The Claypool Lennon Delirium ~ South of Reality
This was really an incredible album! I got it mostly out of curiosity, not knowing much about their story or the music. But it featured Sean Lennon, and I have long been intrigued by anybody who has any relation to the Beatles. Now granted, he was not himself a member of the Fab Four, obviously. Yet, he is John Lennon's son, and Lennon wrote a song about him that is, frankly, a truly beautiful song. Watch "Mr. Holland's Opus," and you might even tear up at that version of it.
Also, Les Claypool was always interesting and very different. I had seen Primus once at an Ozzfest, and they just seemed really weird. That was not a turnoff, yet their performance was not enough at that time to make me rush out and get an album, either. I did hear some of their stuff on the radio here and there, and I remember liking 'Too Many Puppies," although it seemed again to be a weird song, and it was difficult to tell what the song's lyrics were about.
But it seemed like an interesting musical collaboration, and so I decided to give it a shot. It was the first music album that I bought in a long time, along with the new Voivod album. Funny, how I used to spend quite a bit of money on albums, and now, I hardly ever buy them anymore. But technology has changed, and there are relatively few music stores left even selling actual albums anymore.
Still, this one seemed like it might be worth it, and so I took the chance.
Boy, was I glad that I did! It is a phenomenal album! This really sounds different than anything that is out there right now, and I do not hear anyone else making music that sound quite like this. Truth be told, I have not felt this way about a new rock album in a long, long time. It felt good to be this excited some new rock album again, I do not remember feeling that way about a newly released album in a very long time. No exaggeration, it might have been in the nineties, the last time I was so moved by a new music album.
This sounds reminiscent of early Pink Floyd or early Genesis, during the psychedelic era for each band. It just came out earlier this year, yet it would not have sounded out of place half a century ago, during the height of the psychedelic era of the late sixties and early seventies. Hell, there is even a few seconds of a teaser of a famous Janis Joplin that fans would be hard pressed not to immediately identify.
Indeed, this duo produced the most imaginative album that I personally have heard in quite some time. And having seen them in concert earlier this month, it seems that I am not the only one who feels this way, that this band has managed to bring something new to rock music, if you will.
So, what is it that I like so much about this album? How can I measure each individual song, or try to summarize just what it is that makes this album - and this musical act more generally - special, and kind of reinvigorates hope for me that maybe rock music is not as dead as so many so-called experts are so quick to proclaim it?
Well, my words cannot do that. I will try to break down each song, but truth be told, the best way to really get an idea about how good this album is would be to get your hands on a copy, strap on some ear phones, and take a listen.
Now, of course, everyone has different tastes. For example, despite my own enthusiasm, my girlfriend was not a fan. She said that the singers - both Claypool and Lennon - sound almost cartoonish at certain points, even in the way that they talk. I had to concede the point, because I had heard similar criticisms - if that is the right word for it - of Claypool dating back to the early days of Primus. Hell, I saw one online comment suggesting that he sounded like a redneck Weird Al Yankowic, which was humorous, but I suspect it was not meant exactly as a compliment. And Sean Lennon sounds reminiscent of his father, but I remember George Harrison mentioning that he felt that sometimes the Beatles - particularly their speaking voices - sounded quite cartoonish in a way. When you listen to the album, there are indeed moments when the vocals sound almost like they are done in humorous and/or playfully mocking tone, although my guess is that this is intentional.
Of course, it must be said that perhaps you, the reader, will not appreciate it as much as I did. And that's fine. After all, we all have different tastes when it comes to music, and art more generally. As the saying goes, to each his (or her) own, right?
But this was the first album in a long time that I felt very strongly about in a long, long time. It restored my faith that some excellent music, even in the supposedly dead umbrella of rock genre that I grew up with, can still be made. There are points where, again, it sounds like you could be listening to Pink Floyd or Genesis at their very best. Sometimes, this album almost made me feel like I might have been listening to "A Trick of the Tail, " a "recent" album dating back quite a number of decades now, as opposed to something by a current rock act who's best days may still be well ahead of them, as opposed to decades behind them.
So, without further ado, here is a breakdown of a really great album - one produced in 2019! - as I review each song individually.
