Monday, October 25, 2021

Hal Willner, the Velvet Underground, and the Scenics

Okay, so there is a new tribute to the first Velvets album, orchestrated by Hal Willner before he died, last year, of COVID-19. I haven't really dipped deeply into it yet. Up to the Kurt Vile cut, it's pretty shoegazy and spacy, and a bit neither-here-nor-there (Michael Stipe doing "Sunday Morning" sounds EXACTLY like what you might imagine Michael Stipe doing "Sunday Morning" on an album produced by Hal Willner would sound like),  but it's, uh, not at all offensive (in-joke, there). I dug the Andrew Bird/ Lucius take on "Venus in Furs" well enough, though the Kurt Vile is the first track to actually excite me ("Run Run Run.") Haven't gotten further into it yet - just picked it up yesterday, and have NOT yet heard Thurston Moore take on "Heroin," which of course is bursting with potential - but it's amazing to me to have this gift-from-beyond-the-grave from the sorely missed Hal Willner, who produced my favourite late phase Lou Reed album (Ecstasy) and whose compilation album projects are always delightful (none dearer to me than Stay Awake, and I don't even LIKE Disney, but damn does he hit a sweet spot on that one. Weird Nightmare is pretty inspired, too, if you want to hear Leonard Cohen and Diamanda Galas on the same song, for instance, featuring writings by Charles Mingus accompanied on the instruments of Harry Partch; that's some genius-level musical stew, there, folks!). 

But listen, I have a question. This is, I gather, the final album that we will ever see from Hal Willner, so it seems like it would be appropriate to have Hal Willner's name visible SOMEWHERE on the art for the album, doesn't it? I mean, I don't know that it always is, and I'm not gonna go dig on my shelves to see if all the others have his name present, but Rogue's Gallery - close at hand - has the words "A Hal Willner Production" right over the title of the album, which seems totally fitting to me. By contrast, there's nothing on the front cover of the Velvets project, and unless it is in the tiny print on the back - which I can't read without a magnifying glass - there's nothing there, either. I don't know the story, but it seems disrespectful and offensive; and even if there's a good reason for the omission, it's a stupid idea, because guess what: HAL WILLNER HAS FANS OUT THERE, has brand recognition to his name that might make the difference for some people, like me, as to whether to dig into their wallets or not. I mean, true story, I was shopping for albums when I first saw the vinyl of this, a couple of weeks ago, and I *did* take it from the rack to look at it and see who was doing what, but absent Willner's name (and not knowing he was involved - I mean, why would I think he would be, when he's been dead a year?), I put it back and nearly forgot about it. I don't have enough enthusiasm for any of the artists doing the covers to want to shell out fifty bucks for the vinyl, and ANYONE can cover the Velvet Underground if they want - it's kind of a lazy move, in fact - "instant cred." Neither the artists on it or the idea of Velvets covers on their own was sufficient to sell me. It was discovering it was the new Hal Willner that sold me - as soon as my friend Judith Beeman posted about it on Facebook, I was, like, "Oh, I gotta get that after all!" Whereupon I went back to Sunrise and picked it up and inspected it again, and sure enough, the man's name is nowhere to be seen...

It kind of rankles, and like I say, it's just dumb business (unless there is a good reason for it, but I can't imagine what one might look like). 

While we are at it, while this is a fun project, let me mention two things about OG Toronto punks the Scenics, who have an album of all-Velvets covers that I adore: How Does It Feel to be Loved? I got it out of a cheapie bin at Scratch Records, when they were on Cambie, circa 2008 or so; I think Keith Parry was actually around that day to explain to me what it was, and I bought it and fell in love. It's "just" jammy, punky covers of a variety of Velvets songs, drawn from all phases of the Velvets' career - but it's REALLY GOOD! It also has the advantage of being super cheap: you can get it on Discogs with shipping for less than the cost of the CD of the Willner, and (sorry, Hal) it's consistently more exciting than the Willner project (which is good, don't get me wrong, but it's just more exciting to hear a real good, underappreciated Canadian punk band jamming out to "What Goes On," say - on video, here - than it is to hear Michael Stipe doing his kinda obvious, kinda unnecessary thing on "Sunday Morning." Maybe it's just me, but Scenics > Stipe any ol' day, and Stipe even gets the lyrics wrong at one point; he sings "praise the dawning," rather than "brings the dawning," which is completely antithetical to the original meaning of the song; it is about waking up to the realization - not the literal dawn - that you've done really shitty things the night before, and feeling haunted by the awareness; it is hardly a song of praise. Either it's a lazy accident, or it's total fuckin' arrogance on Stipe's part, to figure he could turn the song on its head. Maybe it's a little offensive after all?).  

So if you aren't convinced on the Willner, trust me on this: the Scenics album - the whole thing is on Youtube - is just great. 

...And if I'm gonna shill for the Scenics, I gotta mention something about Jason Flower and Victoria record store/ archival label Supreme Echo, who have partnered with the Scenics to distribute an album, In the Summer, of vintage Scenics originals. You can buy the vinyl for $20 or the download for $5 - just click that last link. I actually haven't got the cash til payday to pick up the rekkid, myself, though I plan to, and hope supplies last. There are no Velvets covers on this record, and I actually do not know the music well - I have only ever heard their Velvets album, before - but based on how much life and passion they bring to said Velvets album, I'm totally keen to hear this. 

Maybe I was too hard on that doc? Now I kinda wanna see it again.

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