Follow-ups can be a bitch. Especially when your debut double
\nalbum is arguably the best album of the decade. For artist, Liz
\nPhair, her debut album,
\nExile In Guyville<\/i>, stands as a landmark album of the 1990s.
\nHer unmistakeable voice and her frank delievery of subject matter
\nranging from blowjobs to roommates from hell made her a founding
\nvoice for the “women rock” era of this decade.<\/p>\n
What made
\nExile In Guyville<\/i> so grand was its flawless exercise in
\ncharacter study. The listener got to know Liz Phair that was almost
\ntoo intimate for most listeners. You heard a woman who could boast
\nabout using a man for nothing more than a lay and at the same time,
\ngive an account of isolation and lonliness after a boyfriend took
\nher for a ride and tossed her aside.<\/p>\n
With her follow-up,
\nWhip-Smart<\/i>, Liz Phair spends more time showing the listener
\nwhat she can do musically. From the first listen, you can tell that<\/p>\n
Whip-Smart<\/i> is a pop album at its purest. Aside from the
\nminimal piano opening of “Chopsticks,” most of the songs are three
\nminute zingers that are as sweet as a pack of Bubbleicious
\nWatermellon Blast Bubble Gum.<\/p>\n
Credit Brad Wood for creating some of the magic on
\nWhip-Smart<\/i>. The drummer\/ producer of both
\nGuyville<\/i> and
\nWhip-Smart<\/i> enabled Liz Phair to be the focus of both albums.
\nThough the drums and bass certainly are a rich factor in
\nWhip-Smart<\/i>, Liz Phair’s stoner sweet voice is the main
\nattraction. Her ability to use simple choruses (a la the GoGos) in
\na complex song like “X-Ray Man” is a stunning testament of her
\nskills.<\/p>\n
If Liz Phair has an obsession on
\nWhip-Smart<\/i>, it is nursery rhymes. In the metaphoric-heavy
\n“Dogs of LA”, Phair croons, “I’ve kissed the Buddah and made him
\ncry\/Georgie I’m your friend”. In the title track, the chorus seems
\ntailor made for jump rope. To some fans, this was a step back for
\nLiz. The personal, insightful lyrics that dominated
\nGuyville<\/i> are now only on a couple of songs. Perhaps her
\nmarriage and her newfound success took the edge out of the
\nexpecting mother.<\/p>\n
If the knife has dulled somewhat, it still is a damn good knife
\nthat can cut. On “Jealousy”, Liz steps up the tempo a notch and
\nbelts out one of her angriest songs over one of her catchiest
\nhooks. “Wonder if I can bury the hatchet inside\/imagine me behind
\nyour eyes….I’ve seen positions that we’ve never tried\/I saw
\njealousy”. The song’s inspiration came from the central character
\nfinding some old photos of previous girlfriends from her boyfriend.
\nMessage to guys:keep those photos locked up.<\/p>\n
Other songs are just as good, musically, but are much more vague
\nin their subject matter. On “Go West”, Liz Phair simply states a
\nneed for a change of scenery. In “Support System”, her main point
\nis, “I don’t need a support system”. All good and well, but she
\ndoesn’t give nearly the insight as she put forth in
\nGuyville<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\nWhip-Smart<\/i> is able to satisfy most Liz Phair fans. And to
\nits credit, it blows away most of the albums released by the
\nartists on the Lilith Fair tour. And, unfortunately,
\nWhip-Smart<\/i> may make Liz Phair turn out to be the Patti Smith
\nof the 1990s. I’d rank
\nHorses<\/i> up there with
\nGuyville<\/i> and Patti Smith’s more commercial
\nEaster<\/i> album certainly can be comparable to
\nWhip-Smart<\/i>. And both shyed away from the music world after
\nthey became mothers. For Liz Phair, she hasn’t made an album since
\nBrad Wood has pursued other musical avenues. Her upcoming album has
\nbeen delayed for almost a year and a half. Perhaps she too will
\nfade after her new album comes out, which was rumored to have been
\nsent back to her after record execs said it was unlistenable.<\/p>\n
Credit Liz Phair, however, she knew she had to change her
\nformula. What made her such an attraction on her first album (her
\nvulgarity) would have been dreadfully repetitious on
\nWhip-Smart<\/i>. Think I’m wrong, just try watching a “South
\nPark” marathon. Sure, it rocks, but after four of five consecutive
\nshows, it tends to lose its punch. Her pop knowledge elevated
\nWhip-Smart<\/i> into one of the best releases in 1994.
\nUnfortunately, the way things are going, it may very well have been
\nher last stab at greatness as a career girl. Whether marriage or
\nmotherhood will make her an even stronger artist remains to be
\nseen. Hopefully the answer will come sometime this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5694],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-35853","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-liz-phair","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35853"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=35853"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=35853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}