Promises have been made for several months now that Jay Bennett and Edward Burch would be releasing the “appendix” to their 2002 album, “The Palace at 4 a.m.” Well, it finally came out last week, and it was worth the wait. If you remember, “The Palace at 4 a.m.” was number four on my “favorite albums of the year list” six weeks ago. This album, “Palace 1919,” is a replica of that first one. All 15 songs are on both albums in the same order, but the difference is that on 1919, all the songs are acoustic, stripped down versions of their former (album) selves. These songs stand alone. They prove that the initial “4 a.m.” album was better in its basic existence.
Jay Bennett sings as though he’s pushing a whisper out of his throat. Edward Burch sings as though everyone who ever hurt him is in the same room with him. Together, they produce beautiful songs, play beautiful, less-is-more music and write some of the best lyrics I have ever heard. They also get the help from a couple of famous co-writers, Jeff Tweedy and Woody Guthrie.
The feature of the album is, I guess, the inclusion of two John Cale covers. Bennett and Burch each picked their favorite Cale song to sing at the end. These are interesting in an “I-like-that-song-too” kind of way, but as for the album, they are not needed. Stripping down “4 a.m.” didn’t seem necessary either, until I heard “1919,” so what do I know?
Also, in the last couple of weeks, Jeff Tweedy’s side project, Loose Fur, released a self-titled EP. This album is really interesting, to say the least. It takes all of Wilco’s noise “experiments” and stretches them over a thirty-minute, six-song album. I really liked this album for what it was, an Americana version of Kid A or Amnesiac, but I honestly don’t listen to it all the time. Sometimes, it’s great and other times it borders on the ridiculous, but it is never disappointing.
I’m looking forward to Tweedy’s next side project, Minus 5, with their album “Down With Wilco.” The Uncle Tupelo family tree continues to grow.
Has anyone seen Jay Farrar?