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Positive things can spring from tragedy. This isn’t to suggest even for a moment that they mitigate the tragedy, or that they’re some sort of silver lining. But still.<\/p>\n
I’m not sure how, but I completely missed the music of The Windbreakers<\/strong>. Often mentioned in the same breath as Rain Parade<\/strong>, and associated with the very best of 80s indie\/retro\/paisley\/whatever scenes, they released five highly-regarded LPs during that decade. And they reunited in the 21st<\/sup> century for some further releases. But still, I never heard ’em. So much music, so little time.<\/p>\n In summer 2012 Windbreakers guitarist Bobby Sutliff<\/strong> suffered a very severe car accident, and \u2013 as is far too often the case \u2013 to add insult to serious injury, his medical bills were astronomical. So recently, an all-star collection of his friends and associates rallied to compile Skrang: Sounds Like Bobby Sutliff<\/em>, a collection of eighteen songs written by Sutliff.<\/p>\n The thing about tribute CDs in general is that \u2013 due in part to their often zero-budget nature \u2013 the performances can have a phoned-in or demo-ey feel. Sometimes the artists involved are doing a bit of bandwagon jumping, with a goal more aligned with gaining exposure than actually paying tribute to an artist.<\/p>\n Skrang<\/em> is the exception that proves the rule, however. It has more in common with a Yellow Pills<\/em> compilation (in terms of the performance quality) or the peerless Children of Nuggets<\/em> box set in terms of song quality and overall ear-candiness. The artists involved are all present for the right reasons, and have contributed top-notch reading of Sutliff’s songs. If you didn’t know better (and I wouldn’t have) you’d never suspect that these songs were all the compositional work of one man.<\/p>\n It does a disservice to any of the acts on Skrang<\/em> to single out any of these tracks, since every one of them is worthy in its own way. But a few songs do rise to the top. Matt Piucci<\/strong> with members of Rain Parade<\/strong> turn in a reading of \u201cThat Stupid Idea\u201d that strongly recalls (in the best possible way) The Beatles<\/strong>‘ \u201cTomorrow Never Knows.\u201d (Rain Parade reunited for the recent Sutliff tribute show in Atlanta; I missed it, damn it.) The jangle-quotient on The Anderson Council<\/strong>‘s \u201cGriffin Bay\u201d combines the best qualities of \u201cI Feel Fine\u201d with Smithereens<\/strong><\/a>-style punch. Tom Stevens<\/strong> (best known as a member of Long Ryders<\/strong><\/a>) turns in a windswept version of \u201cBitter Fruit\u201d that brings the song’s c&w vibe to the fore while still jangle-rocking. Michael Carpenter<\/strong> raves things up with \u201cLong Red Bottle of Wine,\u201d a strong contender for the best song on the whole set, thank to its perfect balance of riffage, jangle (yep, lots of jangle on Skrang<\/em>) and creamy vocal harmonies. The same can be said of Koenig’s Road<\/strong>‘s \u201cGhost Town.\u201d<\/p>\n Skrang<\/em> (the title is a Sutliff word-coinage for \u201cthe sound of an open chord on an electric guitar\u201d) is quite successful as a collection of great songs from a wide array of artists; a suitable showcase for the songwriting talents of Bobby Sutliff; and, if you buy it, a way to help defray at least in part the guitarist’s medical expenses. What’s not to love?<\/p>\n
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