ADAM GREEN
MINOR LOVE
Release 11/01/2010; Rough Trade
It's easy to understand why even the most hard nosed and derisive of individuals prostrate themselves at the feet of the cultural paladin that is New York City. In the epic cycle of popular music New York looms titanic, its place in rock myth as awe inspiring as the architectural totems which tower over Manhattan Island.
From the glamorous 1950's bop joints thronged with the well heeled stars of stage and screen to potentially dangerous trips through the Bowery to take in musical illiterates at CBGB's, NYC has catered cool so consistantly for so long it has ceased to be faddish, its pop art accomplishments have become traditions as enshrined in historical meaning as the Doric columns which line the the more august buildings of Old New York.
Hence on Minor Love we witness Adam Green luxuriating in the established New York cultural dynamic. In particular Lou Reed's sound and image is so completely subject to homage it can only be a ritualized passing of the baton - the extension of a New York tradition. As would be expected then Green combines American blues and European folk music with a stripped back artistic minimalism and obtuse but seemingly self confessional lyrics to give an overall effect similar to the 'Coney Island Baby' era Reed with a little of Leonhard Cohen's New York period thrown in for good measure.
Of course Adam Green is no Lou Reed, if Lou Reed's stated aim was to 'write the Great American Novel to music' then Green's sometimes cringe worthy lyrics ('when I took off my winter clothes, I looked like 40 or 50 crows') certainly aren't up to standard but most likely this is not the point. Minor Love is about preserving a form that has been chopped up and bastardised down the decades by three generations of fresh faced hopefuls, it is a restoration job rather than a creative exercise. In preserving the form Green does a reasonable good job, 'Breaking Locks' sounds authentic with the sound pared back, guitar barely audible, wheezy soul organ filling the silences and vocals very much at the front of the mix. The best song is the woozy 'Bathing Bird' which hints at the warm and welcoming basking glow of pharmaceutical effect but when juxtaposed with its lyric shows a darker side. 'Stadium Soul' is a relaxed jangle briefly augmented by a 1970's FM guitar solo.
Much of the rest of the album is by-the-numbers Reed at his most soporific provided you exclude the tinny lo-fi rocker 'Oh Shucks' but even this has a droopy air to it. In the end evaluation of Minor Love stems on sharing the enthusiasms of the artist but at least Green shows some genuine deference, perhaps even piety, before his cultural and musical sources.
VOGELENZANGRANK: 6.71
Sample Track - Adam Green - 'Breaking Locks'