Review from, um, Duluth Budgeteer. Granted not exactly Paste, but, its a nice one:
http://tinyurl.com/ythcb9“Languages Invented: One” isn’t your typical résumé line entry, but when you find out the résumé you’re reading is that of Stuart Davis, avant-garde pop mastermind, that statistic doesn’t seem too out of the ordinary.
In addition to his own language (“IS,” in case you catch the Google bug later on), Davis subscribes to Ken Wilber’s Integral philosophy, has an affinity for posing nude and, on the much less off-putting side of things, is also an actor, author and avid calligrapher.
No matter what your feelings about Davis’ “extra curricular activities” are, his music, when taken at face value, is pretty amazing.
Like the 10 albums that preceded it, “Something Simple” makes you stop and wonder why there is such an alarming lack of statues baring his likeness: To many, Davis is a golden god, deserving of all the praise in the world — an honor that has, in large part, passed him by.
That said, “Something Simple” only serves to add to the number of Davis converts.
While this latest collection of songs is solid from top to bottom, its immediate standout is the synth-heavy “Deity Freak,” which, like Davis’ 2001 hit “Rock Stars and Models,” is indeed Top 40 material.
The high times continue with “Wand,” worthy of any roadtrip mix tape, which features superb guitar work from Dave Levita. If it sounds like this track is stuck in some sort of mid-’90s timewarp (and I mean this with no ill intent whatsoever), it all starts to make sense when you realize that Levita has done extensive work on Alanis Morissette’s albums.
Another highlight is the smarmy, über-catchy “Sugar Bullets” (“All I ever wanted was just Jesus Christ without the Christians / And all I ever wanted was the peace and love without the pot smoke / And all I ever wanted was the porno flicks without the plot”), a song so smart, like-minded singer/songwriter Mason Jennings is probably kicking himself for not thinking of it first.
As good as these songs are, though, it’s “Already Free” that most folks will hear first. It will soon be making the rounds in more than 3,000 movie theaters nationwide as the closing track to the Owen Wilson vehicle “Drillbit Taylor.”
It’s an odd pairing, but, then again, anything that gets the people listening to Davis’ awe-inspiring tracks is probably a good thing.
