Chris Stamey will likely always be synopsized in the dictionaries of good musical deeds as one of the main creative engines in the power-pop scheme, US of A edition, but he’s also a sharp multi-instrumentalist, a respected producer, and, as his new album Modernism highlights, an astute interpreter of song. Adding to an already rich discography, the set is out on vinyl, compact disc, and digital through Flatiron Recordings.
Stamey begins Modernism’s sequence close to stylistic home, tackling songs by two Brit bands that were crucial to shaping the whole power pop-college rock-indie rock shebang. First up is a tough but structurally attentive dive into The Beatles’ “Hey Bulldog” with Jody Stephens hitting the cans. It’s a winner, followed by a version of The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset” that’s decidedly 1980s Hoboken. That one features Stamey’s former band, the dB’s, including a sweet solo by Peter Holsapple.
Next is a take of the Left Banke’s “Shadows Breaking Over My Head” that gives that band’s Anglophilic baroque foundation a swell but subtle Van Dyke Parks-like twist. After that comes an unexpected by deftly handled plunge into Sly and the Family Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” that loses none of the original’s funkiness while suggesting a basis in 1980s Downtown New York City.
Many will buy Modernism simply because it includes a version of The Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday” that was recorded in 1977, produced, and featuring drums and guitar by Alex Chilton. It’s a rough mix (the master is long gone) fleshed out with contempo instrumentation, and it’s an album-closing treat. But the reality is that the spirit of Chilton significantly impacts the larger thrust of Stamey’s latest.
There’s a vibrant take of “Neon Rainbow” by Chilton’s breakout band, The Box Tops, but also a shared ingenuity of interpretation that can bring Chilton’s 1985 EP “Feudalist Tarts” and ’87 album High Priest to mind. The reality is that Modernism is broader in execution. In a deeper layer, there are three non-rock sources, including “Let’s Get Lost,” the American Songbook tune famous for its version by Chet Baker, which Chilton sang on another of his cover albums, 1993’s Clichés.
Although it’s best known through its recording by Etta James, “At Last” was composed by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the 1941 musical Sun Valley Serenade. It’s been covered numerous times, but Stamey’s reading is similar in execution to what Chilton was swinging for on Clichés. “Hernando’s Hideaway,” another song from a musical, in this case 1954’s The Pajama Game, is tackled here by Stamey with a vibe that hints at the essence of Memphis institution and Chilton associate Tav Falco.
There are also three new versions of Stamey originals that complete Modernism. “Where the Fun Is” was first recorded as the B-side to Stamey’s 1977 Ork Records “Summer Fun” single, a song that Chilton also produced and played guitar and drums on. Unlike “Ruby Tuesday,” Modernism’s “Where the Fun Is” is a fresh take and a wholly successful one, as are the return readings of “There’s a Dream Around the Corner” (from 2020’s A Brand-New Shade Of Blue) and “Of Time and All She Brings to Mind” (first heard on 1987’s It’s Alright).
Modernism benefits from a steady hand and has an appealing maturity about it, but the album’s not overly reflective, nor does it exude an air of finality. It’s just another fine record from Chris Stamey, a guy who has been doing it with class and precision for half a century.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
