Like a Version--Whipping Boy---Caroline Says

Thought I would post this little version of a Velvet Underground classic,

by the recently resurrected Irish band Whipping Boy. Nothing new, just a B-side from an old single, but I was listing to this the other day and thought it was worth posting.

I've heard that Whipping Boy began as a Velvets cover group, and it does not entirely surprise me.

In Walks the Ghost of an Irish Band---And They Thrilled!! Whipping Boy's Third

I fell pretty fortunate that I managed to get a copy of Whipping Boy's final album back when it originally came out. Their story has to be one of the stranger sadder outcomes. As arguably the best alternative Irish band of the 90's (I think so--sorry Bono), it seems appropriate to bring them up the day after the St Patrick's day celebration. I have memory's of St Patrick's Day having attended a Catholic College. I remember walking into the dining hall and momentarily thinking I stepped out onto a golf course, the room being awash with wall-to-wall Kelly Green sweaters. And later that evening a fair amount of green vomit.

They were a Dublin band that had released a magnificent 2nd album, Heartworm on Columbia (I've blogged about that one already). Critical reviews ensued; they even had some hit songs, at least in Great Britain and Ireland. When the period rolled around to record a sequel, they were dropped by their label. Despite their inability to land another deal, the band continued onward and they ultimately put together the album that was to be their swan song, the eponymous album with the cheese grater cover. I wish that they made five more.

Who released this album? They did. In 2000 on their own Low Rent label. Unfortunately the lack of success and problems with the music industry led to their untimely demise.

I heard about this album through a glowing review in Big Takeover Magazine. In order to get a copy I was instructed to e-mail guitarist Paul Page, and he would send me the ordering details. And he did just that. After sending him a check for $17 and a wait of a few weeks, my Cd arrived as promised. And as I might have expected, it was another one of those strange musical anomalies---another great disc from a fine band--but an album that never was picked up by any labels of any size. I would imagine that today such a DIY venture would have had a much better chance of success, given the growth of e-trade on the Internet (well, aside from the problem of some people not paying for music). I would say that equaling Heartworm would have been quite a feat---this album probably falls a little short of those heights. Nonetheless, this is an excellent disc, that unfortunately is pretty scarce. Right now just one is selling on Amazon for $45. Heartworm is selling for as little as one cent used.

For a self released album, it seems some cash was sunk into this, or else they were able to get their hands on some interns. Strings are not an uncommon occurrence on this album, and the songs on the album run from beautiful ballads to fairly noisy shoe-gazey rockers. The first tune So Much For Love, is simply exquisite. Fearghal McKee writes a mean lyric--So Much For Love reminds me a bit of a contemporary rendering of The Pogues' Fairytale of New York meeting up with Echo and the Bunnymen's Sevens Seas.




All she wants is to be remembered
Every Day.
All he sees is his own reflection
Standing in the way.

She said, "I wish we could kiss
like we used to.
I wish we could be.
I wish we could just make time
Stand still for me.....

Mutton is a another great pop tune, with loud guitars and cynical lyrics seemingly attacking the vapidness of modern society.

All I want is to Spend, Spend, Spend...
All I want is to Shop till I drop....

Throughout this record you will find a real mastery of dynamics. Another good example of this is the dark ballad One to Call My Own, that alternates between loud and quiet, and incorporates strings once again to great effect.

Pat the Almighty is a superb character portrait of a hypocritical legendary impresario on the local scene. I wonder whether this is a composite of people the band rubbed shoulders with, or an actual person? Either way, it's a memorably damning biography of self centered behavior.

The album finishes strong, though I am less familiar with the end because I have the unfortunate habit of going back and listening to the first half of the album again. But after the aforementioned One to Call My Own,  you get the great orchestrated tune Puppets, which sounds like it could have been an extra song from Heartworm. After this comes Who Am I?, which is probably my second favorite tune on this album, sounding like Trash Can Sinatras collaborating My Bloody Valentine.



The Ghost of Elvis is another excellent tune, sounding like an allegory on the vicissitudes of the music business and the public's changing tastes--easy come, easy go, as they sing. The album ends huge with the epic 5:17 of No Place to Go; anthemic chorus, pianos, strings, white noise. All you might want in a closing song. Whipping Boy's Third---Probably one of best albums you could have bought in 2000, all in all, if you only knew where to look.
But that was it for Fearghal McKee, Paul Page, Myles McDonnel and Colin Hassett. The band has reformed and done shows, as recently as last year, but I don't believe the complete original lineup participated.

