Whether you knew it or not, Pavement were the band of the nineties, or more suiting, a generation. Sure, approximately 95% of people have not heard Pavement, let alone heard them, but Pavmenet have proved to be one of the most influenced and influential bands of all time. This is evident on they're brilliant second release, 1994' s
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. On they're previous album,
Slanted and Enchanted, they sounded more like five guys who didn't practice at all, but they came together to make a supremely sloppy but absolutely brilliant album. But for this album, Pavement came together as a real band in a real studio and created possibly the best sophomore release of all time. This is, after all, the nineties, a time for changing for the better.
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994)
The Players:
Stephen Malkmus - Lead vocals, guitars
Scott Krannberg - Guitars, backing vocals
Mark Ibold - Bass
Bob Nastanovich - Percussion
Steve West - Drums
#208 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list
The influence of such bands as
Pixies and
The Velvet Underground may crawl through this album (and they're previous effort, for that matter), but while listening to this album one must realize that Pavement are a very unique band and take they're sound to another level, a level of such epic porportions that it's almost impossible to listen to the album without having you're jaw drop to the floor in awe and amazement. The laziness is gone. Pavement are now a real band. And it shows, as this album is a very instrumentally advanced album and shows some amazing, and I mean amazing, songwriting.
Songs like
Range Life boast a country feel, but fall short of the embarrasing situation in which they sing about Chevys, girls leaving them and "Momma's apple pie". Instead, they focus on the beauty that the genre often leaves behing. The strumming of very laid back chords echo with the feeling of sadness, which only appears to be a hunch until S.M. comes in and gives the performance of his career. Over slidey lead guitars and un-bold rhythm sections, S.M. sings about nothing inparticular except that he wants things to be simple again. This song is far from simple, as it's country influence is prominent, and yet Pavement make a very unique song. The chorus is filled to the brim with sadness, and the music can't seem to be more amazing just for the sheer simplicity and, ultimately, unmatchable beauty. This song is Pavement at they're finest. Being the sole country ballad on this album doesn't automatically mean that some songs aren't pretty, it just means that Pavment has more to offer than one genre. They take on the bold roles of later
Sonic Youth on such amazing songs such as
Gold Soundz while still keeping true to their unique-ness with it's hurt choirboy vocals and slurred guitar keepin' on, as well as the quirky and playful lyrics by S.M.. Arguably the second prettiest song on the album is the quirky to a point, but ultimately gem-like ring of
Stop Breathin', in which the band refers to clean guitars and trudging drums to carry the song across a river of beautiful and simple guitars. To a certain extent, this song could be tied with
Range Life, one of mankind's greatest achievements of a song.
Pavement can't seem to put the oddities aside, however. The brief and jazzy
5 - 4 = Unity is an instrumental piece that could be the musical equivalent of the slow apocalypse, with it's jazzy keys and synth sounds that would sound welcome twenty years in time, but sound just as home in this odd little ditty. The 2:09 song wouldn't seem to pack a jab, but it's evident that Pavement took this song seriously as well. Essentially, the guitars come in and a have a little battle that may not sound like Hendrix dueling with Peter Green, but it's unbelievably entertaining in it's fun little way. However, Pavement also channel their odd side into actual song, like the opener
Silent Kit that features a bizzare array of soft chords and rumbling bass patterns and some wacky percussion, but eventually morphs into an unbelievably serious song...for approximately five or six seconds, when minor chords and a frankly impressive vocal howl from Stephen Malkmus changes the mood from playful to seriously enjoyable
and serious. The lyrics take a little look into the mad mind of the band, with such oddities as "Silent kid/don't listen to the grandmother's advice" and "Hand me the drum stick/Snare Kick". The second half of the song sound as seriously epic as some bands dare to go, but that's Pavement for you.
Rockers don't seem out of place in here. Well, maybe "rockers" are an un-worthy term. Songs that show fascinating grace and charm, yet also boast a distortion pedal and simplistic and heavy hitting drums. However, the warm and fuzzy tone of such songs as
Cut Your Hair seem to becon you to relax on the grass in the sun, but also could be the anthem to a heavy-drinking party. The fascinating opening riff is accompanied by the child-like chant of S,M., but like it's predecessors also moves into a moving piece of music. The moaning lead guitars go into the cage and battle it out about 3/4 way throught the song, and what emerges is a spastic and rocking solo. A Pavement first? Perhaps. The more subtle rock songs appear very few but they're there, and rest assured they're fantastic as well.
Filmore Jive, the album's six+ minute closer, is a noise-rock song at heart, but what surfaces is an astonishing piece of music that boasts the warm rhythms of
Range Life but also has the amazing head-nod-ability of such songs as
Silent Kid. Hearing the gentle lullably-esque chant of the band going "I need to sleep" is an empowering experience.
So, if you're considering getting into Indie, than this album is a must buy. The production on this album is incredible, and while the songs themselves would sound equally as good as with a very raw production, this works alot more. The songs are equally great in they're own different ways, and it's pretty basic to say that this album helped define the nineties culture, while being unkown to the public eye. So, if you're looking for a good history lesson on alternative music, or if you're looking for a great alternative album, this album is a good addition to you're library.
