The Afghan Whigs "Unbreakable (A Retrospective)"

[busyboy]

Afghan Whigs Retrospective Revealed

On May 1, Rhino Records will release Unbreakable (A Retrospective), an 18-track overview of the Afghan Whigs' dark, decadent career. Notice how it isn't called Unbreakable (Greatest Hits), because the Afghan Whigs didn't really have any hits. It also isn't called Unbreakable (Best Of), because "Summer's Kiss", "When We Two Parted", "Fountain and Fairfax", and "You My Flower" aren't on it, and that's just criminal. (What were the criteria for inclusion on this thing anyway?)

What is on Unbreakable is 16 songs from the band's Sub Pop albums Up in It and Congregation, Sub Pop EP Uptown Avondale, Elektra albums Gentlemen and Black Love, and Columbia album 1965. And, as previously reported, the compilation includes two brand new Afghan Whigs songs, "I'm a Soldier" and "Magazine", recorded when singer/guitarist Greg Dulli, bassist John Curley, guitarist Rick McCollum, and drummer Michael Horrigan reunited last fall.

It's doubtful that the reunion will extend beyond those new songs, however, as Dulli is still very busy with the Twilight Singers and his collaboration with Mark Lanegan, the Gutter Twins.
Tracklist:

01 Retarded
02 Crazy
03 Turn on the Water
04 Debonair
05 I'm a Soldier
06 66
07 Be Sweet
08 Come See About Me
09 Uptown Again
10 What Jail Is Like
11 Magazine
12 I'm Her Slave
13 Going to Town
14 Gentlemen
15 Let Me Lie to You
16 John the Baptist
17 Crime Scene Part One
18 Faded

[busyboy]

I have finally found the advance copy that leaked last month I guess. I can finally listen to "Magazine" and to "I'm A Soldier" in a decent sounding version. And of course to mourn the demise of an amazing band once again, after I was shocked in 2001 when they disbanded.

You will be missed! :'(

[joker]

I remember liking a couple songs of theirs around the mid-90s. I don't have any of their CDs, so maybe this'll be worth checking out.

Haven't looked for the leak, but I came across streams of "I'm a Soldier" and "Magazine" here.

[busyboy]

The most critically acclaimed album would be Gentlemen, my personal favourite is Black Love, it slowly blew my mind listen after listen.

Pitchfork review...

The Afghan Whigs
Unbreakable (A Retrospective)
[Rhino; 2007]
Rating: 8.8

There's about eight years between the first and second tracks on Unbreakable (A Retrospective), immediately revealing how much the Afghan Whigs developed over a decade, what was gained in the process, and what was lost. Opener "Retarded", from 1990's Up In It, a lo-fi maelstrom of raw, threatening guitars, introduces the band's defining elements: the knife-fight between guitar players Greg Dulli and Rick McCollum, soul and funk melodies ratcheted to aggressive tempos, and Dulli's in-character performance ("Motherfucker lied to you," he snarls), which detractors would label "posturing" throughout the 1990s. Following "Retarded" is "Crazy", from the band's 1998 swan song 1965; it's slicker and more controlled, dialing down its tempo and filling its empty spaces with "Soul Finger"-style party chatter, yet sacrificing not one iota of menace.

Unbreakable, a best-of collection that democratically gathers tracks from every facet of the band's career, along with two newly recorded songs, is a sort of last laugh. Despite their stature today (there's a 33 1/3 book on Gentlemen in the works), the band-- and especially Dulli-- were largely neglected during the 1990s, relegated to second-tier status behind alt- bands such as Live, Alice in Chains, and Candlebox. Formed in Cincinnati in 1986 and defunct by 2001, the Afghan Whigs were one of the few alt- bands to flourish on a major label, where greater control and bigger budgets allowed them to indulge every sinister urge. While alternative rock radio still sported untucked flannel, the Whigs looked dapper in all black or tailored suits. When popular music was at its most studiously PC, the Whigs emphasized the sexual, and Dulli played power-struggle games that many read as misogynist.

