Paul Williams: Still Alive, A Film (DVD) by Stephen Kessler

Stephen Kessler in his film Paul Williams: Still Alive (Virgil Films DVD 670836) gives us a kind of cautionary tale that also happens to be a hell of a good yarn.

It's all about how you can do right, have great artistic and commercial success, and in so doing go sky rocketing into disaster. It is the story of singer-songwriter Paul Williams and what he did before and after "the crash" of events put an end to his career.

The premise of the film is that Stephen Kessler discovers that the hero of his youth, who vanished from sight some time in the early '70s, still lives. He finds him singing at a small club in the present day, talks with him, and they agree to make a film about Paul Williams today, his comings and goings. Williams insists that the film will end up being more about the film-maker than it will be about him, and in some ways he is right. But in the process Paul Williams is revealed quite candidly as the man who stepped into an abyss and emerged from it all somehow a better person for it.

This comes about via Kessler's everyday interactions with Paul, following and filming him on tour, making the rounds in dramatically humbler circumstances than during the halcyon days.

At first Williams tends to be standoffish, uncomfortable being back in the spotlight, but there is a dramatic turn of events when he at last invites Kessler to his house. They watch footage of Williams at the height of media fame, pretty well blasted with drugs and alcohol, filled with a kind of overweening pride. Williams confronts that past self at last for the cameras, and he doesn't like what he sees.

In the process the film takes you gradually ever deeper into the Paul Williams who was in a sense a victim of his own success, who had to let go of all of it and start over almost from nothing, who ends up becoming a sympathetic, likable guy whereas you see him in earlier footage increasingly becoming the self-absorbed king of the star-encrusted lounge lizards.

It's a film that gradually pulls you into its slice-of-life orbit to discover along with Steve who this recreated Paul Williams has become and what was left to him after it all went to smash.

A good look at the effects of '60s starmaking, what it made of people...and an absorbing story, well-presented to boot.

Sam Kulik, Escape from Society

Sam Kulik did something weird. He advertised on Craiglist, inviting people to submit lyrics that he promised he would set to music for his upcoming album. He picked twelve, added two of his own, and got to work. The result is the otherwordly pop-rock-psych album Escape from Society (Hot Cup 113).

It's a pretty uncanny album of mental adventure, yet catchy. "More than Your Dog" is about somebody trying to find what (his partner?) loves more than her dog, for example.

The music is sung by Sam in a pleasant tenor voice that reminds me just a little of Rickie Nelson, though one would never picture Ozzie approving of these songs!

It sounds like it could have been a lost session of an underground would-be of 1968, a good one. The lyrics and ambiance give out that vibe.

It may not find its way onto top 40 radio (!) and of course that's the point. The lyrics ignore what a pop lyric is supposed to be and go their wayward ways. The music is full blown, well arranged pop-rock with a weird psychedelic slant, especially at the end.

It's great fun! Recommended if you want something very left-of-center.

Alison Wedding, This Dance

Alison Wedding is a rather remarkable singer-songwriter with a strong jazz inflection. Her new one, This Dance (Ground Up 2012), puts her in a select league of great voices who write musically rich, very personal songs.

Michael League of Snarky Puppy produced and arranged the date and that worked out very well--especially for the full-fledged arrangements that retain the soul and drive of Alison's music but also give the songs a pleasing tapestry of sound colors.

This is a theme album, centering around love lost, heartbreak, disconnect. It is movingly direct in that sense, yet very melodically and harmonically alive, advanced, memorable.

Alison's voice is bell clear, warm and spot on, yet also has something very identifiable about it.

Alison has all the talent for success. I hope she achieves it! This album is a high note on the way to what I hope is a long and fruitful career.

Ramon & Jessica, Handyman's Honeymoon

I covered a Ramon & Jessica album a few months back (see index). Here's another. Handyman's Honeymoon (Porto Franco 036) is I believe their second. I am not sure if I am getting this singer-songwriter alt duo better than I did with their last album or if this one is more lucid, but either way I am getting it.

They cover whimsically and poetically in their lyrics topics that are much more complex than the simple folkish-naive delivery would at first indicate. And that is part of their charm. As I believe I mentioned the last time there is a sort of knowing innocence projected here, a little reminiscent of Edie Brickell but only in a vague identity sense.

And that folkish naivete is also deceptive. There's good music happening. The instrumentation/arrangements are quite interesting: toy piano, banjo, guitar, ukulele, violin, piano, etc., meld together in ways that are different. Jessica sings in a disarmingly direct way. Jesse sings harmony most of the time.

The songs have an original peculiarity and memorability. The album has a marvelous home-grown charm. Listen a few times and see.

Kate Gaffney Steps Forward with "The Coachman"

Originally posted on January 7, 2009

I don’t know a great deal about singer-songwriter Kate Gaffney, save what I know from listening to her last album The Coachman (Dig). She has a nice voice, a little reminiscent of Edie Brickell but only a touch. Most of the songs are quite good, in the style of a slightly country-influenced songwriter rock.

She is joined by a sympatheic supporting cast, notably guitarist Steve Kimock of jamband fame. The final, title cut goes for nearly 20 minutes and has a jam component. It’s good to hear people stretching out like that. I hope for her success. The album gives you a most decent listen.

Fish (Not Phish) Releases 13th Album

Originally posted on July 17, 2008

Guitarist-singer-songwriter Fish released his 13th album this summer. Who knew there were that many? Some were made with his original band affiliation Marillion, the rest solo. This one, 13th Star, combines a prog sensibility with almost a Cat Stevens song-singing approach and some harder rock elements. It has an expansive sweep, with the theme a journey through life. It has a nice feel to it. If you like your prog serious, yet with an occasional slight pop veneer, here you go.