Copperopolis

This page is dedicated to Grant Lee Buffalo's new album, Copperopolis. First some details of the album itself.

It was released on June 4th and was once again produced by Paul Kimble. It was recorded in Cherokee Studios in Hollywood.

Here is the tracklist and times:

1. Homespun 5:37
2. The Bridge 3:29
3. Arousing Thunder 5:42
4. Even the Oxen 3:53
5. Crackdown 4:00
6. Armchair 3:22
7. Bethlehem Steel 6:05
8. All That I Have 3:09
9. Two & Two 3:46
10. Better For Us 4:21
11. Hyperion and Sunset 4:00
12. Comes to Blows 5:30
13. The Only Way Down 3:22

Special guest musicians include:
Greg Leisz: pedal steel on 'Crackdown', 'Armchair' and 'Comes To Blows' Bob Fergo: violin on 'Bethlehem Steel' and 'Even The Oxen' Ralph Carney: bass clarinet and saxophone on 'All That I Have' and 'Better For Us'

Here's what Michael Jolly had to say about the album:

"It's early days yet, but the album keeps growing on me. Musically, the album seems to me more urgent than Fuzzy or MJM, the electric guitars being more prominent, while GLP sings a lot in his higher range. The songs have that same epic, biblical quality of the other albums. Lyrically, GLP covers the same type of subjects on the previous LPs, revealing commentary on American life ("Homespun" looks at the rise of militia groups in small town U.S.A., for example) and equally relevatory, gorgeous love songs, "The Bridge" being my favorite. Plus there are couple new twists: "Better for Us," about childhood reminices of an old oak tree and "Hyperion and Sunset," about exodus from Los Angeles. He even makes a reference to e-mail on one track!

"The album is structured similarly to MJM, "Homespun" opening the album in much the same manner as "Lone Star Song," while track 7, "Bethlehem Steel" serves as the album's centerpiece, like "Lady Godiva and Me." Another epic track, "Bethlehem Steel" is about the closing of the once great steel mill. The track's got great soul influences and super-falsetto from GLP. And I could probably go on and on...."

Here's some information from the press release:

"This CD is much more intense than the our previous releases" says Phillips, "it reaches the limits, but still has a common theme. The lyrics are deeper and my singing is a lot stronger." Kimble adds "We wanted to support the lyrics and not stay in conflict with them - as long as it isn`t necessary. Our albums are an impression of the time we live in. The process and the creativity are what counts." The name of the CD comes from a small town called "Copperopolis" where Phillips grew up. It once has been a rich industrial city but is by now only a common small village with a few inhabitants. Therefore the CD tells a lot of stories about "changing" and how we react to it "We concentrated on melody and harmonie" says Phillips about the new one.

Thanks to Bjorn Lampe for supplying me with that.

Here's some artwork from the album, done by Grant Lee Phillips himself:

Thanks to Addicted to Noise who I stole the images from...

And here's what I think:

It seems that with each album, Grant Lee Buffalo are slowly losing what I love most about them. The antique, ancient feel that was so prevalent throughout Fuzzy has begun to decay. I'm talking about songs like 'Stars n' Stripes', 'Soft Wolf Tread' and 'Dixie Drug Store'. A large part of this was due to the incredible production of Paul Kimble - no producer could recreate the atmosphere that Kimble created on this album. Grant Lee Phillips's lyrics have never been more piercing and insightful as on here. And all this was carried through to Mighty Joe Moon, but it was fused with new directions. Rather than being a stark portrayal of life, many of the songs on their second album were more positive and hopeful ('Honey Don't Think', 'Side By Side', 'Mockingbirds'). The love songs were no longer so much about bitterness and betrayal. The band experimented with instrumentation, employing cellos, percussion and pedal steel to name a few.The lyrics, (well, those that can be deciphered without a lyric sheet) were up to a similar high standard with songs like 'It's the Life' and 'Lone Star Song' that go straight to the heart. But still the dark undercurrent ran through the album, 'Happiness' being example of this and also my pick of Mighty Joe Moon.

I have anticipated few albums more than Copperopolis, hoping that it would be as good as, or even better than, Fuzzy, laden with hooks that send shivers down your spine. I finally heard 'Homespun' on the radio and it had a fresh feel to it, I fell in love with it immediately. And then, on June 7th (I had to wait for the import) I rushed down to the import store to pick it up. On first listen I was disappointed. When it got into the last few songs, I groaned to myself because they seemed to sound like some of the earlier ones, with similar sounding chords. Then I was impressed by it but soon I admitted to myself that I was disappointed.

It has very little of either of the two things that I had hoped would be in abundance. The lyrics don't have the fluidity and confidence of their earlier material and the music doesn't contain the brilliant subtlety of anything on Fuzzy. The band have taken another step forward in the instrumentaion department including bass clarinet, saxophone, mandolin and an Orbit synthesiser but unfortunately these contribute little to the songs. There are no melodies here that come close to the soaring falsetto on 'Fuzzy' or 'Mockingbirds'. I prefer a more sparse, raw production but Copperopolis has a much too full sound for me and very little room to breathe.

This a very dreamy album, a lullaby, caught somewhere between 'You Just Have To Be Crazy' and 'Lady Godiva and Me'. It's a summer album, no doubt a perfect soundtrack to a searing Los Angeles heat wave. Unfortunately for me though, this doesn't appeal to me as much as do the wintry textures of Fuzzy. It has its moments and is a good album in its own right but I know how incredible they truly can be. There aren't many songwriters around today that are as talented as Grant Lee Phillips but Copperopolis isn't going to prove this to anyone who doesn't already know it. Basically, there is just something missing that I can't quite put my finger on it.

My picks are 'Bethlehem Steel', 'Better for Us' and 'The Only Way Down'. For a genuine flash of brilliance, check out 'Crahing at Corona', the b-side to 'Homepsun'. I guess now all there is to do is to wait for more singles to be released from it and keep an eye out for an upcoming gig near you!

It's now September 23rd. It has taken three months but Copperopolis is now starting to grow on me. Perhaps I've finally accepted that while Grant Lee Buffalo are not at their 'haunting best', it's still Grant Lee Buffalo and they are in great form. I recognise that I was pretty harsh in my first response to Copperopolis (and I'm not just saying that). My confidence in the band and their music has now been fully restored (with the aid of the *great* live tracks on the Honey, Don't Think single...thanks to Kerry for getting a hold of it for me!). Fuzzy is not Mighty Joe Moon is not Copperopolis is not Fuzzy.