Pavement Album: “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (2CD) [Digipak] [Remast”

Ah, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - a modern rock album so stuffed to the gills with effortlessly accomplished, highly melodic songwriting that it throws away its best riff in the first 90 seconds. If that act of glorious waste isn't what Pavement was about, then I don't know what qualifies.

Yes, that's right: a lot of other bands would have conceptually organized an entire album around the opening chord progresson of "Silence Kit" had they been clever enough to write it. As it is, the band never returns to it after 1m30s: it's only one of THREE separate hooks in the very first song. Elsewhere, Pavement explores power-pop ("Cut My Hair," "Elevate Me Later"), prog influences ("Stop Breathin"), lo-fi jazz ("5-4=Unity"), and even country ("Range Life").

In theory, such musical polymathy threatens to put this album all over the map, with divergent genre-experiments running interference on one another and resulting in a stylistic jumble. But in fact, Pavement never sounded more together or displayed more unity of purpose than on this album. The more aggressive Slanted & Enchanted throwbacks like "Hit The Plane Down" and "Unfair" sit easily alongside cheerful burbles like "Elevate Me Later" and the friendly piano & flatpicked guitar of "Range Life." In fact, "Range Life" epitomizes the spirit of this album in many ways: it poses as a song of amiable wanderlust, but (Smashing Pumpkins digs aside) I think Malkmus inadvertantly reveals something about himself in that second verse. Sure, it's a seemingly jaundiced depiction of suburban teen life ("out on my skateboard, the night is just humming..."), but for all of Malkmus' practiced distance and inscrutability he can't help but betray real sentimentality with his loving attention to the little happy details. That gum-smacking kid weaving through dusky suburban sidewalks on his skateboard with a cheap walkman was probably him.

As for this two-disc reissue, it's less magnificent on a purely musical level than Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe, simply because the B-sides, Peel Sessions, and outtakes aren't as compelling as those from S&E. On S&E:L&R nearly every single off-cutting from the album was essential, and the material from the Watery, Domestic EP sessions was moreso. On this reissue, however, many of the early cuts from the aborted Gary Young sessions sound like deserved outtakes, while the B-sides and stray outtakes from the sessions proper are more hit & miss.

There are many real gems, though - so many, in fact, that I wonder if those who are criticizing the extras have *really* given this stuff a hard listen. Disc two's Gary Young sessions open with the greatest song that Pavement never officially released in "All My Friends," a hauntingly melodic two-part piece that fuses the best aspects of "AT&T," "Shoot The Singer," and "Unfair." (The last - and weakest - minute of the track was eventually chopped off and used as a B-side under the name "Exit Theory." This, and the fact that the song is much better produced than the next 7 cuts, leads me to believe it actually comes from the real album sessions and not the Young tapes.) Immediately following "All My Friends" is the SECOND greatest song Pavement never officially released, the spring-loaded "Soiled Little Filly." Don't let the lo-fi sound throw you off of this one, folks: the coiled tension and constant build of the song is unlike anything else in their discography. Run-throughs of "Range Life," "Stop Breathin'" and "Elevate Me Later" (here titled "Ell Ess Two" in acknowledgement of its clear musical debt to "Loretta's Scars") show how much the lyrics to these songs changed over time, while early versions of Wowee Zowee standouts "Flux=Rad," "Grounded," "Kennel District," and "Pueblo" demonstrate just how fertile a songwriting period this was. And that, really, is why the second disc of the CR,CR reissue is so welcome: it's a fantastic window into a period of Pavement's history that we previously knew little about.

As for the previously released tracks, notable ones include the exquisite "Raft" (the only B-side that can compare to the classic Slanted & Enchanted-era flipsides), the gentle "Strings Of Nashville," and the remarkable R.E.M. cover of "Camera." Speaking of R.E.M., fans of both bands will get a smile out of the goofy, clever tribute "Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence," wherein the history of the band is covered up to...oh, about the second album or so. (We also learn that "TIME AFTER TIME" WAS MY LEAST FAVORITE SONG!! "TIME AFTER TIME" WAS MY LEAST FAVORITE SONG!!)

