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these are brilliant threads Darrin.

Totally agree about "Portland, Oregon" being a great single.

Best music writing I've read on here in a long, long time. Maybe ever.
Thanks for these.

K is single-handedly reviving Obner.

yeah, i'm going with ever.

Darrin should seriously consider a proper music blog.

Review genre of tracing roots and "sounds likes" is always interesting to me.

I never understood the love for Van Lear Rose... seemed like a forced collaboration with very uneven results.

Oriented, not orientated.

I used to at least like "Portland, Oregan", but even it hasn't really stood up after the past few years.

And yes, I do like a lot of the old Loretta Lynn stuff.

I do not really agree with your position. Not sure what seems forced about it? Jack White is a fan of Lynn and I think that shines through on his production.

But what makes Van Lear Rose stand out to me is when you look at in comparision to the critically praised Rubin/Cash albums. On those albums, Rubin recasts Cash, and shows other sides of Cash. Rubin is almost saying with his production/collaboration, "hey kids, you'd like this guy because he's cool once you remove all that country stuff from him."

In contrast, White doesn't hide or recast what Loretta is. He boils down what she's always been. The hillbilly, bluegrass, country, coal-miner is still there, and, in fact, quite up in front. Sure, he adds a little modern rock edge to it, but it's still undeniably there.

Moreover, the vocal performances are an interesting comparison. Cash in the Rubin albums sounds regretfull. Almost broken. His rich bass is still there, but it's less confident. Definitely less "fuck you" then when he was singing San Quentin at San Quentin.

In contrast, Loretta Lynn is just as vibrant and strong as she always been. The years only added more passion to those vocals. She sounds every bit as much the tough hillbilly coal miner's daughter in 2001 as she did in 1964. Not mention that the material is as personal as it gets. And that pain of her husband's infidelity is still there, and she's still handling it as strong as she always has. She's still letting you know that she's a titantic that is still unbroken after all these years.

I've waxed unpoetic enough. I apologize to Darrin for entering my terrible rock criticisms into the same thread as his.

Glad to see your praise for Richard Swift. I always really liked that album.

And yes, kudos on these threads, Konstantin.

i like both of these. i totally agree that Portland, Oregon is one of the singles of the decade.

Yeah that song is wonderful, but I couldn't get much more of the album to stick. Then again I haven't tried in years, since I bought it really.

I agree with Harry that Van Lear Rose would be a much better album if Jack White had not been involved. Then again, I just don't like Jack White so my view on that shouldn't be surprising. In any case, no one would have paid attention to Loretta Lynn if not for Jack White so good on him for reviving her career.

This was my thought,,, why clutter up Lynn with "an homage-driven production of pseudo-southern rock elements." That a couple songs were appealing is testimony to the strength of Lynn's artisty... class will out.

It could also be argued that, without White's involvement, 90% of us would not have taken notice in the first place. Hell, it may have never been RELEASED.

i liked that song "High on a Mountaintop" but nothing else from that album. As for Jack I love the White Stripes but nothing else he's involved with (Raconteurs, Dead Weather, most of the collabs and production work.)

I don't disagree Todd. In fact, I credited White with reviving her career in the same post that Harry quoted. So to sum it up, its a worse album that more people heard due to JW's involvement.

No Way! The single alone makes it a top 100 of the 00s release. The fact that the rest of it mined a theme and was shot through with solid songs, ideas and musicianship makes it better than anything she's released in 35 years.

Also, if you value the "authenticity" of Loretta, Cash, Merle, etc - don't you value the judgment of the "authentic artist" and that they are not going for new found cache, but expanded/new sound??

I wasn't trying to make an "authenticity" argument. I'm not rejecting it on some intellectual level, I'm rejecting it because my ears tell me they don't like the band or the production despite hearing potential in the songs. I just don't like Jack White, the White Stripes, Raconteurs or anything else he touches. Yet, I begrudgingly given him some credit for reviving her career. I like that he did the album with her even if I don't like the album if that makes any sense.

I'm very surprised at the quantity of spelling mistakes and misused apostrophes so far in these reviews.

haha.

Keep up the good work though.