Search - Reid Paley :: Revival

Cruel and Unusual

John Owen | Salem MA | 03/29/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yet again, Reid Paley has dropped a bomb. Like his "first" solo album, "Lucky's Tune," it's a killer. (stupid artist comparisons to follow)Paley's stock-in-trade is bitterness, and very few do it better-- his voice is sounding more and more like Tom Waits with a temper, and his guitar playing is as gloriously marginal as ever. Imagine if the Stooges' looseness and aesthetic sense were married to a Waits-like penchant for vivid storytelling and wry bitter humor. Produced by Frank Black of Pixies fame, "Revival" is more rounded out than Paley's previous effort. Adding a distorted bass and marginal drums to his voice and guitar, the new songs don't so much rock harder as sound fuller than the material on "Lucky's Tune." "What You Deserve" gets the band treatment here, and this older song sounds much better for it. Some of the new material is great, like "This F**king Town" and "Lucky's Tune." You just grin and nod your head while Reid pins down the exact nature of your personal unhappiness. The concert classic "Bang and a Whimper" finally makes it to wax here too, maybe the least funny song Paley's ever done, very much in the vein of "Delia's Gone" by Johnny Cash or "Staggerlee," the old folk song.Altogether, this is a fantastic effort that will do nothing at all to increase Reid Paley's popularity. (more stupid comparisons to follow)If you like Elvis Costello, the Stooges, fIREHOSE, Tom Waits, Jonathan Richman, Warren Zevon, the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Johnny Cash, Nick Cave, or the writing of Bukowski or Thom Jones, dig this today."

Rock thrown in a blender

John Owen | 08/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Reid Paley is as interesting as they come. Most musicians think of a topic for a song, and see where their pen takes them. The have little control of what they write, and they may get lucky. There are a few exceptions to this, and Reid is definatly one of them. Bringing together a unique form of soul and rock, Reid is set to define a new age of music."