Lucero: 1372 Overton Park, part 2

To: Brian and Scott
From: Monty

I listened to this first in my car, thinking that perhaps that wasn’t giving it a fair shake. But then about two songs into it I realized that’s the perfect environment for this record. Back in high school, this is precisely the kind of thing my friends and I would have been blasting from our 8-tracks (yes, high school was that long ago for me) as we drove around town on the weekends and in the summer. It has everything rock and roll meant to us: women, cars, booze, late night hangouts.... What’s not to like, right?

Well.....yeah. As I was mentioning to Brian a couple weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to have arrived at that age at a time when lots of iconic artists and groups were still together, and more-or-less still at the top of their game. During my formative listening years, Bowie was recording albums like Diamond Dogs and “Heroes”; Pink Floyd was giving us Wish You Were Here and Animals; Led Zep put our Physical Graffiti; the Stones were still creating relevant music; and the Beatles, though no longer together, were still in heavy radio rotation. Hell, even Alice Cooper had some interesting records at the time. But also emanating from those 8-track decks back then was a bunch of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bachman Turner Overdrive, R.E.O. Speedwagon, and a host of other stuff I loved then and couldn’t care less about now. I’m afraid I have to group Lucero in with the latter group rather than the former.

Notice, though, that I’m intentionally not calling this a bad record. It goes without saying that there are gobs of great bands that won’t ever get lumped in with Zeppelin and Bowie. The fact is Overton Park is a perfect example of what I was talking about in my Fiery Furnaces review: Without really liking it very much myself, I can completely understand how other people might enjoy it, as Brian clearly does. Catchy melodies, sing-alongable choruses, musical and lyrical hooks -- I’ll admit to bobbing my head and tapping a foot with it here and there on multiple listens. It just speaks a little too heavily to a place and time in life that I’ve left behind. If I liked it a little more I’d find it nostalgic. (I still have all the Eagles’ albums on my iPod, fergodsakes.) But instead, I’m just finding it kind of pleasantly innocuous.

--Monty

Lucero: 1372 Overton Park, part 1

Got Live If You Got It

To: Monty and Scott
From: Brian

Fellas, let me open the discussion of Lucero's 1372 Overton Park with a disclaimer of sorts: I was converted by this band through not one but two experiences of its live show before I heard a note of recorded music. Six guys (plus, the second time, two horn players) on a stage, putting on a show that was generous, good-natured and rocking on all cylinders. They came off like Replacements who had embraced both country leanings and moderation. The guys in the band all clearly cared about this music and their audience, and you could feel it as much as hear it.

I'll admit that there are scores of bands who can't quite convert that kind of presence to record--hell, not even the Replacements could do it half the time--and my ears are probably somewhat misled by the Live Lucero when listening to the Recorded Lucero. I mean, just check out how they deal with a little kid named Henry storming the stage in Madison Square Park:


So, in general: Damn, I still really like how 1372 Overton Park comes across. This is music that manages to sound stripped of artifice without having to resort to shoddy production or cheap sound. And while it leans a little toward country, I wouldn't lump Lucero in with Old '97s (a band whose songs I once watched Scott endure during a local record-shopping trip--Scott, you made it through like a soldier) or Uncle Tupelo, though there are stylistic similarities. In this case, I think that being from and in Memphis made certain country tropes available as the straightest line between a young white guy and what he had to say. It's more like The Hold Steady grabbing Thin Lizzy riffs and E Street piano rolls because that's the music that makes them feel the way they want the audience to feel--even if the audience would rather hear Born To Lose than Born to Run.

Without going into my thoughts on some of the individual songs, I'll get big picture: assuming that neither of you have seen Lucero's live show, how does this record work for you? Monty, I'll broadly guess that this works for you on a fundamental stylistic level, but I'm not sure what you'll think of the songs and the sound; Scott, I have a feeling that the surface of Overton Park pushed you back, but I'm wondering if you found a connection to some of the lyrics and attitude that power the sound. Do tell.

Can't feel a thing,
Brian