Ken Stringfellow - Soft Commands
Since his early days as a founding member of the Posies, Ken Stingfellow has penned more than his share of songs that could stand on their own merit as contemporary poetry. He is not only a gifted lyricist, but a talented musician as well. Other musicians have noticed Ken’s musicianship, as he has been a part of the latest incarnation of Big Star as well as a part of the Peter Buck project known as the Minus 5. Ken is also a backing musician for R.E.M.’s traveling show.
Ken Stringfellow is not all about collaboration. “Soft Commands” is his 3rd full solo and continues his evolution as a musician and writer. However, most fans of the Posies will be disappointed in this album. Where The Posies would have lamented love and happiness, Ken now writes about, in his own words, unconditional love. Ken has replaced his rocking prowess with a more adult-alternative offering. Ken croons through many of the albums ballads and his voice holds up to this different tempo.
The fact that his guitar driven roots are replaced with piano and symphonic renderings (as well as a classical reference in “Any Love” and a lyrical mention of Davinci in “Don’t Die”) shows that Ken may be either mellowing out or showing his true musical roots. But when your body of work consists of solid harmonies, and harmony with other vocal accompaniment, sometimes you need to capitalize on those strengths. This album, as noted that this is a solo effort, does not capture Stringfellow’s prowess. That is not to say that Ken’s music cannot stand on its own merits. The album does have many highlights.
The album starts with “You Drew” which immediately announces to the listening audience that Ken has put aside his traditional guitar and decidedly focuses on piano and keyboard laden tracks. That is most evident in “Known Diamond” which could easily have been a Taupin/John collaboration. The gem of the disc is “Any Love.” It’s happy, melodic, and showcases all of Ken’s talents both in word and in music. “For Your Sake” is lyrically aesthetic and reminded me of an updated Byrds remake (and that is a compliment).
The album also has its share of lowlights. “When U Find Someone” and “Let Me Do” are easy listening songs that sound too much like another Austin Powers collaboration with Burt Bacharach (yes, that was the Posies singing “What the World needs now” with old Burt). “Je Vous en Prie” just doesn’t seem to belong on the album. I’m still not sure if the song is intended to be tongue-in-cheek or if it is meant to be a serious song. If the intent was to be profound, then the song is no better than a cheesy French love story.
Ken’s humor is eerily present on “Death of a City.” The songs seems to be a post-apocalyptic lament but Ken ends the song, and the album, with the lyrics “It’s over and done with. Don’t cry.” This is definitely an album that is intended to be “mood music for lovers.” It is not a disappointing record if looked at as sum of its parts. The fact that the album is semi-schizophrenic in the many moods it tries to capture in 40 minutes may have some listeners wishing for greater
