"Howl", album del 2005 della premiata ditta Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, è il lavoro che rappresenta in pieno una decisa svolta nel percorso artistico dell'oscura band americana.
Dopo un esordio premiato in modo pressoché unanime da critica e pubblico e un seguito leggermente più ignorato (ma non di certo inferiore qualitativamente), il combo statunitense decide di rivoluzionare la propria visione musicale; e non lo fa certo in sordina.
Già l'opener "Shuffle Your Feet" è indicativa in tal senso; l'album è un viaggio (ovviamente filtrato e reso personale dai B.R.M.C.) nelle radici del rock a stelle e strisce (quindi venature blues, country, gospel, folk e tutto ciò che segue, mentre le nuove influenze sono sua maestà Neil Young, Springsteen, Dylan ma anche cose più recenti come Mark Lanegan e affini), ma le chitarre elettriche rimangono (quasi) sempre rigorosamente staccate.
Sono presenti pezzi dal taglio maggiormente commerciale ("Ain't No Easy Way" e "Weight Of The World", guardacaso i due estratti), in cui pero tamburelli, armoniche ed acustiche la fanno da padrone. In altri momenti il discorso si fa più intimista e riflessivo ("Promise", dominata da una bella partitura di piano oppure l'ottima title-track, che però si avvicina maggiormente a produzioni made in U.K.), come nella superba "Gospel Song". L'unico riflesso beatlesiano del disco lo si riscontra in "Sympathetic noose", posta in fondo al lavoro forse perché non esattamente in linea col resto della proposta. La chiusura con "The Line" è forse troppo sommessa e tirata per le lunghe.
Un disco, questo, licenziato più che altro per la volontà del gruppo di allontanarsi da quell'etichetta di cloni dei Jesus And Mary Chain che iniziava a dar fastidio, o forse perché il cambio di etichetta ha dato la spinta a voler creare qualcosa di diverso e più "libero". Un album che, sicuramente, i Black Rebel riterranno un passaggio fondamentale per rituffarsi nel mare del rock ‘n roll odierno, dopo aver dato un rapido sguardo al glorioso passato di questo straordinario genere musicale.
Non fondamentale, ma interessante. E i vecchi fan stiano tranquilli; il nuovo singolo "Weapon Of Choice" ha già messo in guardia che gli amplificatori sono decisamente riaccesi.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Shuffle Your Feet (02:53)
Time won't save our souls
Time won't save our souls
Time won't save my soul... no
When everything is going down
Nothing seem to feel same
No one seem to know my name
No one seem to go my way
But who knows if I'll see you again
But who knows if I'll see you again
One for the so named dreamers
One for the wicked man
One for the peaceful protests
That keeps the war in demand
Who knows if I'll see you again
Who knows if I'll see you again
Time won't save our souls
Time won't save my soul
Time won't save our souls
Time won't save my soul
I never thought I'd see it coming
I never thought I'd ever know
Nothing seems to take me over
Nothing seems to let me go
Who knows if I'll see you again
Who knows if I'll see you again
02 Howl (04:20)
You try so hard to be cool
You try so hard to not show
I give you nothing to doubt, and you doubt me
I give you all that I have, but you don't see
Now I know that my eyes must close here
Every word seems to feel like you don't care
But I know that you're so confused and afraid
I just want to be one true thing that don't fade
I don't wanna give up tomorrow
I just can't understand why we're going on
You try so hard to be heard
You try so hard to not hurt
I give you nothing to doubt, and you doubt me
I give you all that I have, but you don't see
Now I know that my eyes must close here
Every word seems to feel like you don't care
But I know that you're so confused and afraid
I just want to be one true thing that don't fade
I don't wanna give up tomorrow
I just can't understand why we're going on
04 Ain't No Easy Way (02:36)
It's easy to fall in love
When you fall in love you know your done
You got easy eyes to hunt
When the world above needs your blood
And the cold vain to the richest man
They're paid away to steal our hand
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
It's easy to fall in love
When your on your luck you know your done
And the last kiss had a foolish cause
Straight tired eyes could only haunt
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
There aint no easy way no there aint no easy way out
Its easy to fall in love when you fall in love you know your done
09 Restless Sinner (03:12)
Restless sinner, rest in sin,
He's got no face to hold him in.
He feels his day's as dark as night,
He's been waiting with the blind just to find a place to hide his ghost.
No open lies, no consequence,
The door's been closed since he's walked in.
The fight's been raging so many days,
He'll greet you with a cross and a sickle as he helps you in.
You fall in ways to an open fire,
You got no taste for his desire.
He brings you in to warm your bones,
He's the reason why you came, and the reason why you'll have to go.
Mmmm fool's got a fallen raise,
Another fallen child.
It can't be known what lies and waits,
For those of us in crippled states,
A broken mind is no escape,
When there's no one left to reason with, There's no one left to call your name.
Mmmm fool's got a fallen raise,
Another fallen child.
11 Complicated Situation (02:36)
Well everything's so different now, this scream which fills the air,
And haunts the hall which children sleep upon the floor,
They'll have the gun, you'll hear them say with smiles meant to cry,
As they wind the watch strapped on the wrist and quickly look away,
And four and six have come and gone, five times before this scene,
And upon the lips of everyone, the curse I've never dreamed,
Yeah, upon the lips of everyone, the curse I've never dreamed.
It's a complicated situation,
It's a complicated situation mama,
I'm a complicated situation.
The young must be our sacrifice, they say with crippled grins,
The eyes of youth must lose their way and stumble here within,
So the sleeping children were awoke, in time to haze their eyes,
So it's never known on which they choke's worth books of old and time,
So it's never known on which they choke's worth books of old and time.
It's a complicated situation,
It's a complicated situation mama,
I'm a complicated situation.
12 Sympathetic Noose (04:17)
I gotta feeling I can't lose,
I gotta sympathetic noose,
But I don't know how to be grateful,
Yeah I don't know how you're thankful,
I gotta feeling I can't lose,
I gotta sympathetic noose,
'Cause you don't know how to lean on,
Yeah I don't know how to be freed from,
You gotta keep your head up,
You gotta let yourself get through,
All you ever dream,
Makes you want to hide,
Least all your expectations,
Feel the hole inside,
All you ever dream,
It makes you want to hide,
Least all your expectations,
Feel the hole inside.
I gotta feeling in my boots,
I gotta make some sense of you,
'Cause I don't know how to be careful,
Yeah I don't know how to be there for,
I gotta feeling I can't prove,
I gotta sympathetic noose,
'Cause I don't know how you're grateful,
Yeah I don't know how to be thankful,
You gotta keep your head up,
You gotta let yourself get through,
All you ever dream,
Makes you want to hide,
Least all your expectations,
Feel the hole inside,
All you ever dream,
It makes you want to hide,
Least all your expectations,
Feel the hole inside.
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Altre recensioni
Di instant karma
Il trio di Los Angeles ha scelto di staccare il piede dall'acceleratore e di sfornare un lavoro tutto cuore, blues, folk e rock melodico.
Bravi davvero, e, rispetto al passato tutto pelle e motociclette, davvero viscerali.
Di principles
Scordatevi quelle "schitarrate sporche" presenti negli ultimi due album!
Howl è il vero capolavoro del disco: organetto minimale, percussioni e chitarre elettriche non sporche ma ci sono.
Di RegularJoan
‘Howl’, ovvero il famoso urlo di Allen Ginsberg. Urlo esploso durante una festa finita prima ancora di cominciare.
Il piano di ‘Promise’ è sicuramente il miglior sponsor dell’intero disco: semplicemente sofferta.
