It’s gotta be hard being Paul Westerberg these days. Once the
\ndrunken clown and all around delinquent leader of the Replacements,
\nhis reputation proceeded him. Now into his third solo record, it
\nhasn’t been easy. Everybody wants him to be Westerberg circa 1980
\nsomething. But here’s a news flash to all you Replacements fans out
\nthere: this is not a Replacements disc and if that’s what you want,
\nforget it. But if you want a great disc, go buy 100 copies and give
\nthem to all your friends. It’s that good. But you have to let the
\npast die along with the now worn-out glory of the Mats hey-day.<\/p>\n
That said, this album is the first serious attempt by Westerberg
\nto completely disconnect from his past while surveying the damage
\ndone by it. Self-described as clinically depressed after his last
\ntour, Westerberg buried himself in his basement and recorded a set
\nof songs that no longer feel self-conscious and guilty about his
\npast nor does Westerberg even make a token musical nod to the Mats.
\nHaving accomplished this freedom,
\nSuicaine Gratifaction<\/i> is by far Westerberg’s best work and
\nthe first to be completely and totally his own.<\/p>\n
Mostly recorded by Westerberg on all vocals and instruments with
\nstudio overdubs added later, the songs on
\nSuicaine Gratifaction<\/i> are so personal, they feel almost
\nintrusive and claustrophobic in their intimacy. The edge isn’t gone
\nfrom Westerberg’s considerable songwriting skills, but these songs
\nare infinitely sadder and wiser.<\/p>\n
The record mixes a good dose of folky ballads, many with only
\nWesterberg on piano and vocals, and a few rockers, but this isn’t a
\nrecord for old Replacement fans looking for another
\nTim<\/i> or
\nLet It Be<\/i>. The rocker isn’t completely dead and gone, but
\nthis collection of thoughtful and pensive songs is no longer
\npainfully reminiscent of Westerberg’s musical past. There is a
\nstrangely quiet confidence in these songs that also outshines his
\nearlier solo work on
\n14 Songs<\/i> and
\nEventually<\/i>, which both seemed uneven and too similar to the
\npre-solo Westerberg. While the issues he struggles with could
\nalmost be classified as part of a mid-life crisis–love,
\ncommitment, depression, the trappings of fame–the truth is Paul
\nhas grown up and it’s been an often lonely and confusing
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
Struggling with fame his entire career, the first track, “It’s A
\nWonderful Lie”, baldly addresses the truth that fame is a pose, a
\ntotal sham, referring to his own youthful 15 minutes of fame. In
\nthat same vein of self-deprecation is the mid-tempo “Best Thing
\nThat Never Happened.” An often overlooked asset is Westerberg’s
\nscratchy yet plaintive voice which is used with a particularly
\ntouching deftness here. Alternatively vaguely optimistic and
\ndownright dejected, his vocals are what make many of the ballads
\nwork from the soul-baring “Born For Me” to the tender “Tears
\nRolling Up Our Sleeves.”<\/p>\n
The thankfully sparse co-production by Don Was and Westerberg
\nhelp keep this album devoid of artifice and pretense, but in its
\nsimplicity lies the trembling beauty of a Paul-turned riff or
\nlyrical wisecrack.<\/p>\n
I still enjoyed the rock cuts on this disc as much as the
\nballads. “Looking Out Forever” with its Pettyesque guitars and
\nWas’s thunderous bass is a great cut. Perhaps the strongest song ,
\n“Fugitive Kind”, contemplates his evaporation from being the
\ndarling of the alternative music scene into a self-induced
\n“fugitive” that brought
\nSuicaine Gratifaction<\/i> to fruition. There’s also a nice
\nappearance by Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner and Laura Kanini on
\nbackground vocals that flesh out the track. This is one of the few
\nsongs that feels polished by a studio’s touch.<\/p>\n
My biggest complaint is too many tracks feel a little too much
\nlike demos and almost unfinished. But on “Fugitive Kind”, we hear
\nWesterberg burning on the guitar, the fierce, raw emotion returning
\ninto his playing. It makes you damn glad the guy still likes to
\nrock n roll, if only occasionally.<\/p>\n
I usually am not fond of my heroes mellowing. It makes me feel
\nold and out of it. I was one of those rampant Mats fans that got
\nstomped on by other crazy, drunk fans to watch them play in the
\nearly eighties. I thought I was part of something special watching
\nthem, something I’ve yet to see again in any live band, before or
\nsince. But living in the past is dangerous and often tragic.
\nWesterberg seems to be reaching forward, however tentatively, in an
\neffort to find his own voice and a new, more comfortable (dare we
\nsay mature???) musical style.<\/p>\n
These songs aren’t perfect, but damn wonderful.
\nSuicaine Gratifaction<\/i> feels special, as if for once we’ve
\nall been invited inside to witness a very special and private
\nmoment of this gifted songwriter. Let’s hope he tours–he’s
\nswearing he won’t–because I think a lot of old fans might be glad
\nto see their boy’s all grown up and ready to speak the truth, just
\na bit more quietly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":27467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7334],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-38838","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-paul-westerberg","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38838","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\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38838"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}