Album Reviews

Imagine a world where The Electric Prunes sell-out large arenas with outrageous ticket prices and Don Henley and Glenn Frey are more than happy to honor your request for "Southern Man" at the Barstow Holiday Inn.  Imagine Dr. Byrds And Mr. Hyde selling more copies than Mr. Tambourine Man by a large margin.  Now, imagine hearing a direct and natural link between Black Flag and The Flying Burrito Brothers while defending Meat Puppets II as one of the best country albums ever to anyone who'll listen, and you may just be ready to enter the peculiar world of The Sadies.

A Canadian (hence the weird spelling of the title) garage-country-psychedelic-surf quartet that has a penchant for crumpled black suits with skinny ties, and who are only one decent royalty cheque away from full-on Nudie suits may sound like an opiate induced synopsis for a John Waters film, yet in this perverse reality it is The Sadies; and Favourite Colours is the soundtrack to their lives.

After a decade together, their fifth full- lengther has achieved a cohesive balance that their previous work, as good as it was, only hinted at.  There was a certain unevenness that came through on past efforts that has been addressed and remedied here.  The spaghetti- western Dick Dale surf surge that typified The Sadies of yore has been tempered with a healthy infusion of bluegrass that works wonders on the opening track and which disguises itself well within the framework of the album. 

That track is "Northumberland West"—a beautiful, foot tapping homage to the late, great, Clarence White of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo- era Byrds fame, and which pits guitar brothers Dallas and Travis Good against each other in a rapid picking dual that suggests sibling rivalry is a healthy affliction.  At least when the genetically telepathic bond allows for such stirring interplay of woven, melodic lines to reach such dizzying heights.

The technical abilities of the four Sadies has never been questioned, and has more often than not been championed.  They act as alt. country heroine Neko Case's backing band on tour as well as in the studio, have put out an album with Jon Langford of The Mekons, and rub shoulders with the likes of Calexico's Joey Burns and English eccentric Robyn Hitchcock, who both appear on Favourite Colours.  They have a side project with Rick White of Elevator/ Eric's Trip fame that also includes Greg Keeler of Blue Rodeo, and who trade under the guise of The Unintended. All of which means they play more live dates a year than James Brown in the sixties and are just as tight as the JB's in their prime.

While their chops have always been dead on, actual songwriting has previously been called into question, but lead singer and main songwriter Dallas Good has been working hard, and his new found appreciation for the ball point pen has manifested itself in some truly engaging songs that support his deep drawl and allow the band shine. His lyrics are dreamy and cryptic, but it's not so much what he says as how he says it; his overall sound and delivery have a cadence that acts as its own instrument that rests comfortably within the songs rather than (think "Wasn't Born To Follow") coming to the fore and immediately grabbing your attention.  The instrumentals that The Sadies are famous for make it clear that they're still pissed they weren't around to do the soundtrack to "Easy Rider," and build the drama well here—in that indefinable way that has me strutting around my apartment like I'm Dennis Hopper.

Favourite Colours is an album that music snobs would say, "rewards repeated listening", and even if the songs are not particularly memorable in the true sense of the word, it only and oddly adds to the strange lure of The Sadies.  When you're trawling through your collection for something to spin and come across that silver spine it almost whispers in your ear that it has a few secrets left to reveal... and I learned a long time ago not to question a record that talks.

Sonically, the album is as far removed from the over- produced, over-hyped, over- the-top, Pro-Tooled but not fooled fare of  today's rock as possible, and makes it clear that these are real human beings playing actual songs for actual humans.  Bassist Sean Dean is a very talented musician who's equally at home on stand up as he is on electric bass, but here he's placed too far back in the mix to really feel the impact he can impart on the songs. Instead of tight, punchy lines that are easy to follow, the bass comes off rather bloated and indistinct, which has the dual effect of thinning out the sound of the drums.  But make no mistake, when drummer Mike Belitsky is pounding the skins you know you're hearing a great drummer, it's just that you want to hear more. 

If psychedelic-garage-country-surf music is up your alley, or if you're still wondering what all this alt. country buzz is about, you owe it to yourself to check out The Sadies latest. They've finally found a comfortable blend between the songs with lyrics and the instrumental numbers, and in the process have served up a record with lasting appeal. 

While parallels to The Byrds abound, the sound of The Sadies is their own, and is unique in a time of corporate compliance.  The cool and easy charm of the band is in full force here and shows just how hard you have to work to make it sound like you just got out of bed and wrote a whole album while waiting for the coffee to percolate.