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BILL NELSON
Whimsey (Fabled Quixote)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
Whimsey is a new double CD from Bill Nelson. For fans of Nelson's work in Be Bop Deluxe, I probably needn't say anything more, this is one of those must-get records. For those interested in some fresh, eclectic sounds in a rock setting, c'mon in, you'll love it!
Be Bop Deluxe's heyday was the latter 70's when the rock scene was ruled by the likes of Kiss and Bruce Springsteen. BBD was never a monster draw like them, but they managed to make their mark, somewhere between David Bowie's glam rock and the Talking Heads artsy flippy-floppy. In many ways they were a prototype of the New Wave sound and Nelson produced some of the work by the Cocteau Twins and Flock Of Seagulls. They were much more guitar driven that what New Wave came to be known for though. Indeed, frontman Nelson's searing yet soaring guitar work was always the first of many things I loved about BBD, but he also wrote most all the songs and sang lead vocals.
Nelson hasn't been silent all these years, he's made some all electronic releases (often only sold at his Nelsonica shows) and some more guitar-based, song-oriented ones. Recorded in 2000, Whimsey falls into the latter category. Featuring a tasty, sometimes spacily sedate feel, Nelson is firing on all cylinders, giving us his crafty lyrics, plus his singing, synthesizing, producing and playing on both acoustic and electric guitar. Occasionally he uses the more modern technique of dropped-in spoken word samples or a clip of a violin run; still, the overall effect is a throwback to that baroquely psychedelic music of yore as if he still had a full band behind him. Bill is definitely bent on recreating BBD's complex interplay here and successfully updating it for the 21st Century.
My early favorites are "Always Summer," "Fundamental Blues" and "The Violins Of Autumn" on the first disc. I equally like "Sing Ye Golden Sunbeams, Sing" and "Over The Moon" from Whimsey Two (A Garage Full Of Clouds); but heck, there's 40 tracks here and more I listen to Whimsey, the more I find to like. This is a great record, Nelson's best in years.
© 2003 - Rusty Pipes