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Been
Here and Gone
July 31, 2001
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"...
the spellbinding power of Zedek’s voice, which has a
raw, barbed-wire twisting intensity matched by few rock singers."
-- Chicago Tribune
Thalia Zedek is one of the most important and talented vocalists
in American rock. Over her 20+ year career as singer and guitarist
with bands like Come, Live Skull, Uzi, and others, she has
brought an unparalleled intensity and emotion to underground
music, a talent on par with Nick Cave or Patti Smith. She’s
been deeply influential and fiercely revered.
Thalia moved from Washington DC to Boston in the late 70s,
joining a band called White Women before forming the all-female
Dangerous Birds in 1981. Their "Smile On Your Face" single
brought Dangerous Birds some notice (it was later included
on the Sub Pop 100 compilation), though they eventually split
and Thalia formed Uzi in 1983. Uzi made one spectacular EP,
Sleep Asylum, which was way ahead of its time in its blend
of Thalia’s garage-blues-punk background with drummer
Danny Lee’s modernist approach, incorporating electronic
drums, found sounds, and tape manipulation.
When Uzi split in 1986, Thalia was asked to join Live Skull,
a New York band often (unfairly) maligned as a second-rate
Sonic Youth but who, with the addition of such a strong frontperson,
were completely transformed into one of the best bands in
New York at the time. Thalia appeared on two Live Skull LPs
and one EP, all released on Homestead Records, before returning
to Boston, where she and friend Chris Brokaw (formerly of
Codeine) decided to form Come.
Come’s debut single"Car"/"Last Mistake" was released
as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club and caught a lot of people
in the music world off guard. Their debut album Eleven:Eleven
came out in 1992 and was one of the most acclaimed records
of the year, both in the press and among the indie heroes
of the day--Kurt Cobain, Bob Mould, J Mascis. Brilliant guitar
playing, fearless vocals, terrific lyrics, remarkably emotional
songs
Over the course of their career, Come were certainly acknowledged.
Melody Maker: "Come have made it harder for music to be banal.
They’ve carved a fresh benchmark. Marvel at its magnificence."
Rolling Stone: "Music you won’t soon forget." Option:
"Impossibly original." Entertainment Weekly: "Captivating...
enthralling." Musician: "A revelation." Spin: "Ferocious."
Request: "They make time stand still." Creem: "A confession
you’ve got no business hearing." Rip: "Truly brilliant,
bruising stuff." NME: "StaggeringCome really rock, with force,
like hell, almost literally." New York Times: "Come’s
music evokes those moments in rock’s demonic journey
when the seam is about to split."
Come released four albums, the last being 1998’s Gently
Down The Stream. The band recently disbanded (though Thalia
had already finished her album when they decided to make it
official). The initial idea for Thalia’s record came
as a result of a couple short "cabaret" tours the band did
between their third and fourth records, where they did stripped-down
versions of Come songs with piano and strings. Thalia found
that she liked singing over the quieter instrumentation, where
she felt she could be more expressive (and could actually
hear herself!).
Her importance and respect among her peers was reiterated
by her inclusion on the Indigo Girls’ 1998 Suffragette
Sessions Tour, a group of female artists which Amy Ray described
as "a socialist experiment in rock...no hierarchy, no boundaries."
When Come took an indefinite hiatus in 1999, Thalia was asked
to do some solo shows in Boston, for which she again opted
for the stripped-down instrumentation, performing songs by
Leonard Cohen, The Ramones, and Alex Chilton, as well as more
standard torch songs. She got an incredible response and started
composing songs specifically for these more intimate performances.
Accompanying her on these shows were some Come bandmates and
many people who play on this record.
Been Here And Gone is on one hand a straightforward singer/songwriter
record, and on the other hand completely defies categorization;
these are tricky, bluesy, deep songs devoid of any folkie’
vibes, a rock n’ roll album with viola, piano, and trumpet.
Listen to the stark "1926," probably the most moving performance
of the year.
Recorded March 2001 at Higher Power Recording, New York. Produced
by Thalia Zedek and Bryce Goggin.
Thalia Zedek--vocals, electric and acoustic guitars
David Michael Curry--viola, trumpet
Chris Brokaw--electric and slide guitars
Daniel Coughlin--drums
Beth Heinberg--piano
Mel Lederman--piano
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