lambchops's Full Review: No Such Place by Jim White (Folk)
Jim White is a unique, understated, and oft ignored musical artist. His style is difficult to classify, but manages to meander between folk, rock and country. His voice is classic and earthy and the music he makes is thoughtful and intelligent. It’s for this reason that White was eventually discovered by David Byrne and signed to Luaka Bop.
A native of Pensacola, Florida, White grew up just outside of a strict Pentecostal community. He eventually spent time as professional surfer and taxi driver and later became a runway model. His quirky good looks are no detriment to attracting fans. But it’s White’s voice and guitar that are most noticeable. He is a rare talent worth exploring time and again.
White eventually made his major label debut in 1997 with Wrong-Eyed Jesus!. The folk-rock-country album was atmospheric, sad, bittersweet, and utterly gorgeous. Each song was painstakingly crafted by the talented, though somewhat strange, singer-songwriter while Byrne also functioned as executing producer. Apparently his talent was obvious to a number of established individuals…Victoria Williams, Ralph Carney (Tom Waits collaborator) and Joe Henry also acted as producers while providing backing vocals (Henry also played guitar). On the surface, the album is indie folk. Just beneath, White’s true self emerges…he has a knack for lyricism that leans toward the demented and twisted.
With that said, Wrong-Eyed Jesus! is a long, strange, completely unexpected journey…a journey that never would have been possible for some listeners if not for White’s later work with Russ Godfrey of Morcheeba. That’s right…as strange as it may seem the singer-songwriter’s second album, No Such Place, was infused with a little different and occasionally electronic flavor but still at it’s core creative and distinctive. While Wrong-Eyed Jesus! shows White at his most deconstructed and vulnerable, No Such Place is an exciting effort complete with banjos, harmonicas, jaw harps, and samples of various howls, whistles, and clunks. This combination of elements is unconventional but in the end a complete success.
In addition to Godfrey’s work on No Such Place, the album is also tweaked by Andrew Hale (most known for his work with Sade), Peter Norris (Morcheeba, David Byrne), and Sohichiro Suzuki. At thirteen songs in length, the 2001 release provides a great taste of great music from a great artist (is that enough “greats” for you?). At CD now the disc is classified as electronic/dance. Um. No. This is folk, this is rock, this is country. The electronic part of it is secondary…White’s good ol’ boy style of music is primary.
No Such Place isn’t without fault. Some of the songs are a bit too similar while others are completely inaccessible to new or non-fans. But these problems are all pretty minimal in the entire scheme of the album. Somehow Godfrey’s antithetical production works beautifully with White. It’s difficult to not absolutely enjoy every moment of this album…even if there are the occasional slipups (as mentioned above).
No Such Place kicks off with the ironic, dark, and hilarious tale Handcuffed to a Fence in Mississippi. White makes a point of dragging the audience into his twisted world. It’s this storyteller quality that he so perfectly wields that makes his music so incredibly, richly enjoyable. And his lyrics…well, they are brilliantly evocative:
I'm calling for the owner of the motel,
then noticing the bloodstain on the door.
I'm reaching for the shoes under the bushes,
just in time to hear the sirens sing.
The album saunters uneasily down this path of musical perfection with a gothic tale of murder—and romance—and murder titled The Wound That Never Heals. White steps back and speaks directly about a woman who has obviously had some major issues in her life. She hates me. She marries men. She thusly kills men. It’s a sad story, but as presented by White it seems somehow human and less monstrous…
She runs from devils. She runs from angels. She runs from the
ghost of her father and five different uncles. Blinded by their memory,
seared by their pain, she'd like to kill 'em all...then kill 'em all again.
Corvair then quietly kicks in. White, apparently channeling Neil Young, laments lightly about loneliness and the uselessness of life…all related to a simple Corvair that’s been broken down in the yard for fifteen years. As one of the lightest and most thoughtful songs on the album, it’s difficult to not feel some pain and anguish over this life…and this car.
