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Gossip are a Seattle-area trio whose 24-minute 14-song debut album
That's Not What I Heard (Kill Rock Stars, 2001)
is more steeped in blues and gospel than anyone west of the
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
From the sexy Swing Low to the desperate Jailbreak
to the sarcastic Hott Date
the trio pulls together the slow, driving, sweating spirit of the plantations.
But even stronger vibrations emanate from
the stomping Sweet Baby and Southern Comfort,
and from a couple of ferocious
voodoo-boogies, Got All This Waiting and Bring It On.
The Cramps-ian punkabilly fest Got Body If You Want It,
the dark, epileptic, Beefheart-ian Bones and Catfight, the
Patti Smith-ian ode Where The Girls Are (virtually a reworking of Rock And Roll Nigger)
showcase affinities with the classics of manic derangement.
Thanks to Arkansas-native Beth Ditto's Joan Jett-ish vocals and
melodic flair, and to a vintage guitar style (that could potentially flower in
a Brian Setzer-y saga), the Gossip can be soulful and atmospheric
where Jon Spencer can only be raw and dirty.
The six-song EP Arkansas Heat (Kill Rock Stars, 2002) continued the
show in a grander vein. The songs are not only better produced and played, but
also more sophisticated. They still pull out an anthem,
Ain't It The Truth, and they stretch over the
11-minute The Revolution, which is quite a leap from the two-minute
standard of their debut.
Movement (Kill Rock Stars, 2003) is still blues-rock with a punk attitude (Nite), and Beth Ditto is getting better at melodrama (Light Light Sleep).
Unded in NYC (Dim Mak, 2003) is a live album.
Standing In The Way Of Control (Kill Rock Stars, 2006) was
entertaining but not particularly profound or innovative.
Mainly missing in action were Beth Ditto's visceral post-gospel vocals, now
reduced to a gracefully gritty shout. Despite the rhythmic urgency and a more
cohesive sound, even the best songs (the danceable hit Standing In The Way Of Control,
Jealous Girls, Fire With Fire) sounded predictable.
Live in Liverpool (Columbia, 2008) is a live album.
Music For Men (Columbia, 2009)
was a cauldron of vintage stereotypes
grafted onto their disco-punk roots
(Heavy Cross).
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Costantino della Gherardesca)
I Gossip sono un trio della zona di Seattle il cui album d'esordio (che consiste di 14 canzoni in 24 minuti) Š pi—
inclinato al blues e al gospel di chiunque ad ovest della Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
Dalla sensuale Swing Low
alla disperata Jailbreak fino alla sarcastica
Hott Date il trio mette insieme lo spirito lento, possente, persistente e
perspirante delle piantagioni. Ma vibrazioni ancora pi— forti emanano dalla marcata ritmica picchiante di
Sweet Baby e Southern Comfort,
e da un paio di feroci voodo-boogie,
Got All This Waiting e
Bring It On. Il
punkabilly della scuola Cramps di Got Body If You Want It,
le tetre, epilettiche Beefheartiane
Bones e Catfight,
l'ode in stile Patti Smith di Where The Girls Are
(praticamente una revisione di Rock N'Roll Nigger)
mostrano affinit… con i grandi classici del dilaniamento.
Grazie alla voce melodica e alla Joan Jett di
Beth Ditto (nativa dell'Arkansas), e alle chitarre d'epoca
(che potrebbero fiorire in una saga alla Brian Setzer), i
Gossip mostrano anche anima e atmosfera laddove Jon Spencer sa solo essere
crudo e sporco.
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