Enter... Greg Dulli.
Who? |
In my opinion one of the most underrated musical masterminds (and musical entrepreneurs) of my time.
He first arrived on the scene with the Afghan Whigs in the late 80's, later making way for multiple side projects including The Twilight Singers and Gutter Twins, as well as a solo album titled "Amber Headlights". So who exactly is he? I don't believe I could ever fathom the depths of who Greg Dulli is in his entirety, however some describe him as "the savior of misbehavior", "the golden boy" or "the epitome of cool".
His musical style is ever changing and innovative, especially in more recent years and most notably recognizable on the The Twilight Singers upcoming album "Dynamite Steps" due out February 15, 2011. However, the inspiration of Soul and R&B driven bass and beats are never far behind always waiting to accompany different textures of strings, vocals, and keys that Dulli finds necessary. For one to appreciate all that encapsulates his work over the years, I find it essential to look at where it first started.
"Gentlemen" released October 5th 1993, is the Afghan Whigs fourth full length studio album and their first release on a major label. Enter... the Concept Album. What? A term which is loosely thrown around in the last decade by musicians in the industry who fail to produce an album worthy of its usually epic title. But the Afghan Whigs album "Gentlemen" depicts the meaning of the term to its full extent.
Since the theory of a Concept Album is to craft an entire album into a unified story, therefore, I feel it is inappropriate to describe just one song. Instead I will give a brief description of the entire album from my own interpretation and then post two songs, so you can get a better taste of the bitter flavor that is Greg Dulli.
The album is written in a first person point of view, pertaining to the character's bad relationship-gone worse and reflective of one's own inner destructive self, followed by repent. (Editors Note: This is possibly the deepest line to grace Every Day, Another Song)
I remember after I first listened to this album my reactions were almost exact to that of our blog creator in a personal conversation, "That album is raw as F*ck!" That it is, on more than one level.
Once again, Gentlemen is a concept album and the songs are in a particular order for a reason, meaning it should be listened to in its entirety, but for those of you who want a taste of what Greg Dulli is, here are two songs off the album.
*For those of you who like Vinyl, this album was reissued on wax in January
The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen
The Afghan Whigs - Be Sweet