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Richard Dawson - I don't know what to think....


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Somehow this guy, Richard Dawson appeared as a suggestion on my phone (Amazon). Some reviewer called him brilliant. My 1st thought was the Hogan's Heroes/Match Game Richard Dawson - maybe it was a comedy album.

 

Then I heard the actual guy. A google search said some consider him the British Captain Beefheart. I don't know. He seems to slightly detune some of the lower guitar strings.

There's so much music that sounds alike , too much sameness, that a fresh take is welcomed. My thoughts of ground breakers in my musical youth conjures up Captain Beefheart and Ornette Coleman. (circa 1970).

 

Is this guy doing something special ?

 

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I listen to mostly what other people in the U.S. would consider "unusual" music. However, I'm not sure what to make of this either. At first casual listen, it didn't really connect with me, but he does seem to be doing something different, and some of his guitar approach is quite interesting. But yeah, I wasn't feelin' it. Again, just one listen.
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Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band had great timing, Richard does not.

The good Captain was quite a singer. Richard sounds like a wounded steer.

 

He may have intentionally chosen a guitar that has terrible intonation and a pickup that hums. Certainly he chose to down tune his guitar so the strings would go sharp when struck with force, that's nothing new or groundbreaking.

 

If he came to an open mic night here, I would laugh very hard for a very long time.

 

I do take a perverse amusement in people who tear music a new one. He may well be in search of something new and different. I wish him the best on his journey.

 

For now, I will ignore him and he will go away...

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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If Syd Barrett had lived longer, and gotten crazier, this may be similar to what he would have sounded like.

 

He had me curious at the first 30 seconds with the weirdass guitar playing, and I did listen all the way through to the end. I usually bail partway through on most music. (Extra credit to anyone who would use the words "Philips head screwdriver" in a song.)

 

Call me crazy, but I think if he went into the studio with a good producer, he'd have something. Both the voice and guitar playing are an invitation to insane amounts of cool processing. The music takes so many twists and turns it would lend itself to significant changes in production to highlight the changes. And, whoever did the video for it would have an absolute blast. There were a couple guitar licks that reminded me of the soundtrack for Fellini Satyricon.

 

Admittedly, as I listened, I liked what I heard in my head of what I would do with it better than what I actually heard. But that's saying something. It remains to be seen if he can take this any further, or if this is all he can do.

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Call me crazy, but I think if he went into the studio with a good producer, he'd have something. Both the voice and guitar playing are an invitation to insane amounts of cool processing. The music takes so many twists and turns it would lend itself to significant changes in production to highlight the changes. And, whoever did the video for it would have an absolute blast. There were a couple guitar licks that reminded me of the soundtrack for Fellini Satyricon.

 

I don't think you are crazy Craig. After Captain Beefheart's "Lick My Decals Off Baby" had poor sales figures, Ted Templeman was recruited to produce the next album (circa 1970) "Clear Spot". "Clear Spot" presented the band with the crayons pretty much coloring INSIDE the lines. IMO, Clear Spot was a brilliant album and should have been commercially successful, but probably the Captain's commercial mojo had passed.

 

Anyhoo, I guess there are lots of niche musicians who have small rabid fan bases. Dawson also has some band recordings that are more conventionally palatable. I wish him well but won't likely be a follower.

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Anyhoo, I guess there are lots of niche musicians who have small rabid fan bases. Dawson also has some band recordings that are more conventionally palatable. I wish him well but won't likely be a follower.

 

Whether I would follow him depends on what he does next, but I'm curious enough to want to find out :)

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Clearly I'm in a minority here, but I loved it. Kicking mailboxes down around the smugness of Western-world tuning and song structure is A-Ok by me, and I though the vox were like punk-folk, which I mean as a high compliment. I'm completely on board. He reminds me of early St. Vincent.

Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material.
www.joshweinstein.com

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Clearly I'm in a minority here, but I loved it. Kicking mailboxes down around the smugness of Western-world tuning and song structure is A-Ok by me, and I though the vox were like punk-folk, which I mean as a high compliment.

