However, the financial motivation behind most comebacks generally neuters any semblance of creativity that may still exist. While bands such as Mission of Burma or Wire have come back all guns blazing with albums that either matched or, in some cases, exceeded the works of their storied past, most just seem as nothing more than a contractual obligation. Going back to my Eagles example, the drive and dysfunction that wound up smothering them in the 70's also gave us the iconic "Hotel California". The modern day version of said band brought us "Long Road Out of Eden" - a smarmy, over the top piece of shit so pretentious it makes Yes' infamous "Tales From Topographic Oceans" sounds like Minor Threat in comparison. In other words, past performance doesn't necessarily guarantee future results.
With the start of the new year, the list of potential IRA padding candidates began to take it's usual form. One more Van Halen run with Diamond Dave, the Stones being carted out for their 50th anniversary, the hope that Axl, Slash, and Duff would finally let bygones be bygones and give us one more chance to enjoy the proper Guns and Roses and so on. But a strange thing happened early on, the unexpected began to occur and a couple of surprise comebacks just appeared out of thin air.
First case: My Bloody Valentine, shoegazers extraordinaire. During their brief run in the late 80's/early 90's, MBV quickly built up a reputation as one of the leaders of the Shoegazer movement in England culminating in 1991's masterpiece "Loveless". One of the most sonically stunning albums of all time, Loveless was an album so carefully constructed and so costly that it nearly bankrupted their record label. "Loveless" was an absolutely potent combination of Kevin Shields' blistering swirling guitars, nearly unintelligible vocals, and some masterful pop hooks.
However, after "Loveless", MBV simply vanished from the face of the earth. Like Keyser Soze in "The Usual Suspects", it was a puff of smoke and that was it. However, the reals story was that the band never actually broke up but bandleader Shields decided to spend the next two decades becoming the musical Captain Ahab and seeking that ultimate prize. As time went by, Shields would occasionally surface to collaborate with artists such as Primal Scream or helping on soundtracks such as "Lost In Translation" and "Marie Antoinette". In 2007, MBV actually reunited for a quick reunion tour that instantly sold out. Then back to the shadows.
First case: My Bloody Valentine, shoegazers extraordinaire. During their brief run in the late 80's/early 90's, MBV quickly built up a reputation as one of the leaders of the Shoegazer movement in England culminating in 1991's masterpiece "Loveless". One of the most sonically stunning albums of all time, Loveless was an album so carefully constructed and so costly that it nearly bankrupted their record label. "Loveless" was an absolutely potent combination of Kevin Shields' blistering swirling guitars, nearly unintelligible vocals, and some masterful pop hooks.
However, after "Loveless", MBV simply vanished from the face of the earth. Like Keyser Soze in "The Usual Suspects", it was a puff of smoke and that was it. However, the reals story was that the band never actually broke up but bandleader Shields decided to spend the next two decades becoming the musical Captain Ahab and seeking that ultimate prize. As time went by, Shields would occasionally surface to collaborate with artists such as Primal Scream or helping on soundtracks such as "Lost In Translation" and "Marie Antoinette". In 2007, MBV actually reunited for a quick reunion tour that instantly sold out. Then back to the shadows.
Candidate #2: the immortal David Bowie. From his days as the androgynous, just slightly flamboyant Ziggy Stardust to his drug addled days with Iggy and Eno in Berlin in the mid - 70's to the megastar Serious Moonlight days of the early 80's - his influence is unparalleled. Even after the mega-success of Let's Dance in the early 80's, Bowie released a steady stream of albums. If you take away his truly awful work from the mid 80's through the early 90's culminating in the head scratchingly bad Tin Machine project, his post "Let's Dance" work has been pretty solid. In fact, his most recent release, 2003's "Reality, was his best album in a long, long time. "Aladdin Sane" or "Low" it may not be but there are some great tracks on there like "The Loneliest Guy" or "Bring Me the Disco King".
However, just as he was starting to regain some momentum around the "Reality" tour, Bowie collapsed backstage at a show of a heart attack and required major surgery. Post surgery, Bowie put his musical career on hold save for the occasional cameo with bands such as Arcade Fire and TV on the Radio (how about that for young, upcoming bands) and with his old pal David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. In addition, Bowie could occasionally be seen at charity events or strolling around his adopted hometown of New York City (I tried to find him there many times over the years but to no avail).
However, just as he was starting to regain some momentum around the "Reality" tour, Bowie collapsed backstage at a show of a heart attack and required major surgery. Post surgery, Bowie put his musical career on hold save for the occasional cameo with bands such as Arcade Fire and TV on the Radio (how about that for young, upcoming bands) and with his old pal David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. In addition, Bowie could occasionally be seen at charity events or strolling around his adopted hometown of New York City (I tried to find him there many times over the years but to no avail).
