 Various
Artists
"'Till Next: The Ken
Clinger Tribute Album" CDR
Cut
And Paste
Genres: lo-fi, home-taper
Cut And Paste
PO Box 152
Green, OH 44232
USA
Aug 12 - 25 2002 |
Most
of our readers probably haven't heard of Ken Clinger, the
home-taper king, and to them a tribute album about such a character
may seem a little daft. However, those who know of his music will
think otherwise. While he probably hasn't had much of an influence on
the state of mainstream music as it is seen today, Clinger is
recognized as a lo-fi pioneer, one of the few brave souls who began to
record their very own bedroom diddlings and trade them with people all
around the globe.
As one would expect from such a venture, this album is brimming in
creativity, with each band adding something to their own favourite Clinger
tracks. Not only that, three of the artists chose to write their own
contributions, playing songs about Clinger, instead of cover
versions of his work. One such artist is Dino Dimuro, whose
creepy "Closet" combines dark, creepy vocals with cinematic
haunted house music. This track pays homage to Ken's spoken
word pieces, along with his fascination with farm animals - while
telling a symbolic story about how Dino was introduced into the
hometaper scene by Clinger's work. Meanwhile, Dan Campau's
version of the catchy "Sandra" is a neat, kitchy track, and Ray
Carmen's cover of "Dopey Smiles" is a rockin' tribute
with electric guitarwork and heavily modified vocals. Tom Furgas's
"New Ambient Kit (For Ken)", which is not a cover version of
anything, is one of the album's highlights, using synthesizers to
craft a beautiful, creepy soundscape. But, "The Kitticow Boogie
(in two parts)", performed by the anonymous Ken Clingers,
is, in my opinion, the best track on this entire CD. A very tasteful
cover, the performance sounds as if it would fit in a 1940's burlesque
house - if it weren't for the topic, a kitty-cow hybrid that can both
"moo an' meow".
All in all, though, this album just works as one big "thank
you" to the man who helped start the friendliest scene on Earth.
85%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
44 min 39 sec; 13 tracks; distributed by the
label;
released 2001] |