 

I like all that. I probably have by far the weirdest and most eclectic taste on this group. I see the possibilities here, but for some reason, it wasn't connecting with me.

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Clearly I'm in a minority here, but I loved it. Kicking mailboxes down around the smugness of Western-world tuning and song structure is A-Ok by me, and I though the vox were like punk-folk, which I mean as a high compliment.

 

I like all that. I probably have by far the weirdest and most eclectic taste on this group. I see the possibilities here, but for some reason, it wasn't connecting with me.

 

My tastes are certainly not "normal" but I kept hearing somebody who failed at timing while attempting to play in time, and while I am fine with a vocalist sounding like a wounded steer when that's what the music needs, I like to hear a range of wounded animal sounds at the very least. I tried to listen to the entire thing but the one trick pony aspect of what I'd heard halfway in provided an excuse to spare myself the indignity.

 

In other words, it's not enough to be a bit off the beaten path. If there is no "there" there then I am not there either. Just didn't do it for me. So it goes...

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Well, after seeing the solo act and seeing the full band, all I can say is...I would pay to see that. :thu: He's not to everyone's taste, for sure, but what he does is drenched with a kind of musical freedom...and you don't hear much freedom these days. To me, there's something ancient and futuristic, at the same time.

 

Of course, he won't break through to a mass audience...but someone who's into him might sand off the rough edges, and do just that.

 

I would love to produce or mix him, I bet he'd be a collaborative artist who would be steadfast in what he wanted to do, but open to different approaches to get there.

 

Thanks Strays Dave!

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Clearly I'm in a minority here, but I loved it. Kicking mailboxes down around the smugness of Western-world tuning and song structure is A-Ok by me, and I though the vox were like punk-folk, which I mean as a high compliment.

 

I like all that. I probably have by far the weirdest and most eclectic taste on this group. I see the possibilities here, but for some reason, it wasn't connecting with me.

 

My tastes are certainly not "normal" but I kept hearing somebody who failed at timing while attempting to play in time, and while I am fine with a vocalist sounding like a wounded steer when that's what the music needs, I like to hear a range of wounded animal sounds at the very least. I tried to listen to the entire thing but the one trick pony aspect of what I'd heard halfway in provided an excuse to spare myself the indignity.

 

In other words, it's not enough to be a bit off the beaten path. If there is no "there" there then I am not there either. Just didn't do it for me. So it goes...

 

That might be it. It sounded sloppy but not in a cool way. I see some sort of potential of what it could be, but of course, potential is not what the person is doing right now.

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That might be it. It sounded sloppy but not in a cool way. I see some sort of potential of what it could be, but of course, potential is not what the person is doing right now.

 

...which has been the traditional role of the producer. Or at least back in the days when companies who saw potential were willing to sit by for a couple albums, while that potential was being developed. I'm not sure that happens much anymore.

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"He's really exploring pan-tonality and microtonal expression, in a blithely arhythmic manner". Kinda like the Shaggs are a pop music group like the Beatles.

 

John Lee Hooker was out of tune, and would get off beat. Morrissey sings off pitch. Lars Ulrich has to do funny fills to get back in time with songs, Tom Waits sounds like he drinks formic acid, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan uses notes that don't exist in the Western system. This is not the same thing IMO.

Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com

Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/

 

/ "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien

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I watched and liked the Jogging video. Someone commented someplace that the way he describes mundane daily activities is brilliant. I saw a video on YT once with John and Yoko. Yoko did her turkey warble and as I recall , John played with feedback - seems like he had that Epiphone from Get Back (if memory serves me). I think at towards the end John held the electric guitar vertical and banged it on the floor for another effect.

 

So the thought occurred to me that Dawson is sort of a John, without the moderating effect of a Paul. Paul, without John, did a lot of milquetoast (I had to look it up) stuff over the years. I wish he'd found another John. I read that for "Vile" , Dawson searched some sort of database for disgusting descriptions. Could "Vile" be considered a sort of phrase collage ? My question (maybe Craig suggested this) is what else he can do. Can he craft lyrics ? I'm a piano guy, but I think he's sometimes doing fingerstyle guitar - finger plucking ? So a contrast would be great - could he come up with his "Julia" (Beatles Whiter album) ? Or maybe his "Dig A Pony" inspired song ? I just read one of those phone articles about Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" being modeled after Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" - I don't hear one iota of copying or stealing - just inspiring. I think I read that John's (Abbey Road) "Sun King" was inspired by Fleetwood Mac's (Peter Green's) "Albatross).