Sunlight in the weeds...I wish that I was blind...to the ghosts
dancing in the breeze…blowing through my mind.
Presenting one of the most memorable lines of the entire album is The Wrong Kind of Love in which “nothing is prettier than a pretty girl digging a heart-shaped hole in the ground.” With a banjo, jaw harp, a few electronic elements, and minimal percussion the track manages to be both uneasy and comfortable all at the same time. White’s boyish vocals are fascinating, the music is brilliant, and the lyrics once again stand out. This singer-songwriter is a poet.
Standing out as special among this group of exceptionally intelligent and mesmerizing songs is 10 Miles to Go on a 9 Mile Road. Funky, upbeat, and reminiscent of some of Ric Ocasek’s work from The Cars (sort of at least), it’s difficult to not completely jam to every moment of the track and every last creepy lyric, most of which revolving around the theme of faith:
Sometimes you throw yourself into the sea of faith, and
the sharks of doubt come and they devour you. Other times you throw yourself into the sea of faith only to find the treasure lost in the shipwreck inside of you!
Christmas Day is wistful yet painful, magical yet logical. A simple acoustic guitar and White’s voice are more honest than the vast majority of all music today. His laments to a lost love seem heartfelt and personal, so much so that the listener feels as though they’ve stepped inside of White’s saddened mind.
I remember quite clearly, a bad Muzak version of James Taylor's big hit, called "Fire and Rain" was playing as you crouched down and tearfully kissed me, and I thought, "Damn, what good fiction I will mold from this terrible pain."
Bound To Forget is a bit more forgettable than some of the other offerings, but the fact remains that the lyrics are sheer brilliance and the combination of understated electronic elements with a washboard and the like push it well above the average mark. God Was Drunk When He Made Me is obviously meant as a tongue-in-cheek song, but the honky-tonk feel is a bit of a turn off to me. I much prefer the other songs…with that said, it does have entertaining lyrics:
God was drunk when he made me…but that's okay 'cause I forgive Him.
See if it was God who made forgiveness, then before that he musta made sin. And who built the house of brotherly love, then let the Devil come dancing in?
Also of interest is the creatively free remake of country elder Roger Miller’s King of the Road. It’s an impressive track, but completely overshadowed by White’s own work on Ghost-Town of My Brain. Loneliness, aimlessness, and confusion all are prominent themes in this incredible track. Once again stripped down and sparse and absolutely worth every second it spans:
I like to go out walking in the ghost-town of my brain.
Kick the rusted scrap-iron of my memories and dreams.
Yeah, here's a busted compass...look, the needle's standing still.
Much as some folks hate to lose their way, me, I pray to God that I will.
Hey! You Going My Way??? is slightly Beatle-esque, but with that said I enjoy it more than most anything from the Liverpool greats. Again marked by a simple acoustic guitar, White’s soulful voice and the occasional sample helps to give additional texture to the track and thusly it becomes something very special. This song and No Such Place are for fans of timeless music.
The themes of life and love are explored throughout the delicately quirky The Love That Never Fails. With that said, it is boring in comparison to the other twelve tracks. Even the extended reprise of Corvair is much more interesting. There’s no question that these are strange tracks, but strangeness is fine when the artist is this gifted.
No Such Place deserves a place in every music collection. It is White and his stories that make this album a stand out. His voice and guitar are equally as perfect, and the slick production adds a slight gloss to these otherwise modest songs. If you haven’t purchased this already (few people have), it’s about time you do…before it goes out of print. No Such Place is a classic.
Rating: 4.6/5
Track Listing:
01. Handcuffed to a Fence in Mississippi
02. The Wound That Never Heals
03. Corvair
04. The Wrong Kind of Love
05. 10 Miles to Go on a 9 Mile Road
06. Christmas Day
07. Bound to Forget
08. God Was Drunk When He Made Me
09. King of the Road
10. Ghost-Town of My Brain
11. Hey! You Going My Way???
12. The Love That Never Fails
13. Corvair Reprise
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