Gp and Episodes GOLD CD by Graham Parker

Gp and Episodes GOLD CD

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Gp and Episodes GOLD CD

Reader Reviews
Graham Parker first caught my attention, and the attention of many others, with his breakout March 1979 disc 'Squeezing Out Sparks'. Graham had a couple releases prior to 'S.O.S.', but '...Sparks' easily became the standard bearer by which all subsequent Parker packages would be judged. The nice thing for me about GP is that, although he's certainly New Wave Punk, he's still on the cusp of My Generation, and can be found talking sarcastically, yet nostalgically, about people like Raymond Burr and Tom Jones. As a New Wave Punk artist, he has a stripped-down sound, not as dirty as Johnny Rotten, but every bit as caustic as my other fave New Waver, Joe Jackson. This particular disc was recorded live at the Bottom Line over two nights in June of 1995. It's a follow-up to his 1995 studio disc, 'Haunted Episodes', and as such includes six tracks from that disc. They're not the best tracks among the nineteen offered, but there isn't a loser in the mix either. The first offering from that disc is also the strongest, the forceful 'Force of Nature'. Though Parker has mellowed considerably since 'S.O.S.', there's still room for serrated lines such as, "She's got everything she needs and it isn't you...". Though Parker's crooning seldom varies, this disc displays his adaptability to several genre's, including folky balladeer on 'Disney's America', lounge lizard on 'Haunted Episodes', and the operator of an introspection-for-others program on 'See Yourself', which in addition to the therapy offers an appealing mix of conga and lap steel guitar. But don't expect a lot of instrumental heroics here. Although GP and The Episodes are a capable lot, we're not looking at Jeff Beck and Jan Hammer interchanges. With the contemporary material holding it's own, Parker offers a number of other choice picks from his previous two decades of production. Two tracks are offered from '...Sparks', a slightly slowed-down, more bluesy than angry rendition of 'Love Gets You Twisted', and a nearly seven-minute kickin'-it, Punk-Stones-redux of 'Can't Get No Protection', Parker's answer to 'Can't Get No Satisfaction'. 'Protection', along with the closer, a cover of Kurt Cobain's 'In Bloom', show what Parker can do in creating a psychedelic feel, especially through the wah-pedal dominated Nirvana track. You can also look forward to the opener, a nearly five-minute version of 'Big Man On Paper' (what a great concept!), the solo acoustic performance of '(You Better) Stick To Me', and the nearly eight-minute version of the smooth love ballad 'Wake Up Next To You', featuring simple yet sweet lead guitar riffs from Parker, and a vocal homage to 'It's Just My Imagination'. There's plenty of kickin' laced throughout, including the pulsing indictment of hypocrisy that is 'Here It Comes Again' (which Parker describes as part of the "brief angry phase I went through"), the sharp rock sounds of 'Get Started, Start a Fire', and the funky barroom groove of 'Crawlin' From the Wreckage', made popular by Dave Edmunds in the late 70's. It's a fine disc, but don't expect much from the packaging, which is every bit as stripped down as Parker's music. Half of one insert is devoted to detailing the technical know-how that went into the recording, but the production values run counter to Parker's low-tech style. For the life of me, Parker has always sounded like Bob Dylan, written like Bob Dylan, and even looks like Bob Dylan (okay, maybe a little like Mike from the Red Green Show). And that's a good thing. Enjoy this.

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