![]() ![]() He got as far as confessing to be fascinated by, some years previously, watching Tom Waits chatting up a homeless New York street musician and somehow. He offered to explain the title of the new album in that interview but it didn’t really eventuate. from musicians Tom Waits and David Byrne to film director Mike Nichols. The many talents of Jim White, both literary and musical, came out in a recent interview where, within just a few paragraphs, he was manically dropping names. And so too do the songs of fellow American Jim White, whose latest album seems to throw up a rather caustic image of the darker side of America in its three-word title: Waffles, Triangles and Jesus. Not that the social agonies that ensue are allowed to impinge at all on the sleek almost pointillist precision of this premier house bandĬhris Thile’s new outing demands intensive listening to reap all the subtleties of words and music as he spins his stories. With Thile, it’s a horror peculiar to Thanksgiving and other holiday celebrations, being locked in with the family, without enough to talk about and - thanks to fermentation - a good supply of soul-soothing libations. As much so as being in that coach that transported Joni Mitchell from confusion to the plane. There is a story of sorts in 'Elephant in the Room', but it’s also a hilarious study in excruciating claustrophobia. Now, his latest album, Thanks for Listening, has him gathering up a selection of his Prairie Home songs and plucking them from the ether for the CD market. Thile’s something of a favourite on New Horizons - we’ve played him giving Bach a swing with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, as well as leading his nouveau bluegrass band, Punch Brothers. Mandolin maestro Chris Thile joined the show in 2016, and one of his tasks was to write and perform a weekly song. One remembers Garrison Keillor’s long-running radio programme, Prairie Home Companion, which made so much of both. 'Thank You, New York' and 'Falsetto' are great pop songs, stand-outs on an album that keeps calling listeners back.Story and song are, and have been for centuries, deeply connected. Elsewhere, with the added voices of Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan and Guatemalan Gaby Moreno, Thile becomes a Brian Wilson for the Twitter age. At times, as on the solo voice and mandolin 'Balboa,' it's as if Thile is communicating personally with the listener in the grand radio tradition. " are topical, tender, adventurous, enquiring and direct. Blending bluegrass, folk, and a bit of R&B, Thile also excels on the funky "Elephant in the Room" as well as "Falsetto," "I Made This for You," "Feedback Loop," and "Balboa." Singing lead and playing most of the stringed instruments himself, the four-time Grammy winner is front and center on these recordings, but-being passionate about collaborating with other musicians-Thile is joined by guest singers Sarah Jarosz ("Modern Friendship"), Gaby Moreno ("Thank You, New York"), and Aoife O'Donovan ("Douglas Fir"). An artist of boundless energy and creativity, Chris Thile took the job of hosting A Prairie Home Companion and even set himself the task of writing a new song for the show each week. ![]()
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