Adam Green - Jacket Full Of Danger
Artist:
Adam Green
Label: Rough Trade
Release Date: 10/04/06
Rating:
It's difficult to know just how seriously to take Adam Green. A New Yorker with an obsession with crack addicts, celebrity culture and an apparent penchant for ladies of the night, he sounds - in baritone vocal at least - more like someone you'd find at home on the kind of Radio 2 shows your grandparents listen to on their wireless. Yet, one listen to the lyrics behind the songs, and even the most liberal septuagenarian would be in a state of shock.
See, for all Green's 1950s rock 'n roll kitsch, he's singing about sleeping with girls with no legs. He may be known for the ode to Newlyweds catastrophe Jessica Simpson more than anything else, but in comparison 'Jessica' is tame. On 'Jacket Full Of Danger' it's all drugs, prostitutes, and dead crooners.
Yes, the single really is called 'Nat King Cole', and whether an ode to a music great, or shamless cash-in on name recognition, it's a damn good track. All Rolling Stones style rock n' roll complete with twinkling keys and James Brown euphoria, the subject matter really does become irrelevant, even if the track barely lasts two and a half minutes.
Another notable point about 'Jacket Full Of Danger' is the track lengths. Only the Van Morrison-like "fuck, fuck me baby" themed 'White Women' comes anywhere close to meeting the three minute mark, making the collection seem yet more like a comedy sketch than full album. Yet the strings, and less explicit moments - 'Hollywood Bowl' would seem at home on a Grease-esque throwback movie - save it from becoming so.
In short, Adam Green has created what is half an hour of unadulterated fun. Sure, the ominous drug references may seem superfluous after the fifth mention, but when done so in a voice which sounds so earnest, it doesn't even start to sound contrived. Maybe your Gran will like it after all.
Emma Swann
Adam Green Official Site
Adam Green Myspace
Rough Trade Records
Label: Rough Trade
Release Date: 10/04/06
Rating:
It's difficult to know just how seriously to take Adam Green. A New Yorker with an obsession with crack addicts, celebrity culture and an apparent penchant for ladies of the night, he sounds - in baritone vocal at least - more like someone you'd find at home on the kind of Radio 2 shows your grandparents listen to on their wireless. Yet, one listen to the lyrics behind the songs, and even the most liberal septuagenarian would be in a state of shock.
See, for all Green's 1950s rock 'n roll kitsch, he's singing about sleeping with girls with no legs. He may be known for the ode to Newlyweds catastrophe Jessica Simpson more than anything else, but in comparison 'Jessica' is tame. On 'Jacket Full Of Danger' it's all drugs, prostitutes, and dead crooners.
Yes, the single really is called 'Nat King Cole', and whether an ode to a music great, or shamless cash-in on name recognition, it's a damn good track. All Rolling Stones style rock n' roll complete with twinkling keys and James Brown euphoria, the subject matter really does become irrelevant, even if the track barely lasts two and a half minutes.
Another notable point about 'Jacket Full Of Danger' is the track lengths. Only the Van Morrison-like "fuck, fuck me baby" themed 'White Women' comes anywhere close to meeting the three minute mark, making the collection seem yet more like a comedy sketch than full album. Yet the strings, and less explicit moments - 'Hollywood Bowl' would seem at home on a Grease-esque throwback movie - save it from becoming so.
In short, Adam Green has created what is half an hour of unadulterated fun. Sure, the ominous drug references may seem superfluous after the fifth mention, but when done so in a voice which sounds so earnest, it doesn't even start to sound contrived. Maybe your Gran will like it after all.
Emma Swann
Adam Green Official Site
Adam Green Myspace
Rough Trade Records
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