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Avg: 3.5 (23 ratings)
- Date Released: January 8, 2008
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: Oglio Records/Ella Records
LA-crooner channels his inner McCartney and finds himself with a host of timeless tunes.
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We Say...
He’s played in Andy Dick’s band, acted in Six Feet Under, and penned songs for Scooby Doo, but Minneapolis-born, LA-based Willie Wisely struggled to find his rocker niche. His studious songwriting and theater-trained vocal chops slotted him in the Too Slick for Indie Rock box, and his obvious fondness for obscure sounds beloved by record collectors tagged him too offbeat for the mainstream.
By asking himself throughout the recording process of his latest album if the Beatles could have played his new songs on the Apple Records rooftop at the end of Let It Be, Wisely finally found his proper sound. He stripped away the gloss that coated his previous discs to reveal a classicism that suits the timelessness of his tunes. Low-key and confidential where he once was hammy, Wisely piles on the harmonies, layering his arrangements like a hairdresser would sculpt a shag hairdo. There’s nothing here that’s too deep, and that’s okay: Sunny tracks like “California” float on a breezy lyricism that befits a loving craftsman, not a tortured artist. At a time when even Avril Lavigne hits reference bygone power-pop, Wisely's nostalgia for a soft-rockin’ bell-bottomed groove no longer seems like a liability. -
They Say...
According to the liner notes on his sixth album, Willie Wisely and his significant other welcomed a son into the world during the making of this album -- simply called Wisely -- but if you were imagining that the joys of fatherhood might make Willie sound a bit more upbeat, rest assured that (for good or ill) nothing of the sort has happened. Wisely is another set of beautifully crafted pop with a vague sense of cloudiness and dread, as if Emitt Rhodes and Ron Sexsmith had decided to collaborate, and Wisely's skills as a songwriter and a producer are as keen as ever. "California" lives up to its title, as sunny and smooth as you'd please, but for all the surf and sand Wisely finds something ominous in the land Brian Wilson built, repeatedly asking "How come no one warns you...." The simple domestic scene of "Though Any Window" turns out to be a portrait of a relationship that's damaged beyond repair. And "Vanilla" is a tale of romantic disappointment built around the delicious metaphor of melting ice cream, with music that matches its tasty smoothness. But if Wisely is a cynic when it comes to matters of the heart, he's not without compassion or a sense of understanding, and his songs have melodies that mingle sorrow with a palpable joy. (And Wisely manages to find a happy ending in the closing track, "I'll Be Singing.") Wisely has also enlisted some superb musicians to help him put these songs on tape (with Wisely handling the bulk of the recording), and the final product is 21st century smart pop that speaks to the soul as well as the ears, ranking with this underrated artist's best work.
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| 01. |  |
On My Way |
3:49 |
|
| 02. | |
Cracked World View |
3:35 |
|
| 03. | |
Tokyo Arbor |
3:29 |
|
| 04. | |
Unfamiliar |
4:11 |
|
| 05. | |
California |
4:15 |
|
| 06. | |
It's Gonna Be Beautiful |
4:55 |
|
| 07. | |
Nothing But Wind |
2:54 |
|
| 08. | |
Ella |
2:54 |
|
| 09. | |
Vanilla |
3:11 |
|
| 10. | |
Only Losing Me |
3:30 |
|
| 11. | |
Through Any Window |
2:55 |
|
| 12. | |
I'll Be Singing |
4:12 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 43:50 Total Length
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Credits
- Tommy Barbarella - Piano // Tommy Barbarella - Engineer // Tommy Barbarella - Wurlitzer // Rick Boston - Guitar (Electric) // Rick Boston - Tambourine // Rick Boston - Engineer // Rick Boston - Mellotron // Rick Boston - Organ (Pump) // Dave McNair - Mastering // Mike Ruekberg - Vocals (Background) // Chuck Zwicky - Mixing // Nelson Bragg - Maracas // Nelson Bragg - Tambourine // Nelson Bragg - Triangle // Nelson Bragg - Shaker // Petur Smith - Guitar (Acoustic) // Petur Smith - Bass // Petur Smith - Drums // Petur Smith - Guitar (Electric) // Petur Smith - Keyboards // Petur Smith - Tambourine // Petur Smith - Clavinet // Petur Smith - Producer // Petur Smith - Horn Arrangements // Pete Rosenzweig - Design // Joshua Grange - Pedal Steel // Joshua Grange - Guitar (Electric) // Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm - Piano // Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm - Glockenspiel // Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm - Guitar (Electric) // Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm - Mellotron // Michael Stever - Flugelhorn // Michael Stever - Engineer // Peter Anderson - Engineer // John Rönneklev - Engineer // Ludwig Böss - Guitar (Electric) // Ludwig Böss - Vocals // Ludwig Böss - Phillycorda
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