Set the clock ahead to January of 2013 and as if out of the blue, both of our candidates suddenly burst back into the limelight and with no fanfare whatsoever, unleashed new material on the world. On his 66th birthday on January 8th, Bowie issued a press release announcing the upcoming release of a new album "The Next Day" and dropped a brand new single and video for "Where Are We Now" to a completely shocked public. A few weeks later at a show in London, Kevin Shields announces that not only has MBV finished their long-awaited new album but it would be released within the next couple of days.
After these mammoth announcements, the two artists took much different approaches in regards to releasing their comeback albums. Less than a week later, on a Saturday night, MBV simply announced on the Facebook page that the album, simply titled "mbv" was available for sale on their website - how about that for guerrilla marketing for an album 22 years in the making. In early March, after a couple of months and a more traditional promotional campaign, Bowie released "The Next Day" in early March. But despite their different approaches in promotion, the great thing about both of these albums is that they don't deny or attempt to retread past works.
The first thing you have to remember about "mbv" is that it's not "Loveless", period. It has moments, especially in the first part of the record that evoke memories of that classic but it really is it's own thing. As pointed out by many since it's release, "mbv" can be divided into three parts. And while there are a few slight misses over the course of it's nine songs, this is still an extremely powerful record from a group that hopefully has a few left in them.
The first third of the album that does kind of pick up where "Loveless" left off totally driven by Shields droning guitar work. The opening track "she found now" features a classic Shields' riff over his airy vocals. "only tomorrow" is the first knockout pop track on this record with a sick riff from Shields and co-lead singers Belinda Butcher's dreamy, occasionally soaring vocals.
The second third of "mbv", belongs to Butcher starting with "if this and yes" featuring nothing more than a toy synthesizer sound and her very subtle vocals that appear to drift in and out of the mix. "new you" is probably the most blatant pop song on the record and the only one where it almost feels like Shields is ceding the limelight to Butcher to maximum effect. He even abandons his traditional droning guitar part for a simple rhythm line.
Shields unloads in the final segment of "mbv" and offers some direction as to where the band may go in years to come (if there ever is another album). "nothing is" is a quick, intense 2 minute instrumental featuring a driving repeating riff over a pulsing electronic drum beat. The closing track "wonder 2" is to this album as "Only Shallow" was to "Loveless" - the song that will be remembered for years to come. The song is a sonic tornado where all of the elements are consistently swirling around and occasionally something comes out of the chaos be it Shields vocals, or his blistering guitar licks.
In an era where everybody knows everything about everyone else at any moment, Bowie managed to pull off the nearly impossible. He wrote and recorded an album over the course of two years in New York City in absolute secrecy and the results of this covert activity are simply stunning. "The Next Day" is an amazing record that reaffirms that the Thin White Duke is still a master songwriter with alot left to offer. As opposed to rehashing his past glories, Bowie embraces life as an elder statesman. The cover artwork essentially defaces the cover of Bowie's classic album "Heroes" by throwing a plain white box over the picture of Bowie ("Anti-Heroes" maybe??).
While the first single "Where are We Now?" is a very lush and somber track, the vast majority of the songs on "The Next Day" completely rock out. The opening song and the title track flies out of the gates with some monster riffs and oh so creepy chorus "here I am, not quite dying, my body left to rot in a dying tree". It's apparent that Bowie may have been away for a while but he's not simply fading into the sunset. The next track "Dirty Boys" is a very sinister, sleazy sounding track fueled by an equally unnerving sax part.
The most surprising thing about this record is it's musical diversity. Each song has it's own feel and despite having 14 tracks (and three pretty good bonus tracks) there are no throwaways and Bowie's vocals are in prime form. Also, Bowie's vocals throughout are simply amazing. "Where are We Now" is a lush, somewhat somber track reliving his mid 70's period in Berlin where he made some of his finest recordings. "Valentine's Day" evokes memories of his early 70's phase minus some of the over the top lyrics.
As the album draws to a close, "The Next Day" begins to mellow slightly. "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die" featuring some really sinister lyrics from Bowie and drum part at the end of the song that may be stripped from the classic opening track from "Ziggy Stardust". The closing track "Heat" is an experimental, electronic very dark track that harkens back to his Berlin days of the mid-70's.