Picking over the bones of the bonus tracks - and quibbling about whether or not some of them are obligatory for non-obsessives - ultimately feels small-minded. After all, you're paying the same price you normally would for a single-disc release to get a encyclopedic double-disc look at one of the great albums of the decade, complete with a well-assembled booklet containing new reminiscences and contemporaneous promotional material. Even if some of the bonus tracks aren't as improbably great as those on S&E, only a grinch would deduct a star for that.

What we're left with is the simple fact that Crooked Rain is Pavement's most assured album, suffused with a warm lustrous glow that invites you into its world rather than pushing you out of it. Stephen Malkmus and Spiral Stairs' classic rock fixation has never been more boldly out in the open than on this album, and while some would argue that Crooked Rain sacrifices some of the integrity and jagged edges of Slanted & Enchanted, the exhaustingly intense "Fillmore Jive," shimmering luminescence of "Gold Soundz," or the wryly disguised memo-to-myself of "Silence Kit" are not what compromise sounds like to me.

It's fair to say that if I could only own one album in the world, this would be it. I am a huge Pavement fan and I have owned all the albums and b-sides for a long time. When this came out I bought it anyway even though I pretty much already had all the songs in my collection. If you have never heard Pavement you really owe it to yourself to get this album. Pavement has had as much influence on music as Nirvana, but they never really cracked the main stream. All the more reason to enjoy this work of art. With Pavement you get some of the best music in history that hasn't been tainted by being commercial. Indeed, every Pavement album shines in it's own way, but this one is very special. There is pure genius in this album and repeated listenings only make you crave hearing it more.

This album is another recent Pavement re-issue (the previous being the Slanted & Enchanted remaster) that keeps the now-defunct band fresh in everyone's mind. I agree with a previous reviewer that this CD set is worth double its price. 49 songs for $13.50? A CD of this calibre and value from any other 90s act is unheard of. And the sheer volume not only of Pavement's released material, but of their still-unreleased material is staggering.

These re-issues tend to favor the die-hard fans, who can never get too much of the band. This one is yet another essential in what will likely be a continued healthy post-mortem existence for IMO the strangest and most prolific 90s act. Pavement alone dominates many, many pages in my CD case, and I am happy to grow my collection with this purchase.

This is the first Pavement record I ever listened to, and it turned me into one of the world's most devoted Pavement fans ever. Although every other pavement album is of superb quality, 'CR, CR' does stand out - what's so fascinating about this album is that it NEVER GETS OLD. I for one think that one of the qualities excellent albums must possess is that invariable freshness, and unlike most other critically acclaimed albums, 'CR, CR' never fails to deliver a fresh sound whenever I turn to it. Even 'The Beatles' at certain point gets old after repetitive listens... in that regard, 'CR, CR' is one truly awe-inspiring record - a must-have for any music fan!

As far as this reissue is concerned, kudos to Matador. Bunch of songs from their EP's and rare live tracks which are equally amazing... 'nuff said.

ps-excuse my English... but I believe my love for the band and CR, CR can be clearly understood regardless of my English skills xD so enjoy Pavement and their work at their finest

Stephen Malkmus' REM album ages well. Like REM, the songs anchor around wondrous guitar melodies, and like Kurt Cobain, Malkmus knows a melody. His poetic musings may seem insignificant, but the quotable lines stick more than most. Lyrically, Robert Christgau compared him to poet, John Ashbery.

Malkmus delivers more from a below-average voice (often sounding like he's reading directly from his notebook) than anyone else not named Lou Reed; and like Dylan, it's the cadence, the delivery from even seemingly throw away words, the ability to emphasize a syllable or draw out a phrase that can give a song signature and makes it worth a listen (see Malkmus' fantastic singing on the I'm Not There tribute for further proof: "Ballad of a Thin Man," "Maggie's Farm"). Like all great singers, it is a voice all his own.

Though Crooked is not as stellar as the re-issue of the absolutely essential, "Slanted and Enchanted," it's worth this two disc "remastering." However, not without its flaws, the drums lack the talent of wacky former drummer, Gary Young (no matter how the band might otherwise protest). But where the drums may disappoint or become invisible, the guitar melodies abound.

...a half a notch higher for the amusing, insightful liner notes from SM and Spiral.