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Bobby Conn & the Glass Gypsies, "Live Classics Vol. 1"
I’ve never really understood the glam-rock tag that Bobby Conn gotsidled with in his solo work. Sure, the dude and his band, the GlassGypsies, dress in sequins and gold lame stage outfits, all but invitingcomparison to the coke addled heyday of Ziggy Stardust.Thrill Jockey
I suppose his albums invited this tag as well, as they always seemedpacked to the gills with ostentatious additions such as strings andhorns sections. In a live setting though (well, ok, “live in front of astudio audience.”), these songs take on a grimy sheen, and, simply put,kick ass. On “Angels,” the band throws down a furious groove, with Connnearly besting Ian Svenonius’ Prince impression. For anyone who stillmaintains that Conn and the Glass Gypsies are nothing more thenglam-rock opportunists, the kiss off comes on the next track, “We Comein Peace.” It’s a righteous protest anthem that finds Conn spouting offinspired couplets like “We are your friends, we come in peace, webrought our guns to set you free” and sounds a lot like the searingprotest rock that Ted Leo and the Pharmacists have been performinglately. The opening wah-wah guitar freak out of “Cashing Objections”whispers dirty come-ons in my ear, drawing me in, while the rest of thesong is nailed down by the excellent interplay of lead-guitarist Sleddand violinist Monica BouBou. Overall, the stylistic diversity the banddisplays in the quasi-live setting here is impressive, as the bandjumps from burning rockers (“Style I Need”) to over-the-top arena fare(“White Bread”) to dirty funk jams (“Axis ’67 Part 2”). Throughout, thesongs feature incisive and often-humorous lyrics performed with Conn’sbreathless enthusiasm which skewer the current political and culturalclimate mercilessly. While a lot of people have already written offConn for a being crappy composite of mid-1970s music trends, they’d beill advised to ignore this release. Sure, in a studio, Conn’s eyes areoften bigger then his stomach, but on Live Classics Vol. 1 he and hisband are ferocious and terse, everything great rock and roll should be.
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