Jonathan Wilson has been busy since 2013's
Fanfare. He's produced two albums by
Father John Misty (
Josh Tillman), who returns the favor by appearing here, and records by
Conor Oberst,
Dawes, and
Karen Elson, as well as playing on
Roy Harper's
Man & Myth and
Roger Waters'
Is This the Life We Really Want? He's also musical director of
Waters' touring band. Like his previous outings,
Rare Birds is drenched in the sounds of his record collection, but this time around he's cast his sonic net considerably deeper and wider than the Laurel Canyon and yacht rock-isms so entrenched in its predecessors. It's sprawling at nearly 80 minutes, and lavishly packaged -- especially the LP. While the aftermath of a broken relationship is the obsession behind these songs,
Wilson insists this isn't a concept record. However, the truth of the matter is that it might as well be, as he charts the various stages of attraction, desire, hope, love, conflict, and romantic dissolution.
To aid him in this massive venture, he's enlisted a large cast of musicians who include pedal steel ace
Greg Leisz, drummer
Joey Waronker, and a host of backing vocalists -- including
Tillman and
Lana Del Rey.
Wilson's love of mid-'70s
Fleetwood Mac and
Trevor Horn is entwined on the glorious "Loving You," with proto new age pioneer
Laraaji on zither and duet vocals as
Del Rey poignantly backs them in a soulful drift. "Trafalgar Square" is saturated in
Wilson's love of
Tony Visconti's work with
David Bowie and
T. Rex. Another album highlight, "There's a Light," pays a sideways homage to
ABBA's spirit-lifting pop.
Jeff Lynne's
Beatles worship frames "Miriam Montague" -- complete with a string trio.
Wilson combines his respect for
Tim Friese-Green's work with
Talk Talk while simultaneously offering tribute to
Don Henley's "Boys of Summer" in the same track. In the haunted "Living with Myself," warm, spacious, bubbling synths and glorious backing vocals by
Del Rey carry the foreground as
Leisz's lap steel swoops and whines in the margins.
Trevor Horn also proves an inspiration in the pulsing layers of cagey synths and assorted other keyboards and strings on "Hard to Get Over." "49 Hair Flips" reflects the influence of
Talk Talk (circa
Colour of Spring) and late composer
Arthur Russell as well as early girl group rock & roll. Its lyrics engage raw sexuality, the perils of social media, and forlorn longing. They don't quite get it; in fact, they point at the problems with
Rare Birds.
Wilson clearly needs an editor: only three of its songs are under five minutes; his lyrics are so full of images, often in jarring juxtaposition to one another, that they're clumsy. It would also be nice -- next time out -- to hear
Wilson leave his record collection on the shelf and rely on his own production inspiration. The guy has the chops to stand on his own. These are quibbles, however.
Rare Birds is dizzying in ambition and (mostly) dazzling in execution. It offers hours of enjoyment to anyone who takes it on. ~ Thom Jurek
![Bridges to Bremen [2 CD/Blu-Ray]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5051300539177_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Bridges to Bremen [2 CD/Blu-Ray]")
