Valentino’s Pirates was an especially notable album for the Dave Rave Conspiracy because it was one of the first and only North American albums to be released on the Russian Melodiya label. It’s an eclectic and entrancing recirdung, from folky strum to rockin’ out to quiet balladry, and from romantic concerns to day-to-day events to more worldly matters. “Father Be Brave,” for instance, is a timeless acoustic song – so simple, spare and true in its one verse that it could have been written 400 years ago. “Do It All Over” is more characteristic of the early DRC, a trashy garage-rock with lo-fi production, catchy backing vocals, and hyper-kinetic guitar twanging a la “Peggy Sue.” Fans will recall “Weight Of The World,” a well-produced slice of catchy, acoustic-fuelled pop that actually managed to hit the Canadian video airwaves back in 1991. If anything proved Rave’s songwriting and arranging chops, this is the one. Check out that modulation in the final chorus, and the chord changes right near the end – it’s those kinds of touches that separate the pros from the novices. “Silk Stockings” is a beautiful breakup song, about relationship that’s continuing past the due date, delivered solo by Rave and hanging gorgeously on his heartfelt vocal and a recurring image of her stockings on the floor. “When Patti Rocked” – covered in a slicker version by Shane Faubert on his Squirrelboy Blue album, also available on Bullseye – is a more gently rocking pop song here in its original form, as written by Rave. “Farmer Needs Rain” makes a great analogy for a pining heart, and explodes from acoustic strumming to huge power-chord frenzy in the last go-round. The extra tracks include a few radio pieces about the Melodiya singing, and various stripped-down demos that offer some insight into the DRC songwriting process. This is the DRC album to buy if you’re only buying one. |
