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But let's talk about the music on AXELS & SOCKETS. Cypress Grove, a former bandmate of JLP, found a tape with song fragments and decided to use these (along with a few covers of already released pieces) as a basis for recording sessions with other friends and fans of the deceased. This leaves a lot of room for interpretations in the presumed sense of the songwriter, and at the same time, it clearly reveals the musical connections. I must admit that I personally was never particularly enamored with the original, as others were according to the liner notes. JLP can probably emotionally grab and shake you with his punky, over-the-top, dark blues at the right moment, but for me, other bands have done that, and I can only guess what it’s like to hear THE GUN CLUB when there’s nothing comparable around. Or how an online shop algorithm would put it, customers who bought this product also bought: NOIR DÉSIR, THE DOORS, TITO & TARANTULA, SOCIAL DISTORTION, THE CRAMPS... In any case, the Knarrenklub made waves that reached beyond the early L.A. punk scene, and accordingly, on this now third album of the series, alongside illustrious figures like Nick Cave, Iggy Pop, and Debbie Harry, you also find (to me) completely unknown musicians of the younger generation.
Accordingly, the content is quite heterogeneous. One tries to stay within the framework of what would have fit the original, and due to the many contributors, a rather versatile mix emerges. It took me several attempts to really appreciate all the pieces on the album in detail because different interpreters are involved in almost every track. This also makes it almost impossible to summarize this third installment of the JEFFREY LEE PIERCE SESSIONS PROJECT quickly. Each piece is good in its own right, but while a single band can seamlessly blend different genres on one album, the transitions here are more like a sampler. However, those who work through the 76 minutes will be rewarded with some very bluesy or hard-rocking songs that leave a lasting impression.
The more well-known musicians do exactly what you would expect from them. Iggy howls like a beaten dog (by the way, an obvious similarity with Pierce: the "I can't sing, but I'm going to give it my all" approach), Nick Cave takes on the melancholic deep tones, Thurston Moore (SONIC YOUTH) post-avant-gardistically (Copyright on this neologism: Moi) tortures the guitar, and that was just the first of 18 pieces. Debbie Harry can do no wrong with her compelling voice, and with BLACK MOTH, we already have the first unknowns for me, delivering "Just a Mexican Love" extremely well. Not being subjected to expectations has clear advantages in this case. SLIM CESSNA'S AUTO CLUB stands out with an almost cheerful bluegrass male choir. Bertrand Cantat, whose former band NOIR DÉSIR first drew my attention to JLP with their unabashed admiration, does again what you would expect from him, intoning meaningfully over a heavy thundering backdrop. In such moments, I associate images and stories with the music. Accordingly, a video was produced for this piece, but friends of American roots music might know what I mean anyway. Occasional garage rock songs rush through rather unspectacularly in between, but they lighten up the overall package before it sinks too deeply into pathos. There’s a great duet between man and woman in "Kitty Ina Moonlight" performed by THE AMBER LIGHTS with Xanthe Waite, another surprising moment that might never have happened without the experimental approach of the sessions. Perhaps the same applies to the next piece, which unfortunately annoyed me already on the second listen, when the singer from RUBY THROAT sings about forbidden love with her affected girl voice. Not my thing. Fortunately, it can also be different, and Andrea Schroeder shows in "Kisses for my President," which is the only one and in quite different versions on the disc, how a heartfelt ballad is done. After "Body and Soul," which sounds suspiciously like a rather successful Iggy Pop imitation, PRIMAL SCREAM comes back with, who would have thought, a dubby, reverberated number. In fact, towards the end of the album, a lot is worked with the approach that whispered vocals with effects and from the background can overwhelm you more than directly in your face. This makes it a bit more challenging to follow overall, but as a reward, there’s "When I Get My Cadillac," a wonderfully yearning blues by Cypress Grove, and in the last two pieces, you can also hear the voice of the master himself from the found recordings. However, these have been processed into jagged sound collages; so prepare for a noisy acoustic encounter with the beyond.
What remains is a beautiful collection of demanding pieces, presented in an attractive package: a lovingly designed digipack, a thick booklet with enthusiastic to culturally convoluted comments. It will certainly look great as a double LP. Few surprises, but some of the best kindred spirits of Jeffrey Lee Pierce, fully in their element. This CD will not go down in history as an album for eternity; it is too elusive, and each of the contributors has already set their personal milestones elsewhere. However, I will certainly always be happy to pull it out again. And I am now somewhat curious about how the other parts of the sessions are. Perhaps a more upbeat number?
By the way: If, like me, you wonder why Keith Morris (CIRCLE JERKS, BLACK FLAG, OFF!), who can hardly get enough of making music at the moment and was once a roommate of JLP, is not included: he is, just on a limited and now unsellable single. Too bad, it would have been interesting to see how he screams everything to pieces again.