Well happy post-St Pat's to everyone. Hopefully I have given some credit to one of the most undeservedly underrated bands of recent years.

Whipping Boy--Heartworm--A Fire That's Wild And Glorious

They built portholes for Bono, So he could gaze...

Whipping Boy was a great but somewhat unsuccessful Irish band from the 1990's. Heartworm, their sole major label album, was critically acclaimed, but did not sell enough in the eyes of Columbia to merit a followup.



Barefoot And Blind

 Which is too bad. They did put out a fantastic self-finance eponymous album , but internal strife and lack of commercial success led to an implosion. A tragedy for them and all music fans, as they deserved a much better fate. Because folks, there is a world of contemporary Irish music beyond Bono and the Cranberries that more people need to know about. Whipping Boy was one of the greatest Irish bands ever, and when they sank, most of the world didn't notice the ripple.

You Lead Me Astray

I picked up Heartworm in a used Cd shop years ago for $3.99. You can probably get a copy of it now for under a dollar through Amazon, a bargain that I would encourage you to not overlook. Their second album is currently a rarity. It just seems crazy that a label would drop a band that had a relatively successful album with hit singles. You probably could make the argument that Whipping Boy are not exactly a singles band. Their music is dark, moody, passionate, literary, touching on difficult subject matter. But with a very Irish sensibility--there is very much a point of origin for these songs. Their musical style is heavily influenced by the shoegazer movement. Vocalist Feargus McKee has a talking singing delivery and a commanding presence at the mike, not unlike a Hibernian Lou Reed. Rounding out their lineup is Paul Page (guitar), Myles McDonnell (bass,backing vocals), and Colm Hassett (drums).

The album begins with the huge single Twinkle. Poundingly loud and dreamlike, it is a dark and jaded love anthem. The second tune is the bittersweet warts n all nostalgic narrative of When We Were Young. "The first time you got drunk, you drank Pernod and dry cider, smashed a window in as police came round the corner." Darkness and brooding thoughts cast a dark cloud across this album. Struggling through the difficulties of everyday life and resulting deteriorating relationships are a recurring theme. Paul Page's guitar work is a revelation on this album, huge explosive bursts of power at times, then fading into quiet elegant restraint. Reminiscent of a classic band like The Who (I'm reminded of Quadrophenia), Whipping Boy are masters of dynamics.

Another single from this album was the gripping, revelatory We Don't Need Nobody Else, which is as much a short story as a novel. The song received criticism for misogynist lyrics--I personally don't see it that way. It tells a story, and highlights the grim irony of claiming to love someone yet turning around and being the agent of their harm. Destroy what you love, including yourself. What is happening in the song is that the narrator betrays himself by demonstrating that he is not the person he imagines himself to be. By no means is this any celebration of violence against women.

More accurate is that this is a gut wrencher of an album, full of cynical opinions, withering self-criticism, abject sadness, human failing. Uncompromising. Tripped starts out slowly and builds with a crescendo to a powerful conclusion. "I've lost my faith in all things good, just like mother said I would. She tripped, she had nothing left to give." The Honeymoon Is Over Is Another tale of the cruelties we perpetrate in relationships. A bit of a contrast is the dreamy stream of consciousness of Personality with lovely string accompaniment. Another winner is the pounding Welleresque shoegaze pop of Blinded. The beautiful noise intensity of Fiction is very much in the vein of  Kiwi eardrum destroyers Bailter Space.

Now I Know The Distance Between Us

The album conclude with the epic string filled Morning Rise. Starting with steady gravitas, the song builds gradually to a sad but hopeful finish. "I look down and all I see, is nothing staring back at me". Puzzlingly, there is a song appended to the end entitled  A Natural. It's basically a spoken word disquisition on mental illness. A sad and strange ending to a special album. Overall, Heartworm is a sonically amazing set of songs with difficult challenging subject matter, an introspective and poetic look at the difficulties of everyday life.Whipping Boy made quite a statement here, an album that can stand toe to toe with any of the more celebrated classics of the 90's. Yet relatively unappreciated and forgotten. Don't you make the same mistake. Hopefully their third album will be reissued someday soon. But more about that in a future post.