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WHATEVER
MAKES YOU HAPPY - REVIEWS |
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Dan Lander, Rolling Stone - July 2004 |
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A great guitarist resists the urge to over play.
Jeff Lang comes to “Whatever Makes You Happy” draped in
his finest singer-songwriter regalia, letting his renowned guitar work serve
the songs rather than sit as the only attraction on the album. Tracks like “Alive
in There” and “The Day I Got Chewing Gum Stuck in my Hair” intertwine
his delicate guitar with aching, ambient backings to build songs that focus on
his gentle voice and subtle turn of phrase rather than his fret work.When Lang
does unleash his guitar genius, like on the rollicking minor blue-grass of “The
Road is Not Your Only Friend”, it is clear that he is still striving to
put that guitar into the context of a good song, and his commitment to that approach
pays off.
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Whammo Review |
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Jeff Lang could potentially be the most commercially
viable of the 'blokes with acoustic guitars' revolution, swinging from
Malacca's reverence of dust to Petty's slick swagger, often applied
with punchy hooks more akin to Billy Joel than a rootsy master of strings.
He's got a powerful voice when it clicks into fourth gear and as for
his work on guitar; if it's got strings, he can play it. To me, it
sounds like there was - and possibly still is - a worship of the American
classics, but while he allows this to be an influence, Jeff doesn't
go ruining the whole sound with a thick yank drawl; the local accent
shines through enough for us to claim this music as homegrown.
From
the most raw folk through to the more upbeat rock-tinged numbers,
Lang runs the full gamut of organic genres and Whatever Makes You Happy
is a worthy contribution to the short list of truly able players
that are bubbling to the surface in 2004. Initially, I was impressed
with a dense sound that filled the room as The Save blasted out of
my many speakers, but after Alive In There, I was starting to think
that Lang's sound was bigger than any of his songs. Luckily, Rain On
Troy proved his worth as a composer, aided by the guidance of his smooth
vocal tones. Current Jeff Lang fans will be interested to know that
a Special 2CD Limited Edition of this album comes with studio outtakes
and the many fans of John Butler get extra value out of the bonus material
with two live tracks recorded at the Continental in Melbourne, with
Jeff, John and Angus Diggs.
Jeff Lang
probably has a more mature appeal than his peers, but if there was
any time for a push into mainstream circles, 2004 must be the perfect
opportunity and with an album like Whatever Makes You Happy, many doors
are sure to open. |
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RM, Shout Magazine |
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Roots-inspired music
and its assorted genres are in the middle of a massive
explosion. Jeff Lang’s new set proves that the quality and talent
is there and now it is up to the marketing department to get the
sounds out to the public. The album opens with an irresistible foot-tapper
in The Save, a clear winner with its propulsive percussion
and melodies. But then this is an entire album of appealing material
that elegantly twists its way into your subconscious. An
upbeat number like You Should Have Waited emphasis the importance
of shading when putting together an album like this. Everything here is
in equal measure, compliments everything else and just makes you wanted
hear it interpreted live. |
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Brett Ladhams, X-Press Magazine, WA |
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Jeff Lang is one of those unusual musical characters
in that he divides the listening public not into one of love or hate,
but simply into those that know and those that don’t, yet. It’s
a borderline cult obsession the man unwittingly casts through his dramatic
and interactive live shows and unwavering recorded (and live) consistency.
Hell, Lang can lure a crowd to a backwater venue in a quaint US country
town for God’s sake, and did so last year. Not to mention performing
with both the Bobs (Dylan and Geldolf) in recent times.
All this background
is needed to first understand exactly what a new Jeff Lang release
means to many people, and secondly to appreciate why the polite Melbourne
singer/songwriter has done what he’s done on Whatever Makes You
Happy. Strictly speaking this new album from Lang isn’t a solo
offering. He’s gone
against the grain of the solo ethos and enlisted backing vocalists,
piano, brass and harmonica to his now core band of Angus Diggs (drums)
and Grant Cummerford (bass).
The results are typically stunning, brimming
with life and the overall feel is still recognisable as having tumbled
from Lang. Check out The Save, You Should Have Waited and the slower
By Face Not Name and Rain On Troy for some inspired sounds. |
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Altcountry.com.au |
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Time for a big fat one.
