Review Summary: Clearing the Dead Wood
Mark Lanegan has always had the rock n' roll credentials; he was a teenage tearaway who was arrested for various drug related offences; by the time 'Nevermind' broke he'd already established himself as perma-cigarette-in-mouth grunge royalty; and he memorably managed to rile Brit rock brat Liam Gallagher enough to provoke him into labelling him the 'ginger bearded bastard' frontman of 'The Barking Branches'. The turn of the century marked no let up from Lanegan who continued gobbling up those badassery points by rolling into the studio to provide effortlessly show stealing vocals to the Queens of the Stone Age commercial breakthrough 'Rated R'. This well cultivated mystique when combined with that distinctive triple distilled Tom Waits voice is such a winning formula Lanegan could have been forgiven for setting his career to cruise control, resting on his song writing laurels. To his great credit 'Field Songs' shows no easing off in either drive or creativity, rather it further establishes Mark as a mature writer surprisingly well versed in folk and blues classics, and it's these traditional influences that come to define this ambitious fourth solo release.
If there was a criticism that could be levelled at Lanegan's early work it was that on occasion he seemed to lean on that golden voice to elevate his less remarkable compositions. It's a 'get out of jail' card he could realistically only play so many times; encouragingly 98's 'Scraps at Midnight' showed signs of experimentation, the added variety taking some of the burden off those all important vocals. 'Field Songs' goes further along the same path, richly varied instrumentation and song writing combining to make this Mark's most satisfying solo release to date.
The saloon doors swing open on 'One Way Street', Lanegan slinking across the room to find a vacant stool to neck 'sour whiskey' until he can't see. The Deadwood vibe continues on the Spaghetti Western rocker 'No Easy Action', a song that would have worked equally well had it been slipped into the track list of the Screaming Trees' swansong album 'Dust'. On this material you can picture Mark cast as the monosyllabic troubadour drifter who only opens his mouth to sing or take a swig of liquor. The irresistible 'Don't Forget Me' suggests our hero might also have a bleary eye tracked on the girls; a typical 'woman done me wrong' story is lifted to the level of an anthem thanks to Lanegan's inspired gutsy vocal delivery.
Elsewhere Mark hitches his wagon to a more soul inflected groove, the uncharacteristically silky smooth 'Pill Hill Serenade' and 'Kimiko's Dream House' showing an increased appetite for experimentation. The inclusion of this material also has the additional benefit of making the trademark Lanegan songs here stand out all the more; 'Resurrection Song' fittingly sees Mark exhume the corpse of 'Riding the Nightingale'; 'Low's warm acoustic guitar and organ tones would have made it a perfect addition to 'Whisky for the Holy Ghost'; and 'Fix' is perhaps the most archetypal Lanegan song in his entire catalogue.
Despite recording four further solo albums that have seen Mark dabble in an ever wider range of genres, 'Field Songs' remains the Lanegan album with the fewest dips in quality and the most satisfying overall track flow; if your attention wandered while listening to any of his other releases then this is the one most likely to cure that particular ill. While there's a valid argument that a level of youthful exuberance has been lost here, there's certainly less moaning and groaning, the timeless quality to these songs and Lanegan's increasing mastery of his own voice should more than make up for this.
