Venus in Black and Blue

The article orginally posted here has vanished, I don’t know why. Fortunately, my copy was a cross post, the original is still available at Gold Coast Bluenote.

Posted on May 23rd, 2007 by Paco Malo
Filed under: General

2 Responses to “Venus in Black and Blue”

  1. Paco Malo, on May 25th, 2007 at 10:23 pm Said:

    From comments at the Gold Coast Bluenote on this simul-post:

    Paullinator said…

    Paco,

    I’d like to challenge you to rewrite the review in narrative form — to tell us a story, even THE story, if you can. How do the roots of the music, and her history as a musician play in the lyrics and score to yield an impact on the direction of the genre, her music, her life, and our lives — or your life.

    Where is this coming from and where is it taking us/her/you?

    How did she get to the Fillmore — playing in a pantheon of venues? And, why should we visit her there? The tracks of the album may not coalesce into an obvious thematic view, but we need to find the pattern. What does it tell you, where does that leave us?

    I know you aren’t travelling with the band. But there’s a tale to be told here. You draw upon rock references galore, but the free associations to this musical history are given one song at a time. What ties it together? What’s Clapton got to do with it? Why do we care that you hear Leon Russell in her fiery embers of love? The reason is left unsaid.

    The blood is on your fingers –dripping down the pen. Make us buy into it.
    [May 25, 2007 5:34 PM]
    ________________

    Paco Malo said…

    There is a French traditional folk song that sums it up best: Emmylou Harris’ cover of

    Plaisir D’Amour

    (Traditional with arrangement By Emmylou Harris & Kate McGarrigie & Anna McGarrigie)

    Plaisir d’amour
    Ne dure qu’un moment
    Chagrin d’amour dure
    Toute la vie

    Joys of love
    Are but a moment long
    Pain of love endures
    The whole life long
    ___________________________________
    This band, at the Fillmore in 2003, is audio Van Gogh. It is a tapestry of the vital threads of almost all the music that can still change the world.

    (Sure there’s a book here — but I’m already in the middle of writing one; that book could wait if I were traveling with the band for The New Yorker.)

    [May 25, 2007 10:12 PM]

  2. Paco Malo, on June 11th, 2007 at 2:54 pm Said:

    I finally cracked the puzzle on the poetic magic — never attempted with lyrics before — of the Lucinda Williams’ song “Essence”: it a herion song, but as a metaphor for every drug reference is a double entendre, often explicit, sexual reference. Unparralled.

    See also the follow comment on “Essence” poste on Gold Coast Bluenote:

    David said…

    Saw her at the House of Blues Orlando during the Car Wheels tour. All very good, but “Joy.” Joy was a revelation. A rave up. An aural orgasm. It was stunning. And it lasted about 15 minutes and seemed too short.

    I like “Live @ the Filmore” o.k. but listen to an Audacity burn of the “Live From Austin, TX” DVD more.

    Nice blog.

    ____________________Posted: June 7, 2007 8:19 PM_________________

    Thanks to everybody for reading —

    Paco

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