CDREVIEWSONLINE.COM
Fall 2007 Featured CD
Joe Rathbone's Under The Scorpio Moon- "An amalgamation of poetic imagery and pop sensibility--dark yet catchy" -Rob Lincoln, cdreviewsonline.com
In his most recent CD, Under The Scorpio Moon, Joe Rathbone delivers some of his most pop hook laden creations along with some of his darkest lyrics. For those of you unfamilar with his work, Rathbone has previously released at least three excellent CDs that explore dark themes with complex images that leave the listener often trying to dig further to understand. Fortunately for the listener, the intriguing lyrics are almost always supported by excellent melodies, outstanding guitar work, wonderful rhythms and all around top notch AAA production. This CD is no exception. It starts off with a blast of power pop and travels through a variety of alternative rock soundscapes with outstanding guitar and keyboards, bass and drums throughout. Yet as always, it is Rathbone's compelling voice that carries each song. It is a voice that is slightly reminscient of Duncan Sheik, John Lennon or Steven Stills. However, it becomes rather tiring to try to compare Rathbone to anyone at this point. Over the years in print media as varied as Paste, the Village Voice and the venerable All Music Guide, he has been compared to such widely disparate artists as John Gorka, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, David Wilcox and Pete Yorn. That's quite a wide range for a guy who is certainly not genre hopping and has a pretty centered and distinctive sound. Suffice it to say that Rathbone is an original. No one I have heard writes lyrics the way he does- off center, non sequential stories that still manage to allow the listener to reconstruct a narrative. There is always an air of mystery as well as anticipation with each new release for those listeners who do not like their alt-rock served with the obvious. Rathbone fans have come to expect great songs from this original rock singer songwriter. Here are my favorites on this CD.
1) The World--This song is nothing short of haunting. The lyric "God lives in the concrete/God lives in the dirt/God lives in your two long legs/And your dirty little skirt" evokes a set of emotions that could range from the theology of our founding fathers (Jefferson believed God could be found everywhere) to dirty sex.
2) Angel--The CD starts off with a blast of AAA pop with one of the strongest Rathbone hooks I've heard in a while. The chorus comes crunching in with such force it cannot be extracted from the brain for at least 3 or 4 days.
3) This Is Where I Come From--This #2 track is not at all dark, but a positive even somewhat sentimental tribute to Rathbone's Philly roots. Its references to the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby will have meaning to any rock fan who grew up near the city. With Philadelphia reeling from the highest murder rate in the land, it's nice to hear that Rathbone got help from "all my sisters and my brothers." There is still some brotherly love in Philly. This song reminds us that most people are not about to harm anyone.
4) Mercury--This gem sits a little further back on the CD, cut #6 to be exact, but is one of the most exciting tracks with its U2 guitar feel and its sometimes subtle lyrical snippets of a woman in a cafe. Great juxtaposition of tough musical chops and some impressionistic lyrics.
5) Beijing-- Here Rathbone plays a quiet keyboard tune that has some of his most mysterious lyrics. Is he reminiscing about his father's trip to China? Is it his own trip to China? Did someone "listen to (his) song" in China? And just who is the mysterious Laura? Could it be our first lady? Does it have anything to do with her father in law once being ambassador to China? The mind can run wild when trying to decipher some of Rathbone's lyrics. All the while, the lovely melody and compelling voice somehow are slightly reminiscent of Randy Newman at his most tender moment---(so now this reviewer has added a new inappropriate Rathbone comparison to a famous songwriter he really does not sound like.)
6) Waiting For The Birds To Fly--This is another soft song and one that has elements of musical beauty yet some jarring lyrics that are hard to understand without knowing the context of the song. From seeing Rathbone perform this live I learned that this song is actually in honor of a specific poet whose name escapes me. Without that reference, the song takes on a multitude of meanings and is one of the disc's most memorable songs.
7) Didn't Think I Was In Love--Speaking of multiple meanings I still haven't figured out whether the song's title, (which is also a wickedly catchy hook) is literal or sarcastic or both. I don't know if this is a modern That's What You Get For Lovin' Me song or whether it is a sincere love song with a bit of obscurity for cover.
And of course that is part of what makes Rathbone so compelling. You rarely know quite what his lyrical intents are. Still I have always savored those rare Rathbone tunes such as I Know I've Been Bad off his great sophomore release Welcome To Your New Life or the title track of his wonderful previous release I Can Hear The Windows of Your Heart Breaking where he lets his poetic guard down and blows you away with the clarity of his emotions. Either way, indirect or direct, Joe Rathbone is an artist who is covering new ground in alternative rock. I highly recommend you check out this true original at