Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3.5/5 Released: June 14, 2005 Reviewer: David Coats |
Long considered one of Canada’s best, if largely unknown, songwriters and producers, Rockets is Dan Lanois’ “cottage industry†recording, featuring “a combination of live and alternative studio takes.†While heavy on material from his last studio record, Shine, Rockets also included some obligatory signature songs, including a beautiful version of The Maker. Highlights include the mournful adventurousness of JJ Leaves LA, the abstract instrumental title track, and Stormy Sky, performed with longtime collaborators Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson – and it’s a treat to hear those three sing together. While Lanois is an acclaimed songwriter, there are few if any melodic hooks here. This is not easily accessible – in a good way. Songs like Panorama are particularly disjointed. This is a collection of songs and performances that is honestly capable of taking the listener somewhere, but the listener’s head must be in a particular state to begin with. Ultimately, Rockets is an intriguing combination of folk/country storytelling and ‘art record,’ and the usual positives and negatives of such projects apply here. The outcomes of each song are hit and miss, but Lanois, to his credit, proves with Rockets the value of innovation and imagination. It’s good to know that even craftsmen still have places to explore.
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