Joseph Arthur is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from
Akron (Ohio). Relocating to New York and immersing in the city's
intellighentia, Arthur produced an album of striking originality,
Big City Secrets (RealWorld, 1997), that wed electronica, soul
balladry, folksinging and hard-rock.
The eclectic collection boasted such diverse material as
the stark Leonard Cohen-esque meditation Crying Like A Man,
the disorienting shuffle Big City Secrets (Hall & Oates for the digital age),
the dejected Nick Drake-ian lament Daddy's On Prozac,
the rocking power-ballad Birthday Card,
the litany grafted on an Irish square dance Mikel K,
and a couple of ballads over syncopated electronic dance rhythms (Mercedes and Good About Me).
The most creative arrangements were perhaps
Marina, a psichedelic ditty a` la Brit-pop with horn fanfare and pounding drums, and
the viscous Porcupine, riding over swampy exotic percussion.
Arthur belongs to the generation of existential storytellers and arrangers
such as Beck and Jeff Buckley,
but his debt to the melancholy songwriters of the past is more evident.
The album was followed by the EP Vacancy (Under Cover Music Group, 1999).
Come To Where I'm From (Virgin, 2000), a far less adventurous album,
dispensed with the digital ambitions and aimed for
simpler and catchier songs such as
In The Sun, a classic-sounding pop aria,
Ashes Everywhere, stately and melodic like early Neil Young,
Chemical, that blends soothing vocals a` la Byrds and a harsher riff a` la Tom Petty,
Tattoo, a grand semi-waltzing hymn-like lullaby,
Cockroach, that borrows a bit of Syd Barrett's psychedelic madness and a bit of Gram Parsons' hippie harmonies.
The standout is probably the one screaming and rocking song on the album,
Exhausted.
The most articulate arrangements are to be found in the
claustrophobic Eyes On My Back (a spare piano elegy) and the
gloomy Invisible Hands (an electronic trip-hop).
The whole is compact, profound and compelling.
Throughout the eclectic proceedings he maintains an elegant composure
that he eventually loses in the rambling Creation Of A Stain.
Other than that, Arthur's journey is as smooth as a loner's gaze into the abyss.
Arthur released 18 new tracks on 4 EPs titled Junkyard Hearts.
Another sprawling collection, Redemption's Son (Real World, 2002),
does not add anything to what Arthur already said but does test the patience
of the listener, as most of these songs are filler.
The title-track is a harrowing account of a death, and Dear Lord
is a Van Morrison-ian sermon. That's about it.
Arthur's proverbial care in crafting ornate soundscapes for his stories
is at a peak, but his inspiration for writing those stories is not.
Our Shadows Will Remain (Vector, 2004) is a humbler effort that
returns to the basics.
A Smile That Explodes, a duet with Julia Darling,
and the thunderous Stumble and Pain, with a string orchestra,
are typical of how Arthur may lose direction when he's at his best.
Nuclear Daydream (2006) contains Enough To Get Away.
Let's Just Be (2007) is an 80-minute album that contains perhaps
10 minutes of mediocre music and 70 minutes of utterly disposable songs.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Milena Ferrante)
Joseph Arthur e` un cantante e pluristrumentista di Akron (Ohio). Dopo essersi
trasferito a New York ed aver stratto legami profondi con l'intellighenzia
locale, Arthur ha prodotto un disco di sorprendente originalità, Big City
Secrets (RealWorld, 1997), seguito dall'EP Vacancy
(Under Cover Music Group, 1999). Arthur appartiene alla generazione di
cantastorie e arrangiatori esistenziali quali Beck e Jeff Buckley, ma
l'eredità dei cantautori melanconici del passato (specialmente Leonard
Cohen) è ancor più evidente. Lo spleen diCome To
Where I'm From (Virgin, 2000) suona quasi come trip hop (History,
Speed Of Light, e la tortuosaCreation Of A Stain).
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