Collaborative albums between artists can be dicey
propositions. Does it sound too much like one of the folks involved or do you
split the difference between the two different styles/personas? Can the sum possibly be greater than the
parts? Trust me, for every “My Life In
the Bush of Ghosts” or “Madvillian” there are a dozen “Watch The Thrones”. It takes not only an estimable set of skills
to make the balancing act work, but also the ability to set aside ego to come
up with something that works best for the songs. Against a lot of odds, “Make It Be” (a nifty
bastardization of the Fabs’ “Let It Be”), the collection of tunes birthed by the
coupling of madly prolific lo-fi hero R. Stevie Moore and power-pop prodigal
son Jason Faulkner gets it almost exactly right!
Eschewing the scrappy homemade quality and murk of many of
Moore’s releases, this is Faulkner’s sonic show. Fuzzed-out opener, the deliciously
misanthropic “I H8 Ppl” sets the stage, with Moore spitting lyrics atop
Faulkner’s bed of guitars and synths and it sets the stage for an album chock
full of deliciously weird and inventive tunes. While “Make It Be” can at times
come off as lacking cohesion, the kitchen-sink experimentation more often than
not produces a roller-coaster of sounds and styles, exemplified in miniature by
the way the lo-fi prog instrumental “Gower (Theme From a Scene) bleeds into
Moore’s spoken word diatribe “Prohibited Permissions” and finally segues
directly into the buzzy garage stomp of “Stamps” (a Pixies-esque salvo about needing a roll
of the titular object, natch). At 18
tracks, it can be a bit dicey at times (the noodly, half-assed guitar
interludes don’t exactly ooze necessity), but wonderful gems like the silly and
delightful ersatz ‘50s juke-jumper “Don’t You Just Know” more than make up for
any chaff amongst the wheat. If nothing
else, it makes me remember how much I miss and love Jason Falkner. His “solo” contributions like “Another Day
Slips Away” or the psych gem “Horror Show” would have fit perfectly on his
well-loved 90’s solo albums for Elektra.
Also, his guiding hand has helped Moore to make the most of his gifts
and provided structure to a songwriter whose own prolificacy sometimes works
against him. “Make It Be” is not only a nice addition to both artists’
catalogs, but will also hopefully bring some deserved exposure.
