Crate Digger’s Corner: Ty Segall- Freedom’s Goblin [Drag City, 2018 (2LP)]
Crate Digger’s Corner…by DJ Musically Rich
(If you’d like to listen to a track from the album as you read, go to the end of the post to start the song)
Today in Crate Digger’s Corner I take a look at “Freedom’s Goblin” by Ty Segall. I want to jump right into the music that makes up this wonderfully eclectic garage rock album. The album’s first song is ‘Fanny Dog’ with its catchy vocals and backing brass breaking through the fuzz on the outstanding lead track. That is followed by what becomes a bit of a recurring theme of a song that has some fairly obvious inspiration from The Beatles. There is one song on each side (at least) that has something recognizable from The Beatles, although the song on the Side 4 that starts like that really takes it into a different place, for example the piano-driven ballad ‘Rain’. ‘Despoiler Of Cadaver’ starts with a drum machine beat that sets the foundation for a dance floor rave. ‘When Mommy Kills You’ sounds a bit like a lost track from Diamond Nights- Popsicle. ‘My Lady’s On Fire’ starts as an acoustic duet and morphs into a laid back tune that rides on a rhythm section that sounds like they are a country-funk band. It is an extremely eclectic album and that’s just the first side.
There are plenty of other highlights as well. The great power pop tune that starts Side 2, ‘Alta’, has a few shredding solos in it. ‘Shoot You Up’ and ‘She’ (which is almost entirely instrumental) are fuzzed out garage rockers. ‘I’m Free’ and ‘You Say All The Nice Things’ are beautiful, acoustic ballads. ‘Talkin’ 3’ pushes out into the avant-garde, particularly at the end when the saxophonist leads a full band freak-out that resolves into the opening funky sax riff of ‘The Main Pretender’ and its anthemic choruses. The final song I want to talk about also happens to be the last song on the album, ‘And, Goodnight’. This final song is led by a dual guitar attack that drives this song into far off galaxies as their guitar solos seem to push each other to try to outdo the last one. I imagine ‘And, Goodnight’ is what the Allman Brothers Band would have sounded like had they been a garage rock band rather than a Southern blues band. It is a fantastic ending to his best album that I’ve heard.
RIYL- Thee Oh Sees- An Weird Exits, Meatbodies- Alice, Witch- s/t, Iggy And The Stooges- Raw Power
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To listen to a track from the album… (this time I couldn’t pick, so there will be two songs. The Alpha and Omega of the album!)
Secondly, ‘And, Goodnight’
