{"id":532,"date":"2011-06-08T05:04:51","date_gmt":"2011-06-08T10:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=532"},"modified":"2011-06-08T05:04:51","modified_gmt":"2011-06-08T10:04:51","slug":"album-review-dave-rave-live-with-what-you-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2011\/06\/08\/album-review-dave-rave-live-with-what-you-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Dave Rave – Live With What You Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some albums aren\u2019t very immediate. That is, they require the listener to spend some quality time with them, revealing their charms over repeated listening. Other records — and this is a much rarer occurrence \u2013 grab the listener\u2019s heart, or ear, or other appendage. Live With What You Know<\/em> from Dave Rave<\/strong> plants itself firmly in the latter category.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a pushover for the jangle. So when I was going through my periodical smash-or-trash exercise to decide which of the many CDs on my desk would go in the to-be-reviewed pile, it took literally seconds for me to shout (yes, literally shout) \u201cYes!\u201d to Live With What You Know<\/em>. From the opening crash of chords to the Ringo<\/strong>-styled drum fill to the opening lyric (\u201cHey!\u201d) I knew I had found a winner.<\/p>\n

And it only got better from there. Employing the proven songwriting philosophy of Raspberries<\/strong>-era Eric Carmen<\/strong> (also known as \u201cdon\u2019t bore us, get to the chorus\u201d), the chiming, infectious \u201cAnne-Marie\u201d tells the listener some (but not all) of what they need to know about this disc. Joy and exuberance of love, channeled through electric instruments: that\u2019s what’s on full display here. There\u2019s an innocence in a lyric like \u201cI want you over for tea,\u201d but Dave Rave delivers it in a way that\u2019s neither fey nor ironic.<\/p>\n

The album isn\u2019t one big powerpop extravaganza, however; there\u2019s depth and variety here. A folky approach imbues many of the tracks with a vulnerability \u2013 both musical and lyrical \u2013 that allows the record to connect with the listener on many levels. \u201cYou\u2019re Goin\u2019 to London\u201d has an edge-of-heartbreak vibe reminiscent of Big Star<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cThirteen.\u201d The piano-based \u201cOne of a Kind\u201d approaches anthemic territory; while it\u2019s firmly rooted in classic pop, it calls to mind more modern acts like Semisonic<\/strong>. Rave (nee DesRosches) has a melancholy voice that conveys emotion, and throughout Live With What You Know<\/em> that voice seems right on the edge of cracking. And that suits the songs perfectly.<\/p>\n

The set bounces between solo acoustic numbers like \u201cOne Day Your Sun Will Shine,\u201d the Nick Lowe<\/strong>-meets-We Five<\/strong> stomp of \u201cRain Song\u201d (with some lovely guitar dialogue) and \u201cStreets of Liverpool.\u201d Not surprisingly, the last of those conjures Merseybeat, with swooning echoes of Dave Clark Five<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cBecause,\u201d and the The La\u2019s<\/strong> \u201cThere She Goes.\u201d It\u2019s a touching, heartfelt mash note to that city on the Mersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cSilverline\u201d is another thing entirely. With a country rock vibe (British variant, though Rave is Canadian) that recalls Brinsley Schwarz<\/strong>, the track features Kate MacDonald<\/strong> on lead vocal instead of Rave. The song sounds like something the late, great Kirsty MacColl<\/strong> would have been proud to put her name on. \u201cSiren Song #2\u201d shows that Rave can craft songs in whatever style he chooses; here it\u2019s soaring rock with a Neil Young<\/strong> flavor. On \u201cTry to Get Along\u201d it\u2019s back to a plaintive White Album<\/em> style.<\/p>\n

The whispering, melodramatic \u201cStrong\u201d is the most unusual song on Live With What You Know<\/em>. Built mostly around an acoustic piano and cello, the song is a lump-in-the-throat excursion featuring a vocal from Rave that\u2019s alternately spoken and sung. It requires close attention, and rewards the effort. A tour-de-force.<\/p>\n

\u201cStation Road\u201d distills CSN&Y<\/strong> though a Led Zeppelin III<\/em> filter and in the process creates something warmer and friendlier than either. \u201cThe Gardener Knows\u201d extols the simple joys of \u2013 among other pleasures \u2013 sharing a meal with a loved one. \u201cRows and Rows\u201d starts simply, in unadorned fashion with Rave and his acoustic guitar, and unfolds gradually, adding more and more guitars, piano and more, highlighting the contributions of frequent Rave collaborator (and renowned music journalist) Gary Pig Gold<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And then \u2013 fourteen tracks in, much later than any listener would have any right to expect \u2013 we get \u201cAll of the Love You Can Handle.\u201d A nearly perfect song in the classic powerpop mold, it\u2019s got it all: hooks, soaring melody, na-na-na outro, stop-on-a-dime end, you name it. There\u2019s eve a spot in the arrangement that would be perfect for Rave to shout, \u201cThanks for coming out tonight!\u201d Though he doesn\u2019t. It\u2019s four minutes of bliss.<\/p>\n

\u201cGonna Find You One Fine Day\u201d is back into heartbreak territory. The song drips with regret and resignation, and includes the lyric that gives the album its title. Up-front drumming, lovely piano and some mean glockenspiel are among its highlights.<\/p>\n

Though it\u2019s a slightly odd choice for an album closer, the vaguely reggae-inflected \u201cStrawberry Wine\u201d is charming in its own way. Sounding more like Lindsey Buckingham\u2019s<\/strong> work with Fleetwood Mac<\/strong>, it\u2019s a bit out of character for Live With What You Know<\/em>, but makes the point \u2013 which scarcely needs making \u2013 that Dave Rave is one talented guy.<\/p>\n

Live with What You Know<\/em> is short-listed as one of my favorite albums of 2011.<\/p>\n

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