“Whatever makes you happy” the new cd by Jeff Lang is destined to
become one of those fade-proof recordings that gives a good cd collection its
bones. This is a disc full of blues informed stories carried on a contemporary-roots
hybrid music style - with plenty of pounding pantry percussion, some quiet whispering,
and lots of legit musical goodness.
On it, the guitar plays second string to the
writing as Lang gives his songs only what they need. Don’t be alarmed
though, because there’s enough
busting out lickety-split guitar (and mandolin) to keep axe heads happy. After
all, guitar art is what Jeff Lang is known for best.
Unusual in construction,
instrumentals hang off of the end of some songs like post-it notes, giving
the whole recording an extended presence. Most songs are fretted with a raw
and vaguely troubled undertow. The winged and wild, “The
road is not your only friend” works up to an alarmingly neurotic shrill.
Come track 9, “Rejected novelist fails again”, and we find that
we are not alone (el sol salio anoche y me canto!) I’d flag this song
as a favourite. “Slip Away” has a gorgeous groove, reminiscent
of, say, a Kelly Joe Phelps recording.
What I like about the production of “Whatever
makes you happy” is
the fact that Jeff didn’t go for super slick hydraulics (which he
could easily have done if he did in fact have the plump production purse
inferred by several Australian music-journalists) Nope, this is spag bog
with grit; ice cream and tomato sauce, or if you prefer, raw pineapple
with salty yeast spread. The inclusion of a dilly bag full of other talented
Aussie musicians has enabled Lang to deliver a musical picture in wide
screen format, and hints of big possibilities for future recordings.
The
instrumental “Whatever makes you happy” is like a carefree
shrug at the end of the cd, and bugger me if there isn’t just the
teensiest hint of reggae. Yes. Me thinks it’s time for a big fat
one. |
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JEFF APTER, The Bulletin, August 2004
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There's
a real lost-in-space vibe about the latest album from Jeff Lang,
the Melbourne blues/folk guitar ace. Whatever Makes You Happy could
have just as easily emerged from Woodstock, 1969, as Melbourne, 2004.
Now bankrolled by a major, Lang brings in some pals
(blues-belter Chris Wilson, harp-blower Matt Walker), as well as
tinkering in the studio with everything from pre-digital gear to
op-shop kitchenware. While best known for pulling off the type
of fleet-fingered stringwork rarely heard this side of trailer-park
bard Chris Whitley, don’t
overlook Lang’s knack for storytelling. It’s as if he
wrote most of this first-rate album with his car window cracked,
as he barrelled down the highway, heading for some dusty outpost |
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Tony Hillier
- Barfly 5 FLIES |
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If 2001’s Everything Is Still lifted Jeff Lang to a new benchmark,
Whatever Makes You Happy nails him to the upper rung of creative artists. The
Victorian’s last studio album was a prime candidate for best domestic
release of the decade; his debut recording for ABC Music is in many ways
its equal, and in some respects superior.
Whatever Makes You Happy sees Lang move a little further away from his original
blues base. Long regarded as one of the country’s most innovative
and versatile guitar slingers, he is now firmly established among the upper echelon
of singer-songwriters, alongside the likes of Paul Kelly, Don Walker and Shane
Howard. Lang’s songs have a cinematic quality; his vignettes resonate
with vivid imagery, poetry, passion, and intelligence. Many seem to reflect
the writer’s protracted spells on the road both here and in the USA; the
loneliness of the long distance touring artist if you will.
The songs are given additional depth by Lang’s sheer musical invention;
the writer’s trademark heart-tugging melodies, the dexterity of his guitar
playing and sharp sense of dynamics (two of his strongest qualities), and the
telepathic rapport he enjoys with his regular rhythm section, drummer extraordinaire
Angus Diggs and bassman Grant Cummerford. In Whatever Makes You Happy,
Jeff also recruits the services of some carefully selected special guests and
instrumentation, giving his songs an expanded range of stylistic setting. On ‘By
Face, Not Name’, a chilling story of rape and its aftermath, he engages
in a vocal duet with Suzannah Espie with the latter’s GIT colleagues and
Chris Wilson on back-up vocals. On ‘Rain on Troy’, a song of
despair that cuts to the quick, the pervading sadness is eerily echoed by Azo
Bell’s eloquent singing saw. ‘You Tremble’, a disturbing
love song, employs vibraphone and looped percussion as atmospherics. On
the boisterous ‘Rejected Novelist Fails Again’, the inherent frustration
and impending sense of calamity is bolstered by trombones and tuba. In ‘You
Should¹ve Waited’ and ‘Sleeping’, Bruce Haymes’ Bruce
Hornsby-esque piano is complements Lang’s acoustic and electric guitars
and lap steel. Matt Walker’s harmonica proves a perfect foil to Jeff’s
national guitar in the superbly evocative ‘Alive in There’, a bluesy
song that reeks of country Australia or mid-West USA (‘It’s a dry
heat that blew him through town / Why would a service station throw its shadow
down? / Does anybody live here? / Is there anyone alive in here?’). Fiddle
follows Lang’s fast and furious mandolin and national guitar finger-picking
to give the closing song, ‘The Road Is Not Your Only Friend’, a kind
of New Grass Revival meets Richard Thompson feel. It’s almost a companion
piece to the riveting first track, ‘The Save’, which, courtesy of
Diggs’ percussion (and Lang’s guitars and trowel), hurtles along
like the Indian Pacific mentioned in the opening line.