While their peers could barely see past the Who, the Whigs were digging through the Stax Records catalog and covering the Supremes ("Come See About Me" is included here). Even on their early tracks, the band found a way to integrate African-American sounds and influences into their white rock: "Turn on the Water", from 1991's Congregation (whose album cover infamously features a nude black woman holding a white baby, no less) uses Isaac Hayes' wakka-chikka guitars as a punk accessory, and its jumpy guitar riffs instill these songs with a sense of motion that suggests amped-up r&b. Black Love, the band's 1996 blaxploitation-rock epic, should have been the culmination of this trend, but in 1996 it sounded overdone and obvious. Unbreakable, however, reveals Black Love to be a closet singles album, fitting three still-visceral songs into the tracklist but making "Blame Etc." and "Honky's Ladder" the most glaring omissions.

With more dry wit and intelligent frustration than was often recognized, Dulli's lyrics were also intensely personal in their intimate sadomasochism, to the extent that he invited Scrawl's Marcy Mays to sing "My Curse" on Gentlemen because he couldn't bring himself to do it (nor could the producers include it here). Taken at face value, though, Dulli's songs made him out to be an asshole, so that's what people assumed he was. And he likely played that up, too. But on Unbreakable, the hyperbolic tension of his lyrics plays as an amplification of his own angst, not as a one-to-one projection. He wasn't necessarily the people he sang about, but they were certainly part of him. The leering threats of "Be Sweet" and "66" might best be read as useful exaggerations. And yet, Dulli's voice wavers on the quieter, slower numbers. He misses notes on "Faded", muddles his phrasing on the new track "Magazine", but never self-censors. He lets the moment stand, powerful in its imperfection, the sound of someone trying to convey overwhelming inner conflict. At a time when so many 90s alt- bands favored pained self-expressions-- and even a decade later when emo and goth-lite bands lucratively fetishize their own anguish-- Dulli keeps his performances as raw as the hurt he's singing about.

The two newly recorded tracks-- the band's first since their break-up in 2001-- are surprisingly strong, picking up pretty much where 1965 left off. It's nice to hear McCollum's guitar slicing at Dulli again and Curley's bass trying to break them up. After the military grunts that count off "I'm a Soldier", the band launches into a massive gospel assault that prominently features Memphis vocalist Susan Marshall (who also appeared on 1965), as if they had the audacity to rewrite "Gimme Shelter" with a three-note chorus and cagier lyrics. Written shortly before the band split six years ago, "Magazine" begins as a slow ballad, but builds into something more angular, lacking a hook but still intriguing.

Rather than presenting these songs chronologically-- starting with their earliest Sub Pop singles and ending with their newly recorded tracks-- Unbreakable is sequenced more organically and intuitively, mixing together songs from each phase of their career so that they comment on one another. Ultimately, the tracklist comprises a larger, self-mythologizing narrative-- culminating in the sweeping drama of "Crime Scene Part One" and "Faded", both from Black Love-- that fits well with the Whigs' album-as-song-cycle approach. Unbreakable is one of those rare career compilations that shows its subject in a new and immensely flattering light, with the potential to clear up past misperceptions and to reveal vast complexities that were previously overlooked.

-Stephen M. Deusner, May 30, 2007

[joker]

Music: Afghan Rebels
The Afghan Whigs, one of Cincinnati's greatest musical exports, rise again with career retrospective

BY Brian Baker | Posted 05/30/2007

Like anyone who was in Cincinnati in the late '80s and aware of local music, I have profound and personal recollections of The Afghan Whigs. The first came just before the band's 1988 self-released debut, Big Top Halloween, when Bucking Strap frontwoman Anna Scala dropped in to Wizard Records one afternoon to relate studio tales from her recent session providing background vocals for "Scream" and "Sammy."

"They're like the Replacements overdosed on Coltrane," she noted with fervor. "They're going to be massive."

Fast forward nearly a decade, after the Whigs had long since gone on to belong to the world at large. I ran into bassist John Curley and his wife at the Hyde Park Art Show and, after a couple of subsequent conversations, Curley -- knowing my graphic design background -- invited me to submit design suggestions for the gatefold vinyl issue of the Whigs' upcoming album, Black Love.

One evening, after tweaking the concept (which was never used) in the Curleys' kitchen, we retreated to the living room where John cued up the unmixed version of Black Love. As "Crime Scene Part One" poured out of the massive speakers, I was aware that the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck were standing straight up, a state in which they would remain for nearly an hour. When the tape drew to a close, I looked at John, wide-eyed, slackjawed and wordless. He smiled his stoic bass-player smile and said quietly, "Yeah, I know."

