Vic Chesnutt: Silver Lake
Silver Lake, released in 2003, was once again hailed as a Vic Chesnutt breakthrough; it was on Top Whatever lists for the year, it had broad promotion, and its sound was the smoothest yet. Somehow, it didn't work in the wider commercial world; and neither, somehow, did it really work for me.
It could have been that, the scouring bootleg enjoyer that I am, I'd heard some live and impressive versions of the tunes first (Stay Inside, Styrofoam) which sounded better unpolished. Or it could be that all of these tunes could have been better unpolished. Studio musicians are always a trade off; Vic's skiffle group was messy and vital; this band is tight, but a little sterile.
There are some great tunes on here, and the record is listenable; it just isn't particularly compelling. I'm Through is solid; two interestingly offbeat tracks benefit from the competence of the band (Band Camp and Zippy Morocco). Interestingly, Chesnutt posted Mp3's of much of this record's demos on his site (www.vicchesnutt.com), and they're great. I don't think they're there anymore, but filesharey pirates have them. Look around.
Oh - the cover is beautiful. Great photo.
Vic Chesnutt: Silver Lake. New West Records, 2003.
review by jep, Bad MonkeyX, Sept. 2004