Meet The Eels: Essential Eels Volume 1, 1996-2006
Monday, 21 Jan 2008 10:43
The very best of Mark "E" Everett and the Eels hits the shelves.
Universal, out January 21st.
In a Nutshell...
Gritty, eccentric, tender, melodic, melancholic
What's it all about?
Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Volume 1 is a compilation of tracks taken from the first decade of the Eels' music history. Tracks are taken from their critically acclaimed albums Beautiful Freak (1996), Electro-shock Blues (1998), Daisies of the Galaxy (2000), Souljacker (2001) Shootenanny! (2003) and Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005). From the more anthemic Beautiful Freak, with well-known hits Novocaine for the Soul and Susan's House - both of which reached the top ten in the UK - to the more melodic Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, this is a best of album that promises to deliver wholeheartedly to fans and the uninitiated alike.
Who's it by?
Ever-changing in line-up, the Eels is the brainchild of American singer/song writer Mark Oliver Everett, or "E" as he is more widely known. Sometimes playing alone, sometimes playing with many others, accomplished musician Everett is distinctive for his unique mix of electro-guitar rifts, instrumental jangling, and rasping vocals.
After the experience of losing his father (a famous pioneer of quantum physics), as a young man followed by his sister's suicide, and the loss of his mother to cancer, Everett knows a thing or two about tragedy. There is a sense of irony in his dark but tender lyrics that are often teamed with electric drum beats or discordant melodies. Rather than resorting to expressing a complete and utter disillusionment with the world, and he has more reason to than most, his songs appear as insightful observations of the reality of modern American society, with the suggestion that his words are being sung with a wry smile:
In Susan's House, from his Beautiful Freak album, he sings: "Here comes a girl with long brown hair/Who can't be more than 17/She sucks on a red popsicle while she pushes a baby girl
in a pink carriage/And I'm thinking that must be her sister/That must be her sister, right?/They go into the 7-11/And I keep walking."
It's difficult to place the sound of the Eels, whose descriptions range from "alternative rock" to "indie dirge" through to "eccentric pop". But to label them is perhaps too prescriptive to their ever transitional sound, resulting from their ever changing physical form.
With what appears as a collision of sounds in some tracks, such as Your Lucky Day in Hell, it seems that Everett's music shouldn't work - but it does. And brilliantly. At times reminiscent of the Red Hot Chili Peppers after a heavy night out, there are touches of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (Railroad Man), The Beach Boys (Saturday Morning) and even, dare I say it, Blink 182 (Hey Man [Now You're Really Living]). He even covers Missy Elliot's Get Ur Freak On – a signal of Everett's consistent willingness to experiment and have fun doing it.
As an example...
"The girl with the curls and the sweet pink ribbon in her hair/She's crawling out her window 'cause her daddy he just don't care/Come on/Goddamn right it's a beautiful day/Goddamn right it's a beautiful day/The clown with the frown driving down to the sidewalk fair
finger on the trigger/Let me tell you gave us quite a scare." - Mr E's Beautiful Blues
"Life is funny/But not ha-ha funny/Peculiar I guess/You think I got it all going my way/Then why am I such a f*****g mess?" - 3 Speed
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammy's?
Definitely a strong contender – Including previously unreleased material in Climbing to the Moon (Jon Brion mix) and Get Ur Freak On, as well as a live recording of Dirty Girl, this makes for an eclectic mix that could easily have been double the size it is and still leave you wanting to hear more.
What the others say
On Blinking Lights and Other Revelations:
"The first disc of this double CD jangles nerves with pop songs which dissect personal issues through wider problems facing America, but the stunning second finds meaning to it all in a series of supernaturally beautiful ballads. By then, E is insisting: 'If I had to do it all again, well, it's something I'd like to do' - perfect advice for the listener." - Dave Simpson, Guardian
On the Eels
"There's a tension in Everett's songs that gives them a strength and a resonance that most other songwriters couldn't ever equal." - Mark Edwards, Sunday Times
So is it any good?
A fantastic compilation spanning a rich decade of work. With a history of albums such as these, there is definitely another decade to come...
9/10
Nova Maxwell
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