Recently, I sat down and listened to three Stephen Steinbrink/French Quarter records: Ugly Unknowns, Next New Sun, and Desert Wasn't Welcome, the last of which just came out this September on Off-Tempo Records. Then I sat down to write a review of the latter, and found myself tongue-tied. I actually said to myself, "I wish I knew how I felt about this record".
Let's get one thing out of the way sooner than later; Desert Wasn't Welcome is a beautiful album and you should hear it as soon as possible, although you probably don't need me to tell you that. The quality of Steinbrink's music has been consistently high and the man's been blessed and rewarded with a loyal listener-ship since striking out on his own from Andrew Jackson Jihad years ago now. This record was cut over the course of three days with Steinbrink's long-time live band, a fact that I'd guess anyone who's seen a live French Quarter show would be excited about.
Desert Wasn't Welcome has a lush sound and texture to it that has been missing from previous French Quarter records, featuring some of Steinbrink's best songs to date. But it's also not his best album, in my opinion.
To say that the album starts off strong is a serious understatement. "Goodbye Alligator Skin" is energetic and catchy while still eschewing traditional song structures in the familiar French Quarter way.
"Unemployed Minor" features intricate guitar work that gives the song the feeling of a fresh spring morning somewhere where the dew gets to stick around on the grass long enough for someone to notice it before the sun wicks it away.
"Lucky Passing Dream" feels almost (could it be?) sexy, living up to its title in a pretty touching way. This song might be the best example of how Desert Wasn't Welcome functions as a full-band update of the French Quarter sound, as it hearkens back to many of Steinbrink's earlier songs that featured the same slinky, romantic feeling, such as "Ugly Unknowns" and "Neighbors in the Bedroom". Except this time there's not a sad, sickly undertone to this iteration, only a subdued, romantic joy. It's nice.
But the latter half of the album drags. It's not that it's bad material… much of second half of Desert Wasn't Welcome is on par with the rest of French Quarter's catalogue. I think it's simply that the first half of the album isn't on par with the rest of Steinbrink's work; it's better. It's more exciting, more energetic, a bit deeper than the songs that have come before it. I don't say that lightly. Listening to Ugly Unknowns and Next New Sun along with Desert Wasn't Welcome gave me an enhanced appreciation for French Quarter's recordings, and that said, the beginning of Desert Wasn't Welcome still shines brightest. That shine just dulls a bit as the record plays on.
As I was driving home last night listening to my iPod in shuffle mode, Elliott Smith’s “Amity” came on and helped me figure out how I really feel about Desert Wasn’t Welcome by reminding me how I feel about Elliott Smith. I’ve got favorite Elliott Smith records and less-favorite Elliott Smith records, most notable in the “less-favorite” category being XO. Some of my favorite Elliott Smith songs are on XO, but there are some songs I dislike on it and on the whole it doesn’t function well as an album for me. It doesn’t mean I don’t listen to it, because I do. I love to listen to it and watch how Smith developed and progressed as an artist. And maybe that’s how I feel about Desert Wasn’t Welcome. It’s got a lot of really killer songs on it. It might not function great as a collection of songs, but it tells you a lot about Stephen Steinbrink and French Quarter and how their art is progressing, which might be more valuable than overall playability.
