"I'm not a musician... you might've realized that by now, but in case you haven't , I'm just kinda comin' right out with it. I ain't even a songwriter. What I am is... uh... - I'm pretty good at scrabble." - Dom Leone
The tribute record is perhaps one of the most misused concepts ever to be created in the music world of the late 20th Century. It started with good intentions, but quickly became abused and overused when anyone could issue "tributes" to just about anybody. That being said, I now admit that I DO like the very small handful of 'tributes' that occupy my collection, and that they do serve a purpose. In the best case scenario, one gets to hear great songs from a good, but usually criminally overlooked artist, performed by equally good and overlooked artists. At the very least and usually on the average, you may get some exposure to some artists who may have better work on their own records and worst case scenario, you get a shiny table coaster.
For the record, the tributes I have are BONOGRAPH, the Sonny Bono Tribute; DEAD DOG'S EYEBALL, Kathy McCarty's tribute to Daniel Johnston, John Zorn's tribute to Ennio Morricone, THE BIG GUNDOWN and some of the Hal Willner produced projects - STAY AWAKE, LOST IN THE STARS, AMORCORD - tributes to Disney songs, Kurt Weill and Nino Rota, respectively. So you can gauge whatever aesthetic standards I have from those choices. Now I can add another to that listing, GUESS WHO THIS IS, a tribute to Dom Leone.
If you're familiar with the ERQ websites, you already know who Dom Leone is, so bear with the following. As for the rest of you --
If you've ever heard of Ed's Redeeming Qualities, any of their charming and quirky songs, then understand that Dom Leone is the heart of it all. A resident of Ohio, he left an engineering job to pursue writing, drawing and music. Relocating to New Hampshire in the early 80's he helped form ERQ with his cousin, Dan and Dan's friends Neno Perotta and Carrie Bradley. They worked up some songs, made some tapes, performed in a few places - most notably, Boston, at the Rathskeller ('The Rat') and started to get some notice. Then Dom was diagnosed with cancer. He died on November 27th, 1989, leaving friends and relatives in mourning, and leaving behind him a substantial body of work in songs, stories and art.
That may have encapsulated it all, except for the fact that ERQ went on, taking that body of work and moving forward with it. The band relocated to San Francisco in the early 90's, made several albums, all featuring Dom's songs and art, and eventually spawned its own cult of followers, myself among them. Now Ed's is no more, except for the occasional reunion show, the members all pursuing their own interests -- and still these songs live on, on lp, tape and CD, in a motion picture (ED'S NEXT MOVE) and now, reinterpreted by various artists on this new album.
Guy Capelcelatro III is the main person behind this disc, proceeds of which will go to The Dom Leone Writing Competition, which has been active for over a decade, helping kids in grades 1 - 12 find their own voices. A noble endeavor, but you also get the added benefit of hearing these songs in a different light, if you're familiar with Dom and ERQ. And if you're not, than you have the opportunity to be introduced to them.
I had mentioned earlier that Dom was - is - the heart of ERQ. Not to take away anything from Carrie, Dan, Neno and Jonah who were, and are as equally valuable. But the one thing that hearing this disc really made clear, for perhaps the first time since discovering ERQ, is how much of his personality is in the songs. People talk of the 'charm' of ERQ, and that IS a huge part of what attracts people. But listening to these songs, by different artists and by ERQ members in different settings, finally made me realize just what a huge part of ERQ is Dom - and knowing what one knows now, probably an inkling on just how difficult it was for everyone to carry on after he left so soon. Dan Leone and Guy, in their notes, put it across much better than I do.
As to the interpretations, all the bands featured did great work - taking a glance at the track listing preceding this review reveals some familiar names, particularly if you live in the SF Bay Area. Granfalloon Bus, Virginia Dare, 86, Cory Porter (ex-Pupcage and Buckets), "The Funny Bunnies" (actually the band Fuck, but I suspect that the name change indicates there may have been a slight problem with the printers), and Warm Wires are but a few whose tracks are A+. The Buckets make a reappearance, and ERQ members Carrie Bradley (100 Watt Smile), Dan Leone (Music Night), Jonah Winter (Perth Amboy Society Tea Orchestra) and Neno Perotta (The Hot Tubs) make appearances with their respective new groupings. Also, several recordings of Dom reading some of his work are interspersed throughout the disc (the quote at the head of this review being one of them).
Some of the reinterpretations are merely slight shifts in tone, keeping close to the original arrangements; there are a few that stretch things, such as The Pee Wee Fist's country with-a-rap-beat version of 'Scofflaw of Gravity', Perth Amboy's giddy and fun take on 'Spider' (that's Jonah's wife on vocals), and Music Night's calypso-ized 'My Apartment'. But the truly radical reinterpretation on disc is Calexico's, with their deconstruction of 'Drivin' on 9' which is sure to raise some eyebrows of those familiar with the song, and with the cover The Breeders did a few years ago. Some of the best interpretations are those that keep it simple and acoustic, such as Mark Kozelek's version of 'My Friend Bob' and Bob & Guy's take on 'Buck Tempo' (for my money, the best version on record since the one on ERQ's MORE BAD TIMES album).
The packaging is A-1 also; in addition to the notes by Guy and Dan mentioned earlier, various artists also offer their visual interpretations of Dom's songs. I have some minor quibbles with the disc, but nothing that should really discourage anyone from giving it a listen. One big criticism - the listing on the disc does not match up with the actual running order, but it doesn't detract from the listening experience. (Plus, a hint - take a look at the band credits on the booklet, which ARE in running order.)
The disc can be ordered from Guy at Two Ton Santa. Check out their site on www.twotonsanta.com which also offers more information on the disc itself and the bands featured; or send him mail at:
Two Ton Santa Records
P.O. Box 1332
Portsmouth, NH 03802
In regards to Dom's assessment of his skills, I bet that he was on the money about being a pretty good Scrabble player. I'm sure he'd be tickled to see he was wrong about the rest of it.
Robert Hubbard, ©2002