[MacDV] Re: The Way Of The Master

[Colin McDonald]

On Friday, Jan 30, 2004, at 20:59 Europe/London, James Asherman wrote:

> Who would ever think of combining a psychedelic framework with a 
> roots-rock sensibility? But Flint Michigan do just that on their debut 
> album, playing music that is oxymoronically both earthy and cosmically 
> expansive, often in the same song! Mash up the Byrds, Lou Reed, Neil 
> Young, the Band, Tom Petty, Midnight Oil, and zydeco, cross-reference 
> them with the dynamics of psychedelia, and you come out with Amber 
> Waves. Odds are, this album would probably go into the roots-rock bin 
> at the record store, but how many roots albums contain a song about 
> space aliens? With Flint Michigan, such a dichotomy is commonplace; it 
> is the type of whimsy that is pulled off with humor but also adds a 
> certain poignancy to the album. Perhaps the band's rootsiest element 
> is the vocal prowess of Dennis Katsanis, a sort of variation on the 
> Tom Petty/Lou Reed aesthetic that works surprisingly well amid the 
> spacy qualities of much of the music. "Passion" opens with a lost 
> new-wave riff circa 1982, but mutates into a beautiful psychedelic 
> jam. Extended improvisation is a part of the Flint Michigan 
> repertoire, but it is rarely excessive or detrimental to the song. 
> "Misdeed of the Wind" starts out with a solid groove before moving 
> into gorgeous Middle Eastern guitar progressions. Part of the reason 
> that these extended passages do not come apart is the straight-ahead 
> chug of the rhythm section and Tom DiPaolo's lap steel guitar work -- 
> sort of like Dire Straits riffing on psychedelia rather than jazz and 
> blues. Instrumentally, the band is powerful, led by the double-guitar 
> attack of Jim Asherman and Katsanis. Mostly recorded live in the 
> studio with few overdubs, the album sounds fresh and invigorating. The 
> only thing holding the album back is its thematic and stylistic 
> spottiness: it moves from zydeco-flavored jams to earthy rock to nervy 
> psychedelia without any sort of coherence. It ends up sounding more 
> like a collection of singles than a consistent album. Still, the 
> songs, taken on their own merits, are never less than strong -- and 
> sometimes go much beyond that. ~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide

You need to beak up your copy a bit - that's kinda hard to read after a 
long day!
(Worth it though)

:-)

Colin McDonald