New Solid Black is the third solo release by Joe Bouchard. It started life as a 'digital download-only' 6-song "EP" but - just a few months later - was subsequently released as a physical CD (with two bonus tracks), possibly as a result of incessant whining and moaning by a bunch of stick-in-the-mud, analogue b*stards who are obviously throwbacks to a previous century, but who now find themselves firmly but reluctantly stuck in a digital world...
Whaddya mean I'm describing myself?? Listen - there's nothing wrong with wanting to hold a cover of a record whilst you listen to it - I just wish (a) I still had a record player that worked and (b) that being the case, I could get a copy on vinyl...
The whole deal of buying an album used to be an overall sensory experience and that's obviously something that's been lost as "progress" (in the form of digital downloads) marches ever onwards...
But the big problem about a digital download for me is that you can't see it, hold it, smell it (should you be so inclined), or even taste it - What??? You've never licked a BOC LP?...???? So what you're saying is - that's just me, then?
Yeah, right...
I'm sorry for myself I got screwed
You got no reason to be in a mood
I'm sorry for myself what I gotta pay
You got no reason but you hate me anyway
"Rollicking" is the word that comes to my mind when I think about how to describe this song. It bounces along at a fair old rate - the pace of it reminds me a bit of "Everybody" by the Blues Brothers, but without the tightly-fitting suits...
It's a great rousing opener and highlights what a great partnership Joe has got going with his neighbour John Elwood Cook. All I've got going with my neighbour are complaints about the noise and moaning at me to get my garage door fixed...
I don't know an awful lot about John Elwood Cook but the facts are plain - he's a bloody good songwriter and I think Joe's interpretations of his songs take them to another level.
You Drive Me Crazy
When I'm cruising on down the road
My mind's on fire
And my brain is in overload.
I wasn't exactly knocked out by this one when I first listened to it but I've played it a number of times since, and I quite like it now.
Lyrically, I'm always interested in the inspiration that leads to a song being written and where that inspiration might come from. I sometimes get the impression that Joe finds his inspiration when he's driving along in his car - obviously, I have no idea if that's true or not - maybe he doesn't, maybe he gets his song ideas in the bath or when he's playing golf or whatever, but, like I say, that's just my impression.
Actually, the car is probably as good a place as any to find your muse - I can't help but recall that Joe wrote "Screams" whilst driving along the Long Island Expressway towards NYC at night, and when you listen to that, fear and wonder just seem to shine out of those lyrics:
String of bright lights
Running up through the sky
Throughout the hot night
The cars racing by
You know they all see
But most of them pass
What's that got to do with "Drive Me Crazy"? The two songs are completely unrelated and come out of entirely different contexts. You're not comparing like with like...
That's true - all I'm expressing are the thoughts that came to me as I was listening to it. And I think it's true that Joe - and indeed the other members of Blue Coupe also - use the imagery of being on the road in a lot of their songs (eg Hellfire Hurry, Ride With Me, Devil's Highway and so on)...
Travelling down the road is actually a good metaphor - the road can signify time, your life, your mental state, lots of things... and sometimes the road never ends...
Of course, sometimes cruising on down the road is just that, driving free and easy... and there's nothing wrong with that...
Getcha motor running...
You and I knew the years we should have been together
You and I knew the years we knew from the start
The way all that goes and it goes on forever
Love Takes Heart
Another superb interpretation of a John Elwood Cook song by Joe - Joe's guitar on this one captures that wonderful mellifluous tone last heard on "Haunted Dancefloor"...
And let's not forget those duelling mandolins!!!
I've been mulling over what it's about: lines such as "You and I knew the years but we played our parts, The way all that goes and it goes on to madness" makes me think it's about a romance that never actually got a chance, existing in two hearts that were together in all but actual geography...?
Anyway, this song is pretty much the star of the show and is worth the price of admission on its own...
Just plain beautiful...
But the rain came down
The flag flew and bugles played
Above the white crosses
On Memorial Day.
This was the "single" from this release and is a touching, moving tribute, again penned by John Elwood Cook.
Joe gives the background to the song: "This song was written by John Elwood Cook about his uncle, a war hero from World War II. He is still missing in action. The song captures the deep emotions of losing a close relative or friend."
The songwriter provides a bit more detail: "I wrote this song to honor my mother's brother LT. Elwood Krisher who was a WWII P-38 fighter pilot. He survived 60 missions and could have come home, but chose to stay and fight.
In late 1942 he went missing in action somewhere over New Guinea. He left a proud heartbroken family and a lover. This song is for her."
All this adds a deep contextual layer of pathos to the song that can not fail to move the listener...
You'll certainly remember this Memorial Day...
And so we'll drink the final toast
that never can be spoken
Here's to the heart that is wise enough
to know when its better off broken.
Joe describes this one as "the classic Dave Van Ronk's ode to the pub life." Van Ronk was a well-known Greenwich Village folk singer and cultural icon (he died in 2002).
Joe's done "drinking songs" before and this Celtic-tinged ballad is another one - problem is, Joe sounds too sober when he's singing - he should have slurred a bit and forgot a line or two to get the right feel, along with an added backing atmos track of general pub noise and clinking glasses...
This song's OK - I'd have preferred it less sad and reflective - maybe with a quicker up-tempo Pogues-like treatment... less Dirty Old Town and more "Sally MacLennan"....
That's an idea - it'd be good to see Joe do a Dubliners tribute: maybe The Irish Rover or something like that... this sort of stuff is best sung after a few drinks though - it's sort of the law...
