Hitting the Ground
Gordon Gano
PJ Harvey, John Cale, Lou Reed, Mary Lou Lord, Frank Black, Linda Perry, They Might Be Giants, Cynthia Gayneau
Instinct, 2002
1 CD
Catalogue #: 570
EAN: 0720841057024
UPC: 720841057024
You save: 20%
Personnel: Gordon Gano (vocals); They Might Be Giants (vocals, various instruments); PJ Harvey, Mary Lou Lord, Lou Reed (vocals, guitar); John Cale (vocals, piano); Frank Black, Cynthia Gayneau, Martha Wainright, Linda Perry (vocals). Melora Creager (cello); Brendan Ryan (keyboards); Lonnie Hillyer (bass); Frank Ferrer (drums).
Producers: Gordon Gano, Warren BRuleigh, They Might Be Giants.
Tracklist
PJ Harvey
In the early 1990s, Polly Jean Harvey's music was a bracing post-punk battle cry, staking out new territory for alt-rock artists; Her iconic debut DRY and its equally heralded follow-up RID OF ME retained the raw, angular, and highly political nature of acts like Gang of Four but laced the anger with echoes of the lonely melancholia of early rock'n'roll. Over time, the subtle and moody side of Harvey has prevailed as she embraced . Her 2001 album STORIES FROM THE CITY, STORIES FROM THE SEA was her poppiest to date, with a heady mix of trip-hop, guitar rock, and troubadourism. Throughout, the aughts, Harvey continued to shift gears to critics' delight, from the sparse UH HUH HER to the arty piano rock of WHITE CHALK.
John Cale
From his participation in minimalist godfather LaMonte Young's groundbreaking '60s work to his key role in creating the darkly hypnotic Velvet Underground, John Cale was a trailblazer before he ever even embarked on a solo career. On his own, he melded proto-punk, folk-rock, and the avant-garde, and has created one of the most fascinating, literate, and uncompromisingly varied bodies of music in rock. As a producer, he's been equally influential, working with everyone from the Modern Lovers and Patti Smith to Squeeze.
Lou Reed
Lou Reed is among the most literate wordsmiths in rock & roll history. His first decade of post-Velvet Underground work included some undeniable high points (BERLIN, the David Bowie-produced TRANSFORMER) but he was plagued by inconsistency. Reed came back with a vengeance in the '80s and '90s, though, producing some truly powerful work (THE BLUE MASK, NEW YORK). Throughout his solo career he's collaborated with everyone from former bandmate John Cale to avant garde theater king Robert Wilson. Through it all, Reed remains the quintessential urban poet, and undoubtedly one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century.
Mary Lou Lord
Singer and sometime songwriter Mary Lou Lord combines the winsome delivery of a Laurel Canyon folkie with the crisply melodic smarts of the best indie-rockers of her generation. A dedicated busker on the Boston subway system in the early '90s, she released a string of acclaimed cassettes and singles, culminating in her 1995 self-titled debut on Kill Rock Stars. At the peak of her fame, in 1998, she released the more pop-oriented GOT NO SHADOW on Sony. A tasteful interpreter of indie songwriters such as Nick Saloman, Daniel Johnston, and Elliott Smith, she has also written several memorable tunes. In 2005 she was diagnosed with the vocal chord disorder spasmodic dysphonia, which hinders her from singing as frequently as she once did, but she still performs and records occasionally in her native Boston.
Frank Black
Under the moniker Black Francis, Frank Black was the principal songwriter, lyricist, and lead vocalist of the Pixies, one of the most important alternative rock bands of the 1980s and early '90s. Black's solo career has been marked by a slight shift toward a more traditional rock sound, while still maintaining the wry, off-kilter aesthetic that helped bring the Pixies such acclaim. His recorded output as a soloist and with his backing band, the Catholics, has been nothing short of prolific. However, Black still managed to find time to reunite the Pixies in 2004 and embark on a hugely successful world tour.
