Convince me that Afghan Whigs' "Gentlemen" isn't crap...

The soulful storm of the music is pretty awesome, too. Part of the reason Mr. Dulli can be as out there and naked as he is is that the band is dead solid -- they match the mood of the lyrics without letting the vocals run them over.

Ned Raggett, why did your review dance around so long before actually talking about the album?

What does that mean? man, if you all have the patience to figure out what the Xgau says in his cryptic reviews, why don't you have the patience to listen to the words in the songs? Goodness.

I fail to understand how this is remotely cryptic, whether one has heard the record or not. Singer doesn't know as much about evil as he pretends; could apply to lots of singers. So what's not to understand?

I was totally gonna listen to some new shit and this thread made me throw on my Afghan mix-cd. They really need some kind of March To Fuzz 2CD hits-n-b'sides deal. Wonder if Elektra and Columbia would give their tracks to Sub Pop for one. My cd-r goes Conjure Me, Gentlemen, When We Two Parted, Going To Town, Honky's Ladder, Come See About Me, Mr. Superlove, Uptown Again, 66, Debonair, My Curse, My Enemy, Crazy, Turn On The Water, Bulletproof, Summer's Kiss, Milez Is Ded

xp

and of course they never killed you. they're a white guitar band from the 90s! I bet if you got thrown a hits comp like STP was nice enough to give ya you wouldn't be so blase about them. Their best is pretty great in the modern context.

Ha ha, I DID, Anthony! I mentioned it above; it's a promo hits CD called *Histerectomy,* and yep, it's their catchiest album. Not nearly as catchy as the Stone Temple Pilots best-of-though....

I suppose it's a formulation that I despise - this conceit of knowing what other people think. It's really arrogant - "I know what you think and you don't know as much as I know you know." I mean, there are a lot of familiar film noir stylings on Black Love, but who says Dulli doesn't know that?

bump

brother woodrow

lead us

in the closing prayer

Contemplating doing an album poll... basically the flipside of the LP is what I keep coming back for (swidt?):

My Curse -> Now You Know -> I Keep Coming Back -> Brother Woodrow/Closing Prayer

doesn't get better than this, actually replace "I Keep Coming Back" with "When We Too Parted" from Side A and that's like the perfect EP for me.

The Afghan Whigs "Gentlemen" Poll

oh wow, good to know quotes fuck up the text search string.

I realize this is a typical thing for me to say but I bought Up In It new and really enjoyed the hell out of it. Never got into anything they did after the debut though...

a strange album for me - some of it i find incredible (the way dulli's razor-sharp, dipping and rising voice brings high levels of tension and catharsis to 'debonair'), while certain aspects of it strike me as terrible. the second half for instance seems to have a pretty high quota of tuneless slop, while a lot of the lyrics just plain misfire and render our protagonist just plain unlikeable despite his conviction to reflect himself honestly. overall, i find it flawed, fascinating and unusual, and there is something about it that draws me back on a pretty regular basis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v6g9N_qChw

I think the Afghan Whigs hold up pretty well, as it doesn't really sound as much of it's time either way 90s indie (like Superchunk or Sebadoh) or grunge sound (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam) or overtly noisy (Sonic Youth, Pavement). Their guitar playing was often kind of unique mix that was funky but not all the way like the Chili Peppers or Jane's Addiction rock but not heavy like something like Soundgarden. They would use some melodic arpeggios and some octive chords often pretty well. Add that in with drums that were more back beat than big overdrive, the Whigs kind of took their own angle with their sound.

To be honest, they were way more polished on their recordings than live when I saw them. You can kind of tell from the whole production and presentation that Dulli took making a record 'album' pretty serious.

i thought they were pretty fierce live! the general issue was whether or not dulli crossed over into complete megalomania, but that had little bearing on the music

Gentlemen, 1965 and the first Twilight Singers album still sound great

i see that you have omitted black love

blackberry belle >>>> gentlemen/black love >>>>> congregation/1965 >>>>>>> twilight singers (non-blackberry belle) >>>> up in it

Pretty good analysis there. Some of the Afghan Whigs EP's are pretty good too, he's not afraid to experiment a little bit.

Actually, maybe I shouldn't have omitted Black Love, but I find myself listening to it less than the others, for some reason

1965 > Live At Howlin’ Wolf EP > Gentlemen > Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers > Black Love > Bonnie & Clyde EP > She Loves You > Saturnalia >>> Uptown Avondale EP > A Stitch In Time EP > Blackberry Belle > What Jail Is Like EP > Amber Headlights >>>> Powder Burns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uD34P67ydA

The Sister Brother/Hey Cuz single is really worth tracking down imo, both sides are A++ prime Whigs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjMUJUlkWyE

I love that Dulli was still claiming Cincinatti when he moved to LA post-Big Top Halloween.

brother woodrow

poortheatre was really talking greasy about the whigs, don't like it one bit

brother woodrow

lead us

in the closing prayer