1. Little Fishes - The opening track starts out with soft bells, and then strange voices, before the guitars finally begin the music. It has a relatively soft and experimental sound initially, and then turns to a faster pace. This song starts out very upbeat, and then gets a bit heavier, both musically and lyrically, during the "Gone are the days" part:
Gone are the days
When you can stick your toes in without a second thought
Gone are the days
When you can get your mind wet without the fear of rot
Fittingly for a spacey, psychedelic track, there is even a Star Wars allusion:
When will the youth get on its hind legs?
Is the Golden Goose still laying 3D printed eggs?
When will Ben Kenobi come
And saber it all away?
The very end of this track actually reminded me quite a bit of some older Genesis.
2. Blood and Rockets
Movement 1: Saga of Jack Parsons -
Movement II - To the Moon
My guess is that they wanted to have a play on the band "Love and Rockets," with this title here, although I cannot say for sure. A soaring sound at times, with statement lyrics about how certain "boys" are playing with fire, and might bring an end to this world as we know it in the process:
How high (How high) Does your rocket fly? (Does your rocket fly?)
You better be careful boys
You just might (You just might)
Set the world on fire (On fire)
You better be careful boys
You'll set the world on fire
3. South of Reality (Path of Totality) - Fast-paced music begins to slow down in time for the lyrics begin. The song describes a lunar eclipse, where somehow, the participants are not entirely captivated by the incredible astronomical event unfolding.
4. Boriska - This song starts off with a question: "Will he understand us?" It closes with the same lyrics. Several different feels to this album, and perhaps the main part of it, with the lyrics, sounds more mainstream than much of the rest of the album. A solid track, with enough experimentation nonetheless to make this track really stand out. A very nice deviation right in the middle of the track to boot, before it returns back to the main sound.
5. Easily Charmed by Fools - Another statement song about the sorry state of the world today, as the oft-repeated refrain "Desperate measures lead to desperate situations..." would reveal. It speaks about people who look only at the surface, and never dig deeper, allowing first impressions to dictate how they want to view the world. This song ends on an acoustic note, with still a note of psychedelia to it. But it reveals much of what is wrong with the world with insightful lyrics, as well: "Drawn to artificial light." A very enjoyable song.
6. Amethys Realm - Probably the most easily digestible track on the album for a mainstream audience. The lyrics seem to play with the idea of a woman falling for a literal vampire, with allusions to the undead. Musically, this is probably the most mainstream track, yet it does not really betray the more experimental, psychedelic sound of the album as a whole. Chances are, if you do not like this particular track, you very well might not like this album.
7. Toadyman's Hour - A broken sound to begin this track, it quickly turns a bit on the bizarre sound. This might be the weirdest song on the album altogether. It has an unorthodox, almost eerie sound, with lyrics to match. But a solid track overall.
8. Cricket Chronicles Revisited
Part One - Ask Your Doctor
Part Two - Psyde Effects
A very psychedelic sound to this one. Lennon's singing here sounds very reminiscent of his father's in this one. Very thought-provoking lyrics. At times, the lyrics (NOT the music) feel almost reminiscent of the Talking Heads:
Are you desensitized, sleep walking through life?
Things you once enjoyed do not feel quite right?
In the mirror you barely recognize
Someone masquerading as your lovely wife?
Then some piercing lyrical content that betrays a perceptive understanding of the confusing state of the world today:
Is your throat just a little bit too dry?
Trouble looking anyone in the eye?
Evil things are becoming normal life?
Trouble remembering how to empathize?
Very cool song.
9. Like Fleas - A very upbeat, almost happy sounding track, which disguises the fact that they are actually singing about the end of humanity, specifically. That is what the title alludes to, as Mother Earth does everything it can to shake us off "like fleas on the back of a dog." Take a look at some of these lyrics:
They say Mother Earth is dying
I don't see it quite that way
As she spits out massive hurricanes
To wash us all away
And this:
Like fleas on the back of a dog
(Fleas on the back of a dog)
Eventually we'll be shaken off
(Ah, shaken off)
All in all, a great album! Do yourself a favor and take a listen!
The Claypool Lennon Delirium ~ South of Reality
