Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence - ROBERT FRIPP.
Information is not knowledge;
knowledge is not wisdom;
wisdom is not truth;
truth is not beauty;
beauty is not love;
love is not music;
MUSIC IS THE BEST - FRANK ZAPPA.
I think we're a little happier when we have a little music in our lives - STEVE JOBS.
Music in the soul can be heard by the universe - LAO TZU.
Rock and Roll is fire, man. FIRE. - DAVID BRIGGS.
Music grips you, gets into your soul -
GEORGE MARTIN
The Eels Cancer For The Cure/ Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas/ Exodus Part III (Dreamworks, 1998) The Eels Last Stop: This Town/ Funeral Parlor/ Novocaine For The Soul by Moog Cookbook(Dreamworks, 1998) The Eels Mr. E's Beautiful Blues/ Birdgirl On A Cell Phone/ Hospital Food (Live)(Dreamworks, 1999) The background to the album Electro-Shock Blues (where these first two songs come from) is really harrowing. After three deaths (father,mother and sister) E found himself the only member of his family. His decision to write and sing about his situation on Electro-Shock Blues means much of the album is pretty bleak. But he's a very gifted writer and his black humour and way with a tune makes these songs not only heartfelt but highly listenable (go figure). Cancer For The Cure clearly targets his mother's death but in an oblique way (if that makes sense). The weird metallic machine effects soundtrack what the Big Chief in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest hears. Then the song gets into its rhythm and some wild organ. All up - an unlikely, but effective singalong! Last Stop: This Town is a jaunty number musically while the lyrics are another matter - You're dead but the world keeps spinning. The third single in this set is from the third album (and I think their best): Daisies Of The Galaxy. E is still crafting superb songs - always catchy and pithy (full to the brim of pith), but now more playful and sunnier in tone. Mr. E's Beautiful Blues is a case in point - a fine rock song; E's vocals are brilliant. Hidden gems: This time all the B sides are non album tracks (or live). Of them Funeral Parlor is a real hidden gem - second track on a CD single! It's only short but it punches above its weight. Likewise Birdgirl On A Cell Phone.
The Eels Novocaine For The Soul/Guest List/Fucker (Dreamworks, 1996) The Eels Rags To Rags/Spunky/Animal (Dreamworks, 1996) The Eels Susan's House/ Stepmother/ Manchester Girl (Dreamworks, 1997) The Eels Your Lucky Day In Hell/ Susan's Apartment/ Mental/ Altar Boy (Dreamworks, 1997) The Eels Novocaine For The Soul (live from hell)/ Manchester Girl/ My Beloved Mad Monster Party/ Flower (Dreamworks, 1997)
According to E, main man of The Eels, "Rather than sound like The Beatles I wanted to do as The Beatles did. They soaked up everything around them at the time, and then put their own stink on it". Great aspirations and job done on these four singles + EP off the debut album - Beautiful Freak.. Having said that, it was Beatle inventiveness, melody and spirit that is most definitely present and correct and what drew me to the band in the first place. The A side in each case is a standout from the album (yet still doesn't include my favourite all time Eels song - Flower). Novocaine was an early favourite. E is a brilliant lyricist - Jesus and his lawyer are coming back! Rags to Rags is a terrific fuzz tone rocker. Susan's House is a flat out unbelievable song with a great set of stories on the way to Susan's house, and Butch on drums is superb. Your Lucky Day In Hell keeps the quality control on high. Effortlessly, E crafts a great 10cc style pop song! Finally in this set - The Novocaine...Flower CD single came with my copy of the album. They are all BBC Radio 1 versions. It's a great version of Novocaine - spoken rather than sung and pretty damn awesome! Hidden gems: ...everywhere you turn on these CD singles. E was mining a rich vein during the Beautiful Freak sessions. Guest List, Spunky, Mental are standout album tracks. Fucker was not on the album but could easily have been (hey it could have been a double!). Great pay off line - I hate you - fucker, is delivered full of nuance (think Billy Bragg and his version of Walk Away Renee). Animal ditto! Haunting piano and close miked E get inside your head. Stepmother and the live version of Manchester Girl pull no punches - by now E's fearlessness has been well proven. The BBC live version of Flower strips away the choral synth part (which I adore) and goes for a stripped back version. Makes it sound like a field recording from the 19th century - superb!
