a r t i s t : Vic Chesnutt
t i t l e : North Star Deserter
d a t e : 2007
l a b e l : Constellation
c a t : CST046
s o u r c e : CDDA
g e n r e : Indie
r l s. d a t e : Aug/2007
t r a c k s : 12
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 68,1 MB
_______________________________________________________________________
*blah blah blah re-ripped using the correct lame/eac settings
We have been massive Vic Chesnutt fans for many years. Prior
to starting Constellation together in 1997, among the first
records we bonded over was Is The Actor Happy, a slab of vinyl
played so often (and so often late at night) that its grooves
are well chewed.Our friend, Brooklyn-based filmmaker Jem
Cohen (Benjamin Smoke, Instrument, Chain), has known Vic for
many years. When Jem proposed that Vic make his next album at
the Hotel2Tango studio in Montreal, with various Constellation
musicians (along with a couple of American friends) as players
for the session, we were thrilled. When we heard the results,
we were floored. When offered the opportunity to release the
record, we were honoured.Vic Chesnutt is one of the finest
songsmiths we know. His words knock us out, his voice is like
no other, and the two combined can deliver lyrical phrases
that echo in your brain for weeks, months, years...that you
find yourself adding to your quotidian vocabulary of sardonic
asides, devastating metaphors, witty rhymes. Words that are
never clever for their own sake, but smart and substantive as
all get out.The songs on North Star Deserter are some of the
most bracing and intense we've ever heard from him: macabre
and fearless, playful and funny, at times deeply personal and
at others, incongruously hopeful. Stripped-down songs like
"Warm", "Rustic City Fathers", "Over" and "Marathon" are
juxtaposed with explosive rockers like "Everything I Say" and
"Debriefing", while "Glossolalia" and "You Are Never Alone"
feature wonderful arrangements and group singing.The broad
cast of players - all seven members of Thee Silver Mt. Zion
Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, along with Guy Picciotto
(Fugazi), Chad Jones & Nadia Moss (Frankie Sparo), Eric Craven
& Genevieve Heistek (Hangedup), Bruce Cawdron (Godspeed You!
Black Emperor, Esmerine) and T. Griffin (The Quavers) -
offered influences and approaches to Vic's music that yielded
a record unlike any other in his substantial discography.
Recorded over the winter of 2006-2007, at one of the last
sessions to take place at the original Hotel2Tango location in
Montreal (the studio moved in spring 2007), we believe North
Star Deserter is the very best album Vic Chesnutt has yet made
(while humbly acknowledging the boldness of such a statement).
The sessions were orchestrated by Jem, who also oversaw
production (along with Efrim and Thierry of Silver Mt. Zion,
and Guy from Fugazi). The album was recorded by Howard
Bilerman. The record is available on CD and double 180g LP,
with artwork by Michael Ackerman and Jem Cohen.
_______________________________________________________________________
01-Warm [03:00]
02-Glossolalia [03:32]
03-Everything I Say [06:54]
04-Wallace Stevens [02:17]
05-You Are Never Alone [05:45]
06-Fodder On Her Wings [03:13]
07-Splendid [08:29]
08-Rustic City Fathers [04:24]
09-Over [04:01]
10-Debriefing [08:27]
11-Marathon [05:34]
12-Rattle [01:29]
-------
57:05 min