REVIEW: Steve Wynn, My Midnight (Zero Hour)
- Michael Van Gorden
Listening to the new Steve Wynn CD is like running into an old friend you haven't seen in a wile. You notice they have changed, maybe gotten a little older, or look different - yet the familiar feeling is still there. No matter what changes, they are still the same old friend you used to enjoy spending time with. And if you ever enjoyed spending time with Steve Wynn's music, whether solo or part of the Dream Syndicate, then you will enjoy spending time with My Midnight.
On his 7th solo release Steve Wynn stretches his musical muscles a little and allows us another peek inside his mind. The CD starts off strong with "Nothing But The Shell" a retro-glam rocker featuring Wynn's scorching harmonica solo. Lines like "finally stashed away the vices, like a shield against the coming crisis" might lead one to think that Wynn is preparing himself for the end of something important, perhaps the end of the world.
The songs "My Favorite Game" and "Cats and Dogs" might surprise some longtime Wynn fans. Wynn has admitted to a fondness for 70's funk and soul music, claiming that it was more of an impact on him than what others might think. The rhythmic soul intro to "My Favorite Game" lays the ground work for the great sound achieved by the background vocals of Linda Pitmon mixed every so lightly with Wynn's trademark growl. You barely notice her singing in the background, as you try to figure out what vice no one wants to play along with. The horns on "Cats and Dogs", arranged by Joe McGinty, make for an interesting new sound for Wynn, combining with his soft and seductive voice to make one of the most interesting sounding and fun songs Wynn has recorded.
That is not to say that the album is all funk and no roll. The track "In Your Prime" is a great song about the "glories of raw - untamed youth". The chorus is one of the most infectious in the Wynn catalog. I found this hook roaming around in my head for days after I heard it.
The title track is a scary look at oneself, through the eyes of one suffering with a sleep disorder. "My midnight hates me much like I hate myself, always steps between me and someone else" and "when I start to lean to love the night, My midnight blinds me with it's flashing lights". Lines like this show that Wynn hasn't lost his talent for looking at the dark side of life and putting into words what many of us feel but are afraid to face.
"The Mask of Shame" has that dark haunting sound we have come to expect from Wynn. Evoking a feeling we have probably all felt at one time or another with lines like "Broken by my own promise, haunted by my own name, hiding from the world, wearing the mask of shame". This song reminds me of a slower version of "my old haunts", and would have felt right at home on Dream Syndicate's Ghost Stories.
The last two songs on the CD are classic Wynn songs. "We've Been Hanging Out" is a warped duet that Wynn describes as silky smooth and sinister. While lovers in a love-hate relationship of codependency and seduction dance around each other, the strings add an eerie feeling to their love making. A great duet. And, while "500 Girl Mornings" ends the album on such a high note, you want to go back and start over. With a driving backbeat ala David Bowie's "Heroes", Wynn name-drops a litany of fictional girlfriends, dysfunctional all. And when he sings the chorus of "Hey can I look in your eyes again" your not sure how it fits with the line preceding it "all that I want, more than anything I want, is to just be alone, just be alone". Doesn't matter, this is the best song on the CD.
Throughout this disc, the one constant I truly enjoyed was the piano playing of Joe McGinty. Always present but never in the way, his subtleties seemed to drive the songs along even more so than the guitar, while for the most part remaining in the background. Just as in the past, Wynn got to hand-pick his band and his taste in sidemen continues to standout. Long time collaborator Chris Brokaw is joined by members of Pere Ubu, Psychedelic Furs and Zuzu's Petals. The band spent 11 days Last November laying down the tracks and practically living together at Water Music in Hoboken. This closeness adds to the energy and excitement about the music evident in the sound of the disc. Without a doubt long time Wynn fans will thoroughly enjoy this CD, but Steve Wynn takes enough chances without losing his vision to make any fan of rock and roll want to play My Midnight again and again.
