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J Mascis
Martin+Me
(Reprise)
Martin+Me consists of J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., his acoustic guitar, his raw vocals and a room full of appreciative fans. The stark live production lends itself well to the stripped down versions of Dinosaur Jr. songs from albums such as Green Mind and Where You Been, not to mention a few covers including The Smiths’ "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" and Carly Simon’s "Anticipation."There is a weakness to Martin+Me that is easily caught by the discriminating listener: J Mascis isn’t going to win any prizes for his vocals. Now, I like Dinosaur Jr. as much as the next guy, but the fact remains that Mascis struggles to hold a note. The unpolished live setting doesn’t give the option of going back for another vocal take, and consequently, his faltering falsetto and his generally coarse voice stay in the mix and end up causing mild annoyance for anyone who is really paying attention.
Weak vocals are countered, however, by strong guitar work and well-written songs. Mascis doesn’t need any second takes for the work he does with his acoustic guitar. Dinosaur Jr. songs have been re-worked and shortened to fit perfectly with the solo performance format. None of them have lost their original emotion. Songs like "Get Me" and "Drawerings" continue to induce involuntary toe tapping and still get you singing along at half volume.
You might be able to sing better than Mascis, but playing guitar like him takes a lot of practice. It also takes quite a bit of work to be able to write songs that stir instead of bore.
Ron SawchukThe thing that this reviewer does not understand is that J NEVER "struggles to hold a NOTE! "
The reviewer just does not get it. It’s called Low Fidelity. It comes across best on a cheap car sterio.
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