Album Review: Mark Lanegan- Imitations
Mark Lanegan, when not singing, is a man of few words.
The one and only time I’ve seen him perform live was in
2008, when he was touring with his brother from another mother, Greg Dulli, as
The Gutter Twins. Keeping his eyes covered by sunglasses and his mouth in a
permanent scowl the entire time, the only thing he actually “said” during
the show was, “This is Greg Dulli,” during the band introductions.
When Lanegan sings though, as he did that night, his
cigarettes and whiskey vocals, low and rumbly, made my internal organs quiver.
By now, Lanegan is probably most known for his work as a
“gun for hire” than anything else. Getting his start in the early 90’s as the
frontman for Screaming Trees—one of the lesser-known grunge bands to break out
of Seattle. They made a name for themselves off of the single “Nearly Lost
You,” but could never quite capitalize on that.
Aside from his sporadic work as a solo artist, Lanegan has
served stints with Queens of The Stone Age as an additional vocalist. You may
also have heard him in the aforementioned Gutter Twins, or singing with the
Soulsavers, or his project with former Belle and Sebastian chanteuse Isobel
Campbell, or one of the other countless places he turns up.
Following up last year’s super disappointing Blues Funeral, Lanegan has flipped it on
us, and put together a rather reserved, surprisingly elegant collection of
covers, aptly titled Imitation.
The real surprise behind this record is the eclecticism in
the artists Lanegan has chosen to cover. There are some that aren’t so
surprising given Lanegan’s demeanor—Nick Cave, Chelsea Wolfe, best bro Greg
Dulli. But then there’s three Andy Williams songs; and then Frank AND Nancy
Sinatra; and “Mack The Knife.”
I think it goes without saying that the more contemporary
covers work the best—there’s actually some real beauty in Nick Cave’s “Brompton
Oratory.” The stand out, for sure, is “Deeper Shade,” written 16 years ago by
Greg Dulli, for the original and eventually scrapped recording sessions of
Dulli’s post-Afghan Whigs project The Twilight Singers. I'm sure at some point in college, in the days of Audio Galaxy, I probably heard the original bootleg. In Lanegan's hands, it's devastating and real.
“Mack The Knife” is obviously not as jaunty or light-hearted
as the Bobby Darrin standard. Lanegan simply rearranges it, just him and an
acoustic guitar, plucking away to the rhythm. If it weren’t for the parts where
he, you know, talks about Mack The Knife, you may not even realize what song it was.
It’s also in the arranging that Lanegan is able to sell
“Autumn Leaves”—warm strings, distorted but not heavy guitars, brushed
percussion. Later on, he adds a touch of Wings-era McCartney and “Watching The
Wheels”-esq Lennon to John Cale’s “I’m Not The Loving Kind.” Another Andy
Williams jam, “Solitaire,” is unexpectedly heartbreaking—Lanegan’s vocals revealing
true emotion behind the words.
Imitation can be
uneven at times, but that is mostly due to the song selection—the country
tinged “She’s Gone,” Frank Sinatra’s “Pretty Colors,” Nancy Sinatra’s “You Only
Live Twice,” and the French language “Elegie funebre,” tend to slow the pacing
down a little, but also work against the overall vibe that Lanegan has created with
the other choices. Musically, working primarily with softer elements, e.g: acoustic guitars, pianos,
strings—it shows a completely different side to Mark Lanegan. At first it
doesn’t seem like it’s going to work—like he’s trying to croon over the top of
this smoother sounding backdrop. But even when there are misses, the whole
thing succeeds because he’s committed to the idea.