Well And Truly Overtaken

Love Is Overtaking Me
Arthur Russell
Audika, 2008
4.5 stars

By the time the credits rolled on Matt Wolf's wonderful documentary Wild Combination, my appetite was well and truly whet for this album. There's two particular bits from the film that I can't get out of my head. One features Arthur sitting on a stool with his cello playing a song called Eli (part of which features in this promo for the film), and the other is him sitting wearing a parka playing a song on acoustic guitar. Both clips are equally haunting, but the second is particularly stunning, as until seeing this I had only really known Russell as an avant-garde cellist and disco pioneer, and not as a traditional folk guitarist in any sense. Well, to assume that Russell didn't attempt - and excel at - pretty much any and every style of music is a mistake. Enter Love Is Overtaking Me, a collection of Arthur's more traditional folk, soft-rock and pop songs. In a way, it showcases a stranger side of the man than we're used to, because the songs are so ... Accessible. The album starts with Close My Eyes, a gently strummed folk song about corn and cornfields (two of Arthur's favourite subjects) on which Arthur's vocals take on an almost Cat Stevens-like sound. Goodbye Old Paint follows it up, starting off with woodwinds and middle-eastern-sounding vibes and later becoming a plodding ode to an 'old pony'. But just when you think there's a bit of an American back-country theme emerging, along comes Maybe She, a more traditional-sounding song about an awkward relationship with a girl (the nature of which we can only assume is actually platonic) and - my personal favourite - the terrific upbeat alt-country rocker Time Away. We're used to Arthur Russell albums having a '70s underground disco vibe, but later on this album the mood is more '70s pool hall - I can totally imagine lonely truckers sipping whiskey to the horn-driven I Couldn't Say It To Your Face and the wonderful What It's Like with it's talking guitars and spoken-word intro. Eli, the track from Wild Combination that I mentioned earlier, pops up too, one of only a couple of tracks on the entire album to feature Russell's trademark cello. Other highlights include I Forget And I Can't Tell (Ballad Of The Lights Pt.1) and Habit Of You, with lyrics that bring to mind the cute, funny and simple songs of Calling Out Of Context. But perhaps the most affecting song on the album is This Time Dad, You're Wrong. We met Arthur's dad in Wild Combination, a thoroughly normal man who, it seems, had only grasped his son's immense talents after his passing. While it's hard to know know exactly what Russell is singing about, it's also hard to deny the song's eerie poignancy. Russell's star continues to rise, thanks to Audika and an ever-growing an endlessly dedicated fan base. It's just a shamed that he's not around to see it.

Artwork: A
It's our man, in a cowboy hat, standing in a corn field. Perfect. I mean, what else can I say - Audika have handled each and every Russell release they've put out with utmost care and respect, and this is no different. Hats off.

Another Time

FLASHBACK

Calling Out Of Context
Arthur Russell
Audika, 2004
5 stars

I've been meaning to write about this album for a while now. One of my friends stumbled across one of Arthur Russell's disco tracks one night a few years ago while trauling Limewire for trashy '70s dance anthems (don't ask), and it has been one of the nicest discoveries of my music-loving life. For those that don't know of him, Arthur Russell was a formally schooled Cellist who pioneered avant disco in the late '70s and early '80s - check out his bio on AllMusic.com for more info. His music can often be recognized by his awkward vocals and skeletal cello playing. Though the sparse, aching instrumentals found on Another Thought are some of his most interesting and critically-acclaimed work, Calling Out Of Context showcases Russell at his most inventive, and his most out-there. Beginning with the bubbly introduction The Deer in The Forest Part One, the tone is really set by second cut The Platform On The Ocean, a dark, disco-oriented epic with possibly some of the strangest lyrics ever found in popular music. Words can't really describe the kind of bent gems found on this album, but I'll give it a shot anyway. Title track Calling Out Of Context's low-fi strings, skewed calypso percussion and glitchy electronics are an absolute treat, and the mechanic beat and blippy melody of Arm Around You, combined with Russell's naiive, evocatively simple lyrics ("that's me and you, yeah in a rocket ship", "got to put one arm around you") make for one of the sweetest electronic tracks found anywhere. Later, Hop On Down dresses up an organ solo with a hip-hop beat, and Get Around To It (one of the more '80s-sounding tracks on the album) sees Russell's lyrical genius coming through again ("show me what the girl does to the boy, if you can get around to it ") with some subtle cello-picking filling in the gaps. That some of these songs - not to mention the cover photo - were produced twenty years ago is startling; today they still sound just as cutting-edge as they must have back in the day. And that the late composer's fan base is still growing steadily - perhaps more steadily than ever - is only proof of his enormous talent. Thankfully Audika have done a fantastic job looking after his vast catalogue, and this release is no exception.

Artwork: A