Thursday, January 21, 2010

Is It Classic?: Slanted & Enchanted

Slanted & Enchanted - Pavement
Best Song: Zurich is Stained


A yes, the great lo-fi album that (to quote allmusic) “help[ed] establish a brand new subgenre of rock and roll”…a good album but not as unique or ground breaking as the critics would have you believe. This is kind of twist on pop music had already been done by both Big Star on Third/Sister Lovers and some John Lennon songs. In fact John Lennon was way more lo-fi then Pavement and Third/Sister Lovers was a way more out there deconstruction of pop music.

So when it comes down to it why should any one give a damn about Slanted & Enchanted? Because it is a solid and cleverly produced record. Every single song on here is interesting backed by either a solid hook or some well calculated atmosphere. This is not an accident the production is actually well done. Compare this to anything considered lo-fi today or hell any early Lennon track this album will seem almost Spectorish by comparison. I mean you clean up the distortion a bit and In The Mouth A Desert wouldn’t seem out of place on a Cure album. Flame Throwa is a patently ridiculous song that sounds like every part was originally intended for a different song, but it wouldn’t work any other way.

As for the best song that is a tough one. I think it would have to be Zurich Is Stained; the twangy “almost out of key”-ness of it all is great and it is also a nice break from the formula othe rest of the record. So when it comes down to it did Pavement really create an album that ushered in a new way of music? No but that didn’t stop Abbey Road or Tapestry from being classics and it sure doesn’t stop Slanted & Enchanted.

Final Verdict on Reputation: Deserved

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