|
This is a wonderfully rough and tumble "demo" style release. Joe Black is strange young man who attacks his compositions with the maniacal energy (and circus barker attitude) of a young Tom Waits.
Perhaps the best thing about hearing the early work of an up-and-coming artist is that you are completely at the mercy of their artistic vision. There's no wall of studio effects to get in the way, no overpaid producer to inflict their concept of the artist on the audience. What you hear on "Cirque des epouvantails" is straight from the (twisted) brain of Black. Each of the six songs is a an ode or ballad, we are introduced to dead fish, Curl Mcgee, a romantic accordion player, Old Button Mary, and tragic Peter Scarecrow. These songs aren't long, but they do pull us into the Nightmare Before Christmas-like world of Joe Black.
The recording and instrumentation here is spare (as befits a demo). On this we have piano or accordion with the occasional background vocal, but first and foremost we have the voice of Joe. These tunes aren't so much sung as ranted and raved, the topics are attacked with a wicked glee. They remind me most of the (already mentioned) Mr Waits and Alice Cooper on his ditty "Stephen". Mr Black is clearly crossed the line of "barely restrained".
I love this EP not just for what it is, but for what it implies Joe Black can become. This CD is either the Tip of the Iceberg or Sketch of Artistic Intent (depending on how you look at it). It is the blueprint for future work, and I can't wait to hear more. I hope subsequent releases feature more and varied instrumentation, Joe has a number of child-catching cohorts and I'd love to hear them. Mixing the vocals down a touch couldn't hurt, there's more going on here then you'll encounter on your first listen but it's buried under the vocals.
I really enjoyed getting to hear this recording and getting into the head of Joe Black. Never again will I have to wonder "What would it sound like if the Mad Hatter made music?". Thank you, Joe, for answering the query!
--
Mr. Joe Black
|
