Teenage Fanclub
Words of Wisdom and Hope
[Alternative Tentacles; 2002]
Rating: 5.0
"I'd let Godzilla step on my head
And I'd let a mummy chase me around and throw me in a dungeon
I'd let space aliens perform an autopsy on me
If I could just be near to you
I'd let Dracula drink my blood
I'd let a zombie eat my arm
I'd let a Frankenstein punch me in the stomach
Just if I could be."
--Jad Fair, "Near to You"
Man, that's devotion. Jad Fair wants to be near you so badly he'd undergo just
about any hardship the universe could throw at him to make it happen. I guess
the only question remaining would be this: would you want Jad Fair to be that
near to you? Your answer is likely to vary based on your point of view.
Words of Wisdom and Hope is one of those records that just begs questions
about its intent. This is due entirely to Jad Fair's presence, as Teenage
Fanclub's musical contributions can practically be viewed as a separate artistic
entity from Fair's geeky rambling. Still, the questions are there: is this
brilliance or ignorance? Naïveté or irony? Transcendent or annoying as hell?
Once again, your answer is likely to vary based on how you view music like this.
Of course, this is nothing new where Jad Fair is concerned. Over the course of
around 40 albums-- many recorded with his band Half Japanese-- Fair has constantly
reveled in his own lack of conventional musical skill and consistently begged
these sorts of questions. Many have come to revere him as an iconoclastically
charming artist or even a sort of outsider artist, while just as many really can't
stand the guy.
So here's where being a record reviewer becomes especially difficult. It's
supposed to be up to me to figure out the answers to those three questions I
asked earlier, and I'm finding that I really don't know any of them for sure.
It does seem obvious enough that Fair is no idiot, and he must have some
concept of just how hokey his delivery and words are, but it seems just as
obvious that he doesn't care one way or the other. So, in lieu of a real solution,
let me say this: people who already like Fair will likely enjoy this, as will
people who revel in impromptu-sounding performance and unabashed sentimentalism.
And just as many others will hate it outright.
To figure out which camp you're in, perhaps a bit of dry objective description
will help. Fair's delivery on this album's twelve tracks is entirely spoken,
mostly in a dry, subdued Mr. Rogers tone, though he occasionally offers a little
coo or tiger growl to drive home how in love he is with his anonymous subject.
He never gets melodic, he only rarely tailors his rhythm to the music, and he
frequently sounds like he's having a one-sided conversation with a soundtrack in
the background.
The subjective description: Fair's straightforwardness is occasionally refreshing,
and many of his quirky observations are quite charming, but more often they're
irritating and cloyingly cute. Whether or not he's being ironic or naïve ceases
to become important after a while, because most listeners will be utterly sick of
listening to him by the time the album is halfway over.
Consider the following lines:
"Early in the morning. No chance of robot uprising. Look what the sunshine
brings. It's a brand new day." --"I Feel Fine"
"My heart is literally jumping like a kangaroo. I mean, not literally, but
poetically. I mean... well, you know what I mean." --"The Power of Your
Tenderness"
"I want to be your Superman. I would not be satisfied being your Batman or
your Aquaman. No. I want the very best." --"Cupid"
These are three of Fair's more amusing observations, though even the funniest
moments in his monologues are probably best described by one of his past album
titles: somewhat humorous. Often, he finds himself talking with nothing to say,
but he invariably keeps talking anyway. The pun on the title "You Rock" of "you
came along when I had nothing and gave me a rock" gets hard to swallow after he's
already said it a couple of times, especially when he follows it by mumbling
"rock solid love."
On the other side of the coin is Teenage Fanclub, fresh off the U.S. release of
their sixth album, Howdy! The band offers up a batch of instrumentals for
Fair to talk over that draws from every one of their past periods, from the
fuzzy rock of their earliest records, to the country flavors of Songs from
Northern Britain. The highlight for both the band and Fair is probably "Near
to You," for which the band offers up an alternately jangly and fuzzy stomp that
propels Fair's rambling perfectly.
Nearly as successful is "Love's Taken Over," wherein Fair actually almost sings
(without ever actually getting there) and the band's blend of uplifting harmonies,
bells and delayed snare drums proves one of the most interesting textures they've
ever come up with. The album's other major musical peak comes with the
seven-minute "Crush on You." Though the song is undoubtedly far too long, the
band offers up a spontaneous-sounding jam that somewhat makes up for it. Opener
"Behold the Miracle" is also brimming with fine organ work and an excellent
bassline.
Elsewhere, the band doesn't seem to have as many ideas. As a result, "The Power
of Your Tenderness" is overly repetitive, while "Vampire's Claw" benefits from
some pretty banjo and fiddle, but ultimately doesn't go much of anywhere musically.
"Secret Heart" attempts funk, but never gets propulsive enough to truly achieve
it.
Okay, so if I've done my job, you now have at least some idea of what to expect
from this album. In the end, I think a straight five is the only rating that's
really appropriate for a release like this. Chances are that when you hear it,
you'll either fall in love or hate it. As for me, I don't think I'll be listening
to it again for a long time. Rather, it's the kind of record I'll be filing away
and pulling out now and then when I feel like springing something truly odd on my
unsuspecting friends. The nutshell: proceed with caution.
-Joe Tangari, March 28th, 2002