{"id":683,"date":"2012-01-04T04:50:38","date_gmt":"2012-01-04T09:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=683"},"modified":"2012-01-04T04:50:38","modified_gmt":"2012-01-04T09:50:38","slug":"album-review-stew-and-the-negro-problem-making-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2012\/01\/04\/album-review-stew-and-the-negro-problem-making-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Stew and the Negro Problem – Making It"},"content":{"rendered":"

By most standards, Making It<\/em> from Stew and the Negro Problem<\/strong> is a slightly strange affair. To begin with, any band with a name like that is asking for a certain amount of trouble. But rest assured that this isn’t some Stormfront-approved outfit or a bunch of Pat Buchanan<\/strong> wannabees. The singularly-named Stew is in fact African American. As The Negro Problem<\/strong> (without Mark Stewart’s nickname out in front) the band released a string of highly-regarded albums \u2013 four between 1997 and 2003 \u2013 and then more or less faded from sight. To similar praise, Stew released four albums under his own stage name Making It<\/em> is the first Negro Problem release in nearly a decade.<\/p>\n

With that bit of background out of the way, what of the music on Making It<\/em>? Put succinctly, it’s all over the place. The instrumental title track that opens the album features beefy horns and a propulsive beat; it has the feel of a Theme From Something-or-other<\/em>, though what that something is, is anyone’s guess. \u201cPretend\u201d takes its wweet time unfolding; a slinky sax solo gives way to the dulcet voice of Heidi Rodewald<\/strong>,<\/span> Stew’s ex (but musical partner). After her brief few lines, Stew takes over; then the pair take turns. Her voice is a little like Liz Cox<\/strong> (remember Combustible Edison<\/strong> from the 90s?), and he sounds a bit like George Duke<\/strong>. Gurgling organ and more of that tasty sax work form the understated basis of this very catchy-yet-intimate number. The end bit really soars; it’s nearly an anthem, save for lyrics about a \u201cstupid little song.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things turn weird quickly, though. \u201cBlack Men Ski\u201d features Stew’s exaggeratedly-enunciated vocals and instrumental backing that suggests Robert Fripp<\/strong> fronting DEVO<\/strong>. If anything, the lyrics are more oddball than the music. \u201cCurse\u201d finds Stew and the Negro Problem (possibly) settling in for a style, a sort of midtempo power-rock with more than the average amount of thought having been put into the lyrics. Their stock-in-trade seems to be memorable rocking songs that start quietly, develop and explode on their way out. Whether it’s Stew on lead vocal (\u201cSpeed\u201d) or Heidi (\u201cLove is a Cult,\u201d a swaying number with lilting flute filigree) or both together, it all works.<\/p>\n

The liner notes explain that \u201cMaking It was originally performed as a live song-cycle at St. Ann’s Warehouse and commissioned by them as well.\u201d If there’s a common thread to the lyrical content on the album, it escapes me; the only consistently-applied quality I can spot is a vaguely poetic bent: a narrative-of-sorts number like \u201cSuzy Wong\u201d repeatedly name-checks actor William Holden<\/strong>. Huh? It’s like that. The left-turns continue: the instrumentation on \u201cTomorrow Gone\u201d initially evokes TV themes of the 70s (think Sanford and Son<\/em>) and segues into the sort of soft-shoe one might expect from Randy Newman<\/strong> or Harry Nilsson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave Believe\u201d starts with Stew’s voice and a bit of guitar; by the halfway point it’s flowered into an arrangement \u2013 sweeping strings, repeated vocalisms and splashy drums, all at midtempo \u2013 that sounds like some lost Definitely Maybe<\/em>-era Oasis<\/strong> track. It might be the best track on Making It<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Or not. The supremely catchy \u201cTherapy Only Works if You Tell the Truth\u201d pulls out all the stops. Rodewald fronts the band (with beefy horns and and insistent guitar line \u2013 for a Veruca Salt<\/strong>-flavored rocker that features some stinging (if brief) lead guitar work. The dialogue snippet the song’s end is sad and poignant.<\/p>\n

\u201cTreat Right\u201d wraps up the album in a manner that finally lays bare the song-cycle character of the entire affair: best to listen to it to understand. Taken as a whole, Making It might just be one of those albums that requires a few spins to let its magnificent sink in: the musical and lyrical oddity of some tracks makes it something short of immediate. Those who take the time to get to know Making It<\/em> will be rewarded with something special, unusual and \u2013 dare I say it \u2013 timeless.<\/p>\n

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