#392: The EP Collection

Not Bad. Enjoyed it more than Jaggedland, Inevitably not as good as his earlier stuff. However, it introduced me to Dan Bern, so I'm thankful for that.

Bin ein Fan von Crenshaw seit erster Stunde. Natürlich war es nach dem ersten Meisterwerk, als Anfang, immer schwierig für ihn noch einmal sowas zu schaffen. Aber fast alle Alben, die er machte, waren trotz allem erste Sahne. Der Nachfolger vom Debutalbum war Field day, mit Lillywhite-bombastischer Sound, über das hervorragende T-Bone Burnette-produzierte Downtown bis dem Life's Too Short in 1990, kamen phantastische Popalben. In den letzten Jahrzehnten hat Crenshaw dann das Tempo gedrosselt, sowohl an Veröffentlichungen als am Inhalt, aber sein vermögen gute Pop-Lieder zu schreiben ist noch da, er singt vielleicht besser als am Anfang seiner Karriere und noch gräbt er gern in der Pop- und Rockgeschichte, um wunderbare Covers rauszuholen. Keiner kann wohl mit so viel Liebe z.B Buddy Holly in die Gegenwart holenDieses Album ist eine Sammlung von 6 Vinyl-EP:s seit 2012, 6 eigene Lieder und 6 Covers samt noch ein Paar Covers dazu, als Extras. Mid-Tempo mit nachdenklicher Lyrik und schön arrangiert. Liegt ganz in der Linie von seinen letzten Alben, What's in the Bag und Jaggedland. Die reifen Anhänger werden zufrieden sein, auch wenn kaum neue dazukommen werden, mindestens nicht Jungen Wilden.Trots meiner Liebe zum Artist hatte ich eigentlich entschieden, nie mehr ein Album mit Crenshaw zu kaufen. Der Grund war dass er immer Sterling Sounds als CD-Hersteller verwendet, und die letzten Alben waren sehr laut und zu komprimiert. Aber konnte mich natürlich nicht enthalten. Ja, auch diese Scheibe ist nicht sehr gut gemacht aber noch im Rahmen vom Erträglichen. Und die Melodien und Arrangaments kommen gut durch, auch wenn ein bisschen an Dynamik fehlt, dadurch dass alles auf dem selben Level liegt. Heutzutage wenn man über einen Streamer die CD:s von der Festplatte hören kann, ja dann kann man auch die Lautstärke ein bisschen regulieren, digital leiser machen, was der Sound gut tut. Die Aufnahme als soclhe wird natürlich nicht besser, aber das Hören behaglicher.

Marshall Crenshaw released some new music on vinyl EPs (extended player) several years ago, and those tracks are collected on the CD "#392- The EP Collection". If you are a fan of the man or his music, and do not have a working record player this is a great way to catch his latest songs.A highlight for me is the cover versions, a kind of weird take on the Carpenters' "(They Long to Be) Close To You" and a terrific version of "Never To Be Forgotten" originally recorded by the sadly, now mostly forgotten Bobby Fuller. Mr. Crenshaw's new original songs stand up next to his past releases nicely. Well worth checking out!

A solid collection of tracks assembled from a series of 10" singles dating between 2012-2015.The six 10" EPs themselves each contained one new A-side, one new cover tune, and one reworking of a song from Crenshaw's back catalogue. The compilation contains only the six A-sides and six cover tunes, and none of the reworkings. Also included is a bonus live track and a bonus demo dating back to sometime in the 90s.The new songs are all in Marshall's later mode: mid-tempo, sometimes downbeat, often with a wryly reflective point of view. As well, the well-scrubbed pop hooks of thirty years ago are now much more subtle, and may take a few spins to sink in. Unfortunately, the album isn't well served by putting all six of these originals back-to-back to lead off the album, as the tone of each of these six songs is somewhat similar, and it makes the album seem more monochromatic than it actually is.The seven covers (including the live bonus track) are a little more stylistically diverse, ranging from some rock-oriented Everly Brothers material to an achingly sincere "Close To You".Overall, there's nothing absolutely revelatory about #392, but the album is still chock full of good songcraft performed with skill and passion. If you're a long-term Crenshaw fan, this is a worthwhile purchase. But if you're just getting in to Mr. Crenshaw's work? I would say that there are other albums (Downtown, Life's Too Short, Marshall Crenshaw) that show him to greater advantage -- explore those ones first.

Any new product from Crenshaw is good news. Most of the tracks here are collected from a Kickstarter-funded series of six, 4-song ep's he recorded between 2012 and 2015. So, there are 6 originals and 6 covers (one from each ep)...so how are they?The music sounds great. It's warmly recorded and each recording seems rich and intimate, like Crenshaw and his band are right there in your living room. Some solid songs here: Grab the Next Train and Driving and Dreaming, from the originals and Never to Be Forgotten and (my favorite song on the album) Didn't Want to Have to Do It from the covers.Most of the songs are moody mid-tempo music--great for listening to at night or on a rainy day. But after a while, even when the songs pick up the tempo (and it's only a little), the overall impact remains repetitive...The collection includes two bonus tracks which injects some verve into the proceedings at the very end--the live Everly Brothers track (Man with Money) recorded with the Bottle Rockets is a highlight as is the 90s demo Front Page News.This isn't a 'must have' collection, but it is good. And it seems to point the direction towards a few promising musical options for Crenshaw: I'd love to see him release a live album with the Bottle Rockets or if he chose, maybe an entire album of Gershwin or something similar to capture the sound he gets in Didn't Want to Have to Do It...I'd buy either of those.

Have it all since inception-domestic and import; this is a nicely produced version of his latest EPs. The sole disappointment was the regrettable inclusion of his cover of The Carpenters' 'Close to You.'Think Led Zep covering 'I Want to Hold Your Hand.' Some things were never meant to be.