Unfortunately, Black Love didn't strike the rest of the world the way it should have and the Whigs made only one more album, 1998's 1965, before the band bowed out on their own terms in 2001 with their dignity and their friendships intact. In the six years since the dissolution of the Whigs, Greg Dulli has found further success with the Twilight Singers; Curley has become an in-demand producer/engineer locally and plays with Staggering Statistics; Rick McCollum has enchanted the Minneapolis scene with Moon Maan; and original drummer Steve Earle fronts Cincy's Earle Grey on vocals and guitar.

All of the band's members routinely field questions about the possibility of a Whigs reunion, questions that will likely be renewed with the June 5 release of Unbreakable, an 18-track compilation featuring two "new" songs.

The term "retrospective" is required in cases like this, as the Whigs had no discernible chart hits to collect and exploit. The loyal fan base that followed the Whigs faithfully over their 15 year run is more than ready to sign up for Unbreakable, particularly for the new tracks that it adds to the band's canon.

"Magazine" was one of a handful of songs the band had demoed when they split in 2000; some extra tracking buffed it up for the collection. The other new track on Unbreakable, "I'm a Soldier," was made specifically for the album. The band members -- including latter-day drummer Michael Horrigan -- convened in Memphis last year and threw around bits and pieces until the song took shape.

"Greg had some ideas, a general kind of song that he felt would be good to do, but it was just kind of a general description, not any sort of musical thing," says Curley. "We talked about it in subjective terms the way most people talk about songs, and once we got down there we started trying out riffs, like we usually would."

"I'm a Soldier" shows just how quickly The Whigs' comfort level returned, as the track is a showcase of the Whigs' best qualities: slinky, sinewy Soul interwoven with noisily melodic Indie Rock, a chaotic and visceral combination that threatens to spin out but never quite loses its center.

Once Dulli and Rhino Records agreed on the need for a Whigs retrospective, Unbreakable took shape with Curley and Dulli trading wish lists of the Whigs' tracks that would make up their dream collection.

"Greg and I sent each other a couple of e-mails and we both picked out a list, and most of our stuff matched up," says Curley. "These songs were popular among our fans and songs that we were proud of songwriting-wise, where we thought we had stretched our abilities. And we wanted to put a cohesive record together, something that would stand on its own as a record, so that was a consideration."

That depth is plainly evident in Unbreakable's historical significance -- opener "Retarded" from Up In It, three from Congregation, their dark, minor-key cover of the Supremes' "Come See About Me" from the Uptown Avondale EP, all from their Sub Pop days -- blended with appropriately toned selections from their Elektra and Columbia catalogs.

The best news to come from the release of Unbreakable might be Curley's admission that the success of "I'm a Soldier" has hinted at the possibility of a full-fledged Afghan Whigs reunion. While everyone's hectic schedules would make it difficult, all four are receptive to the idea of working together again, as no one expressed an opinion against it.

"I think with any Whigs event, there's always a certain amount of that," says Curley with a laugh. "We don't have any plans to (reunite) right now, but who knows? The door's open for anything."

Considering the disparity between the Afghan Whigs' critical and commercial success, you could make the case that Unbreakable represents the legitimacy of their legacy. When Curley considers the concept of Unbreakable as vindication, his answer is humble yet confident.

"I feel like we were a great band, and I feel like the people who found out about us and got to see us think we were a great band," says Curley. "I don't feel like we need to be vindicated. I'm glad that we stand the test of time for people."

[jaxxalude]

This band is sorely underrated, and Greg Dulli had all the trappings of a megastar. The world preferred to show its love to Daniel Johns, Ed Kowalczyk and Gavin Rossdale instead.

[joker]

Don't wait for Whigs reunion
Dulli helped compile greatest hits, but won't be playing them again
By: CHRIS VARIAS

When you think of a band getting the retrospective treatment from Rhino Records, the California record label specializing in archival reissues, you think of long-gone or antiquated bands like Foreigner, the Doors or the Doobie Brothers. You wouldn't think of the Afghan Whigs, Cincinnati's greatest rock band that disbanded recently enough that many supporters hold out hope they'll get back together.

