Album Review: Jeff Tweedy (Love Is the King/Live Is The King) – dBpm Records
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
I just found out about this album yesterday. How this slipped through my radar is inexplicable. I’ll blame it on COVID and move on. I started playing the tracks on Bandcamp and it was love at first listen. Stripped down, raw, and vulnerable. This is when Jeff Tweedy is at his best. It really reminds me of the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos. It has that same feel. The power is in the restraint.
These songs, at first blush, are super dark. Dark enough that I needed to find the backstory because I originally thought these songs were written in response to a divorce or family breakup, similar to Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks. I wanted to find out the impetus for these songs so I could tailor my review accordingly. What I discovered is that this was a Tweedy Family project during COVID. So I feel a lot better about the music now and I am glad that this was a way to blow off steam during isolation. That is a healthy response to a very unhealthy situation and I approve.
Right out of the gate, Bad Day Lately absolutely floored me. I am elevating this song to instant classic. I don’t know if I have the authority to do that, but I will worry about that later. It has all of the elements: great hooks and melodies, thought-provoking lyrics, and convincing vocal delivery. It is a beautiful heartbreak song that is infectious as all get out. I discovered it today and this is already my fifth listen. Definitely gives me that John Lennon vibe. But there is no doubt that Tweedy is in charge. The twang guitar fills are both a little chaotic but timed perfectly like connecting with a 90-mile-an-hour-fast ball.
Opaline is proof positive that Jeff Tweedy has not forgotten his country roots. On the contrary, Tweedy shows he still has the chops to compose a stunning country song. The pedal steel opener sets the stage for the remainder of the song. While Bad Day Lately could be interpreted as more than just a heartbreak song, there isn’t any other interpretation I can think of for Opaline. The lyrics and vocals are perfect and the instrumentation is expertly woven deep into the fabric of the underlying song. It’s sad and is deeply rooted in despair, and is one of the most captivating songs on this collection. Tragedy, if done well, is a perfect canvas for a country song.
Hurricanes, floods, and mudslides are all forms of natural disasters and Jeff Tweedy draws the parallel between these catastrophes and falling in love in his song, Natural Disaster. “That’s enough of a natural disaster for me”, exclaims Tweedy. This song gave me pause and it caused me to do some more homework to verify that this song was not 100% literal. And my research reveals that it must have been tongue in cheek since his wife and family worked on this track and every track on the album. It made me feel better that I wasn’t reporting on someone else’s downward spiral. I am glad because this is one hell of a country banger and the guitar work is exceptional.
Another song on this collection with absolutely memorable and haunting guitar work is Half-Asleep. This song touched the deepest recesses of my soul. It is incredibly sad and makes me a little uneasy. But it is so infectious that one, two, or even three listens are not nearly enough. This has some very strong Neil Young and Crazy Horse influences. The whole feeling of the song is backed by the semi-loud and distorted guitar work that transforms this sad and scary song into something unique and beautiful in its own right.
This collection was released on December 10, 2022 and is both albums, Love Is The King and Live Is the King combined. Because the studio tracks were composed and created using a running live tape, there are very few differences between the live versions and the studio versions. In fact, I have a very hard time discerning between the two. That is not a dig; that is a testament to the recording process. Roll the tapes and play the effin music. Absolute perfection.
Listen and buy Love Is the King/Live Is the King here