The songs on Whatever Makes You Happy are punctuated by four short, sharp instrumental
interludes (three of less than 40 seconds duration), two featuring the talents
of that under-exposed guitarist and percussionist Chris Finnen. The Adelaide
maestro’s affinity with Indian music - and no doubt Jeff Lang’s increasing
interest in world sounds, cultivated by his liaison with Bob Brozman - is evident
on the bonus disc of outtakes, which features some inspired jamming including
a heavy duty work-out. Also included on CD2 is a medley of two songs
recorded live at Melbourne’s sadly defunct Continental Cafe with a cameo
appearance from John Butler (who cites Jeff Lang as a major influence).
As far as this reviewer is concerned, Whatever Makes You Happy is already a top
candidate for 2004’s Australian album of the year. |
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Julie Fox - Sydney Blues Society Newsletter |
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Have you ever heard anyone describe Jeff Lang’s style as mellow or
peaceful – well neither had I, and never thought I would be using those
words to convey how I felt on listening to this excellent offering -
Jeff’s long awaited 13th CD. I had heard touches of Jeff’s vocals reach
quite high notes before, but this recording showcases an entirely
different format for his music. Previously as an Independent artist,
Jeff always seemed to be hovering on the doorstep of commercial success
and acceptance in Australia, but with this latest CD, and signing to the
ABC label, surely the doors must open to welcome him onto mainstream
play lists. If Whatever Makes You Happy doesn’t do it then I can’t
imagine what else could!
Jeff’s new approach might have had something to do with the musicians
he chose to help him on this production. Featuring heavily with backing
vocals is the all-girl group Git from Melbourne, whose voices blend
perfectly with Jeff’s vocal pitch. Jeff also enlisted the help of fellow
singer/songwriter/guitarist Tim Hall to co-produce this album. Then we
have the perfect rhythm section of Angus Diggs (drums/percussion) and
Grant Cummerford (electric & acoustic bass). Several tracks also feature
Chris Wilson (backing vocals), Matt Walker (harp), Chris Finnen
(acoustic guitar), as well as various others on piano, vibraphone,
fiddle, a horn section and one guy playing singing saw!
If you are talking ‘value for money’ then CD one contains 15 tracks,
all written by Jeff, with some collaborations being Lang/Finnen/Diggs/Cummerford.
Included are 4 beautiful instrumentals; although so short they are
almost a teaser. Standout tracks would have to be the haunting piece By
Face, Not Name, with Suzanah Espie (Git) sharing vocals and Jeff playing
lap steel guitar. Rejected Novelist Fails Again has the best lyrics,
with a touch of Jeff’s heavier electric guitar and horn section. You
Tremble, beautifully sung with Jeff using his National steel guitar and
loop percussion. The Road Is Not Your Only Friend changes tack with the
use of mandolin and fiddle; frenetic Celtic music might a good
description – works well! The title track, another too-short
instrumental, finally brings this CD to a close, but wait, there’s more
– CD two contains 3 tracks – Studio outtake one and two – both
instrumentals, each running for around 20 minutes! Track 3, Too Easy To
Kill/Hellhound On My Trail sees Jeff back on vocals. This bonus CD was
recorded live at the Continental in Melbourne and also features guest
artist John Butler, who aptly sums up the situation with this comment:
“Jeff Lang is the man as far as I am concerned”!
JULIE FOX |