If you had told someone in December that not only would David Bowie almost magically reappear with his first new recording in a decade but it also be one of his finest works, you would have laughed me out of the room. But like Bob Dylan did with "Time Out of Mind" and Johnny Cash did with his landmark "American Recordings", David Bowie suspended disbelief and came back with a monster of a record that holds up with his classic output.
And now back to your regularly scheduled, soulless, disingenuous, Daddy needs a new Rolex reunion comeback circuit.
After these mammoth announcements, the two artists took much different approaches in regards to releasing their comeback albums. Less than a week later, on a Saturday night, MBV simply announced on the Facebook page that the album, simply titled "mbv" was available for sale on their website - how about that for guerrilla marketing for an album 22 years in the making. In early March, after a couple of months and a more traditional promotional campaign, Bowie released "The Next Day" in early March. But despite their different approaches in promotion, the great thing about both of these albums is that they don't deny or attempt to retread past works.
The first thing you have to remember about "mbv" is that it's not "Loveless", period. It has moments, especially in the first part of the record that evoke memories of that classic but it really is it's own thing. As pointed out by many since it's release, "mbv" can be divided into three parts. And while there are a few slight misses over the course of it's nine songs, this is still an extremely powerful record from a group that hopefully has a few left in them.
The first third of the album that does kind of pick up where "Loveless" left off totally driven by Shields droning guitar work. The opening track "she found now" features a classic Shields' riff over his airy vocals. "only tomorrow" is the first knockout pop track on this record with a sick riff from Shields and co-lead singers Belinda Butcher's dreamy, occasionally soaring vocals.
The second third of "mbv", belongs to Butcher starting with "if this and yes" featuring nothing more than a toy synthesizer sound and her very subtle vocals that appear to drift in and out of the mix. "new you" is probably the most blatant pop song on the record and the only one where it almost feels like Shields is ceding the limelight to Butcher to maximum effect. He even abandons his traditional droning guitar part for a simple rhythm line.
Shields unloads in the final segment of "mbv" and offers some direction as to where the band may go in years to come (if there ever is another album). "nothing is" is a quick, intense 2 minute instrumental featuring a driving repeating riff over a pulsing electronic drum beat. The closing track "wonder 2" is to this album as "Only Shallow" was to "Loveless" - the song that will be remembered for years to come. The song is a sonic tornado where all of the elements are consistently swirling around and occasionally something comes out of the chaos be it Shields vocals, or his blistering guitar licks.
In an era where everybody knows everything about everyone else at any moment, Bowie managed to pull off the nearly impossible. He wrote and recorded an album over the course of two years in New York City in absolute secrecy and the results of this covert activity are simply stunning. "The Next Day" is an amazing record that reaffirms that the Thin White Duke is still a master songwriter with alot left to offer. As opposed to rehashing his past glories, Bowie embraces life as an elder statesman. The cover artwork essentially defaces the cover of Bowie's classic album "Heroes" by throwing a plain white box over the picture of Bowie ("Anti-Heroes" maybe??).
While the first single "Where are We Now?" is a very lush and somber track, the vast majority of the songs on "The Next Day" completely rock out. The opening song and the title track flies out of the gates with some monster riffs and oh so creepy chorus "here I am, not quite dying, my body left to rot in a dying tree". It's apparent that Bowie may have been away for a while but he's not simply fading into the sunset. The next track "Dirty Boys" is a very sinister, sleazy sounding track fueled by an equally unnerving sax part.
The most surprising thing about this record is it's musical diversity. Each song has it's own feel and despite having 14 tracks (and three pretty good bonus tracks) there are no throwaways and Bowie's vocals are in prime form. Also, Bowie's vocals throughout are simply amazing. "Where are We Now" is a lush, somewhat somber track reliving his mid 70's period in Berlin where he made some of his finest recordings. "Valentine's Day" evokes memories of his early 70's phase minus some of the over the top lyrics.
As the album draws to a close, "The Next Day" begins to mellow slightly. "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die" featuring some really sinister lyrics from Bowie and drum part at the end of the song that may be stripped from the classic opening track from "Ziggy Stardust". The closing track "Heat" is an experimental, electronic very dark track that harkens back to his Berlin days of the mid-70's.
If you had told someone in December that not only would David Bowie almost magically reappear with his first new recording in a decade but it also be one of his finest works, you would have laughed me out of the room. But like Bob Dylan did with "Time Out of Mind" and Johnny Cash did with his landmark "American Recordings", David Bowie suspended disbelief and came back with a monster of a record that holds up with his classic output.
And now back to your regularly scheduled, soulless, disingenuous, Daddy needs a new Rolex reunion comeback circuit.