 

For me, Dawson may be brilliant - if he's not just a one or two trick pony. If all Lennon had ever come up with were "crabalocker fishwife , pornagraphic priestess" sorts of lyrics would he have been brilliant " ?. He came up with so much more. Cannabatized ruminations.

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I didn't know anything about Richard Dawson before this thread but I now think he is pretty interesting. So, thanks OP Strays Dave. I think Craig's thoughts about different treatments are borne out with the Jogging video. Craig's treatment would have been different I'm sure. I think that I look in here often to get ideas and this thread provided that.

 

He follows a folkie tradition of writing songs that owe something to old texts and stories. Obviously, the Jogging video is a modern take on that. Contemporary anxious laid-off worker contemplating MacMansions and Beta-Blockers (nice tie-in with "Fight or Flight" themes), self-referential Eye of the Tiger riff, legit hooks that use the word paranoid, exploring themes of isolation and indifference. It's a pretty full plate and it works pretty well and it feels authentic.

 

The wiki page for Dawson mentions the Watersons specifically Mike Waterson as an influence and I can definitely see that. It's a kind of unpretty folk tradition.

 

re: Chip and Wesley Willis

I assume that we are thinking of the 'are we laughing at him or with him' angle. Yes, there is an outsider aspect to this. The older I get the more respect I have for people who make art because they have too. They have something that they have to communicate. Based on what I have seen online I believe that he is a self-taught guitarist and he is probably wrecking his hand. But I also believe he is hearing stuff in his head.

 

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I loved it. Sort of Derek Bailey meets John Fahey and Marc Ribot for a beer, at that wonderful intersection of folk and the avant-garde. True naive art.

 

You should do music reviews for a living :)

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I loved it. Sort of Derek Bailey meets John Fahey and Marc Ribot for a beer, at that wonderful intersection of folk and the avant-garde. True naive art.

 

You should do music reviews for a living :)

 

Do you remember a rag called LMNOP, published in Washington state in the 80's, on actual newsprint? I used to write reviews for them.

Scott Fraser
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I loved it. Sort of Derek Bailey meets John Fahey and Marc Ribot for a beer, at that wonderful intersection of folk and the avant-garde. True naive art.

 

You should do music reviews for a living :)

 

Do you remember a rag called LMNOP, published in Washington state in the 80's, on actual newsprint? I used to write reviews for them.

 

I did not know that, I just based my comments on your Richard Dawson review :)

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How can I tell when a song is "outsider" or "naive" art? Is it the lyrics? The only similarity I hear with Wesley Willis is a "confessional" style with subjects people usually don't want to talk about. Naive implies that they don't know what they're doing. Even some people who say they like him... then they still feel the need to qualify it as naive or outsider. Maybe "outsider" carries ancient fears, from the days of tribes and then walled cities. You're curious, but also scared, of the outsiders.

 

What is it that these artists are naive of? What is it that the "insiders" are curious of and a little threatened by?

 

Here's some more intermission music:

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How can I tell when a song is "outsider" or "naive" art? Is it the lyrics? The only similarity I hear with Wesley Willis is a "confessional" style with subjects people usually don't want to talk about. Naive implies that they don't know what they're doing.

 

Naive, in an arts discussion, simply means not formally trained. That doesn't preclude the artist knowing exactly what he or she is doing.

 

Even some people who say they like him... then they still feel the need to qualify it as naive or outsider. Maybe "outsider" carries ancient fears, from the days of tribes and then walled cities. You're curious, but also scared, of the outsiders.

What is it that these artists are naive of? What is it that the "insiders" are curious of and a little threatened by?

 

I feel the term outsider comes not from any sense of threat, but is merely descriptive, meaning someone is unconstrained by the stylistic boundaries normally associated with a genre.

Scott Fraser
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