Whatever the future does or doesn't hold for the band, the Afghan Whigs certainly have the credentials to be remembered with a best-of. Between their 1,500-or-so live shows, which included gigs with bands such as the Flaming Lips and Aerosmith and dozens of headlining tours, or their recording catalog, highlighted by releases on the landmark indie Sub Pop and major labels Elektra and Columbia, the Whigs stand as one of the premier alt-rock bands of the '90s.

But lead singer Greg Dulli reminds people that it has been six years since the band called it quits, and in a phone interview about Rhino's 18-song "Unbreakable (A Retrospective)," which arrives Tuesday, he makes a reunion sound far-fetched.

Question (Q): Why is the retrospective confined to one disc?

Answer (A): That was Rhino's decision. It could have been two discs. It could have been a (expletive) box set. (Bassist) John (Curley) and I chose the songs given the limitations that we had.

Q: Why isn't it programmed chronologically?

A: 'Cause that's boring. I wanted to do it like a set list of a show that I would pay to see.

Q: Why no songs from "Big Top Halloween" (the band's 1988 debut record)?

A: Because it's terrible.

Q: There wasn't one worthy song?

A: No. That was the (band's) unanimous opinion.

Q: The Whigs are often remembered as a grunge band, in part because of your association with Sub Pop. Is that tag fair?

A: That sounds like a really easy designation to me. We were a great rock 'n' roll band, and that's what we're being remembered for. We made two records for Sub Pop and four records for other people. My experience at Sub Pop was positive and certainly propelled us to bigger and better things, but I don't really feel tagged by the grunge thing.

Q: What was it like playing original rock music in Cincinnati in the '80s?

A: It was depressing. You were in a desert, which is why we left town and didn't really play a lot in Cincinnati in the early days or period for that matter. I'm happy to see it has improved considerably, but in the '80s? Dark, dark. We'd go to Louisville; Lexington; Detroit, Chicago; Pittsburgh; Athens, Ohio; Columbus; Cleveland - we'd go everywhere else. We started pulling crowds in Cincinnati when word started getting out from other places.

Q: Was it a burden to be from a town that was not on the rock map at the time?

A: You're from where you're from. You don't get to pick that. We could have packed up and moved somewhere and eventually we all did. It was a great place to base ourselves. It was cheap to live and we were able to get around to a bunch of towns without driving all that far.

Q: Any satisfaction of being the biggest rock band in Cincinnati history?

A: Isn't that the Lemon Pipers, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, the Isley Brothers? Again, you're from where you're from. I was born and raised in southern Ohio, and I couldn't have picked a better place to grow up.

Q: Was there a moment in the early days when you sensed the band was on the brink of success?

A: When we started playing the Metro in Chicago, we'd play in the middle of the week. The first time we were the third band, second time we were the second band, and the third, fourth and fifth times, we were the headliner, and we had 500 people in there. At that point we were drawing 50 people in Cincinnati. The shows in Chicago let me know personally that we were special. That was probably 1989.

Q: What were your goals at that point?

A: Get somebody else to put out our record, buy a van and keep touring. Modest goals that we could meet and exceed.

Q: Did your goals change when you signed with Sub Pop and later Elektra, and you saw the success of bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam? Did you ever consider the possibility of getting that big?

A: I never really thought that. I thought we were too eccentric and herky-jerky and weird. I always just wanted to roll into a town, have 1,000 people come, and blow the roof off. I really had nothing bigger than that in mind. When we started playing bigger places and playing festivals for 50,000 people, it was pretty mind-blowing. Starting something in a basement in Fairmount and getting to go around the world and see places you've only read about was thrilling.

Q: Why end it then? Did you feel the band reached a plateau?

A: My reason for leaving the band was we had done what we were gonna do. There was no plateau. There was a beginning, middle and end.

Q: No regrets?

A: None. To be honest with you I don't have any regrets in life. I feel for people who do.

Q: If there are no regrets, does that mean there's no reason to ever do a reunion?

A: I don't feel the need for one. I don't think any of us do. I think we did what we did and we loved what we did and the sheer factor that we're still friends is miraculous.

Q: So this is likely the last Whigs record?

A: That would be a fair assumption. We gave it hell for 14 years. That's probably three times as long as most bands are together anyway. I have fond memories, but I also have a future to look forward to.

[busyboy]

Out today in the US!