnormal?" that we "slip so easily into dull
indifference / When horror has been normalized."
Blythes growls in resolve that this
is "a cynical defense, but I can't sit there
silently / And watch it all go by."
Showing range as a vocalist, he uses
clean vocals on the soft opening of
"Memento Mori" and even more during the
more melodic verse parts of "Bloodshot
Eyes." "Poison Dream" features guest vocalist
Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed). Blythe handles
the bulk of the lyrics amid some tight guitar
riffing with Jasta coming in for half a verse
delivered rap-style and backing vocals on a
chorus that harmonizes well with Blythe's
gruff tone. "Routes" features another guest
vocalist – Testament's Chuck Billy--an
uptempo, thrashing send-up of solidarity –
musical and otherwise.
– Jason Scales
8
THE JAYHAWKS
XOXO
(Sham/ThirtyTigers)
With strong material like the winsome
and harmony-laden “Quiet Corners &
Empty Spaces,” the Jayhawks’ 2016 album
Paging Mr. Proust was primarily a collection
of songs by founding frontman Gary
Louris. 2018’s Back Roads and Abandoned
Motels gathered songs that Louris co-wrote
with (and originally for) artists including
the Dixie Chicks, Natalie Maines and Jakob
Dylan. The Minneapolis natives served as
the house band for albums by the Kinks’
24 illinoisentertainer.com september 2020