Apropos of nothing in particular - that reminds me of one time I went to see the Pogues at some student venue near Liverpool Uni - and as the Pogues were taking the stage, I decided I needed to relieve my aching bladder before the gig actually started, so I quickly ran to the bogs around the side of the room.
Whilst I was in there, doing my own thing and minding my own business, as one does, I could hear some bloke in one of the adjacent cubicles violently throwing up... He sounded in a real bad way and I was thinking "there's someone who's going to miss the gig."
As I turned round to wash my hands, the cubicle door opened and Shane MacGowan stumbled out - he didn't even stick his head under a tap, he just staggered out in front of me and made his way into the main room where the band had already started playing the beginning of the first song, jumped up on stage and gave a knockout performance...
That's how you properly perform Irish music - completely rat-arsed....
Instrumental
One of the stand-out gems on the CD, this instrumental seriously kicks hind quarters - it starts out like a head-down boogie and then spirals into an ascending joyous arpeggio of soaring twin guitar snipings.
Of course, being an instrumental, it makes you wonder why it's called "Roller Girls" - where'd that come from? Other than the fact that it's got to be called something... Whatever the inspiration, it seems to fit - I really, really like this one...
Just watching it set against the rollerskating Suffer Jets (on the link below) shows just how easily this track could be used under footage such as sports action sequences etc...
If I wuz Joe, I'd send a few links out to the musical directors/commissioners of a number of relevant TV companies... you never know...
Just a "PS" regarding that "rollergirl" footage - I've watched it a few times now, and I'm struggling to work out what's going on - there are referees present, so there is some sort of competitive struggle going on, but there's no ball, no goals, no obvious means of scoring - it just seems to be people pushing each other whilst wearing rollerskates - if you like that sort of thing, you can witness it most evenings outside the pub down the road near me (you'll have to bring your own skates, though...)
When we met it was a white hot star
The speed of light between two hearts
It felt like love, it sounds bizarre
But in your eyes I could see so far
Well, obviously Blue Oyster Cult fans will know all about this song - a bit of a minor BOC classic, this one, but often - seemingly - somewhat overlooked as it appeared on 1983's "The Revolution By Night" - not one of the band's more critically acclaimed offerings. RBN had it's moments (this song is obviouly one of them) but it also contained songs like "Feel The Thunder" and "Let Go"!! Yikes!!
Like the track that follows this one, Joe co-wrote "Light Years" with Helen Wheels. Joe had a number of collaborations with her during his BOC days, and I often wondered - since she was actually Albert's old girlfriend fom the SWU days - how come Albert never really wrote anything with her?
Anyway - "Light Years" on "New Solid Black" is a spacier, re-worked version, with lots of forlorn guitar and echoey swirls lost in the deep vastness of the icy void...
Also, Joe sings this 2015 version somewhat differently - there's a different feel about it - it's sung in almost a reflective tone - it's pitched lower and a bit less strident than the RBN version...
Which of the two is best? That's a difficult question to answer, because context is often very important for me - the "The Revolution By Night" version was on a record I didn't care as much about as I did with previous BOC records...
That was both a 'plus' and a 'minus' - a 'minus' in that it was sullied a little by keeping company with some songs I actively disliked (that hadn't happened before with BOC), and a 'plus' because it was a standout track on there.
This version is a great version on a great record, so put me down as sitting on the fence so far as this question is concerned - they're both the best version...
I never meant to shoot my loved one
I shot my baby, then I shot her again
Couldn't get what I really needed
Charming lyrics by Helen Wheels on this one - again, BOC and Brain Surgeons fans will recognise the song as "Gun" - demoed by BOC and played live in 1979 prior to the release of Mirrors - but it didn't make the cut.
I was once lucky enough to see the Brain Surgeons perform "Gun" live and I thought Deborah Frost did a particularly good on the vocals - makes you wonder what it would have finally sounded like if it had been given the full BOC production treatment...
I've heard the early demo - before the "O Jim" part got added - and Joe sings it in a real throaty, rasping voice - this version, however, is a tad more "restrained".
On youTube recently, Joe recently gave a little insight into the genesis of the song:
"Yes the infamous Gun. Long lost in the ozone. We might have played this once or twice live. Lyrics are by Helen Wheels, music by yours truly."
It was a tough song to do. It was inspired by true story about one of Helen's biker friends. It never made it to a Blue Oyster Cult album. "
The production was attempted by two different producers, Tom Werman tried for the Mirrors album, and Martin Birch recorded a basic track for the Cultosaurus album. "
I thought the song had potential, but both times it was cut before any serious overdubs were attempted. It was a frustrating situation. That's the story."
Now it's appreared on Joe's CD as a bonus track - I wonder if seeing it on youTube is what prompted Joe to revive it...?
But there's just one thing that bugs me on this - I'm no grammar Nazi, but seeing "O Jim" instead of "Oh Jim" just claws at me...
Oh, OK then - maybe I am a grammar Nazi - so it's "No Soup for you!!" - Oh wait, that's the wrong Nazi...
On the whole, another very impressive solo CD by Joe. I'm still no wiser as to why it's called "New Solid Black", but it definitely deserves better treatment than my rambling "review" can give it, but - hey, I'm not a reviewer anyway, so you'll have to cut me some slack...
I've said it before and I'll say it again - we're pretty lucky that we have both Bouchard brothers putting out great new music on a regular basis - both individually and collectively.
And they're not afraid to put their music out there online where you can hear it for free on the likes of youTube, Soundcloud, Spotify etc - so if they're willing to do that for us, then the least we can do is support their endeavours.
See the link below for details on how to buy this latest CD, as well as other releases.