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Teenage Fanclub & Jad Fair | Words Of Wisdom And Hope

To sum it up in three words: yeah, yeah, sure!
CD, Geographic/PIAS

Tekst: Wilko van Iperen

Publicatiedatum: 08 mei 2002

With every record that Teenage Fanclub released, they started to sound less like a Scottish pop version of Dinosaur Jr. and more like The Byrds. Their slack pop sound of the early Nineties turned into the perfectly-controlled pop which manifested itself for the first time after their critically acclaimed Bandwagonesque album. Their latest group release Howdy (2000) showed the Fanclub in a perfect state, sounding confident and mature. In between their normal band obligations, Teenage Fanclub always were up for some collaborations with other musicians to explore the bigger musical universe - which produced different listening experiences. Up until now they've teamed up with Frank Black (ex-Pixies) and hip hop pioneers De La Soul for a few tracks. While waiting for a new "played-and-sung-by-the-Fanclub-record" a new project has been launched. This time, the American underground rock artist Jad Fair joins the Fannies for some twelve songs.

Words Of Wisdom And Hope sees Teenage Fanclub getting back to their noisy days, while Fair takes account for the lyrics and vocals. It's impossible not to think of The Velvet Underground when listening to the more raw approach of the band on this album. Having Jad Fair in front of the microphone completes this picture, talking and sounding with his out-of-tune-voice like Lou Reed himself did back in the days. Both collaborators seem to have the same principle: Keep it simple, spontaneous, and just have some fun. While Teenage Fanclub seem to want to make two-chord songs again - rather even one chord - which takes the sound a bit back to their Bandwagonesque-period, Fair produces nice lyrics, or street poetry, hell... It's beat poetry. We're back in the Sixties. Songs such as the excellent single Near To You combine the best of both worlds. The playful guitar parts, the slack bass, and Fair's words make it a cheerful summer tune. "I'd let aliens perform an autopsy on me / If I could just be near to you," sings Fair, "I'd let a zombie eat my arm..." Smile gets the boys just being The Velvet Underground. Unlike the normally perfected Teenage Fanclub tunes, Words Of Wisdom And Hope captures the Fanclub just playing freely, while Fair probably made the lyrics up while recording: "I can't find any good rhyme for window / But I got a crush on you! [...] And if you still have any doubt / Let me take a second to straighten... / Or no, I'm not gonna take no second / 'Cause I already straightened you out before." Although the combination of the two parties isn't the most unlikely one, it still turns out to be a surprise: The Velvets meet the alt.country scene... and the latter part of the album's got a funky vibe. Cult lyricist Fair wants to "be your Superman / I would not be satisfied being your Batman or Aquaman / 'Cause I want the very best." Fair's in love, and everybody has to know. Thank God for letting the Scottish pop masters team up with Jad Fair. If you either adore The Velvet Underground, Teenage Fanclub, Jad Fair, or truly believe in the indie spirit, then go and grab this playful album. These truly are Words Of Wisdom And Hope. And to sum "it up in one word: sure / To sum it up in two words: yeah sure / To sum it up in three words: yeah, yeah sure!"

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/teenage-fanclub-jad-fair/words-of-wisdom-and-hope/1526/
Meer Teenage Fanclub & Jad Fair op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/teenage-fanclub-jad-fair