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ZIPPO - The Road To Knowledge
Een Italiaanse stonerrock band besluit zijn tweede album ‘The Road To Knowledge’ te baseren op het boek “The Teachings Of Don Juan” van Carlos Castaneda. Het moet niet veel gekker worden, was mijn eerste gedachte. Waar zijn de tijden gebleven dat bandjes nummers schreven over ‘eenvoudige’ dingen zoals meisjes en auto’s, al dan niet in combinatie met elkaar? Bij een nadere inspectie van het werk van Castaneda bleek de keuze van Zippo - bij deze winnaar van de prijs voor beroerdste bandnaam van 2009 - minder vreemd dan op het eerste gezicht. “The Teachings Of Don Juan” is een typisch product van de jaren zestig, waarin de schrijver vertelt over zijn ontmoetingen en ervaringen met de Indiaanse sjamaan/tovenaar Don Juan Matus, een persoon die in het noorden van Mexico zou moeten hebben geleefd. Oude rituelen onder invloed van hallucinogene paddenstoelen en cactussen en beschrijvingen van een levensfilosofie die heel erg new age achtig aandoet: door middel van lucid dreaming en het doorbreken van vastgeroeste routines kun je een hogere staat van bewustzijn bereiken. Wauw. Heftig man. Helemaal stoner dus. Nadat ik mijn aanvankelijke scepsis terzijde had geschoven en onbevangen de cd had beluisterd moest ik toegeven dat die eigenlijk verrassend goed was. Het doldwaze en topzware concept bleek geen excuus te zijn om matige liedjes toch nog een air van grootsheid te geven, iets wat maar al te vaak gebeurt in dit soort gevallen. Het verhaal dat verteld moet worden doet de band dan het meest belangrijke vergeten, nl. het schrijven van leuke liedjes. Zippo heeft dat wel gedaan en als je nog nooit van Castaneda gehoord hebt dan mis je gelukkig niet veel. Het helpt wel om songs als ‘Chihuahua Valley’ of ‘Mitote’ te kunnen duiden. Hoe het ook zij, ‘The Road To Knowledge’ is een gevarieerd geheel geworden. Heavy psychedelische rock en luchtige intermezzo’s wisselen elkaar af in net iets minder dan een uur. Gelukkig is het geen dope album, zo’n vaag werkje dat alleen maar te genieten is wanneer je (net als de makers) zwaar onder invloed van het een of ander bent. Ik vind dat muziek ook nuchter te genieten moet zijn, en dat is hier het geval. Eigenlijk is het behoorlijk genuanceerd en gevarieerd. Er zijn trippy stukken, zoals met name de laatste helft van het album, maar er zijn ook mooie rustige, akoestische passages, zoals ‘Lizards Can’t Be Wrong’. Bij tijd en wijle lijkt het op een soort van stonerversie van Tool. Tool, maar dan niet zo vermoeiend, zeg maar. Zippo toont aan dat niet alle stonerrock hetzij op Kyuss moet lijken of moet doorschieten naar een soort van Cheech en Chong musical. Er is ook ruimte voor originaliteit en deze koppeling tussen literatuur en muziek is wat mij betreft geslaagd.Jan-Simon
www.lordsofmetal.nl
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ENGLISH VERSION:
ENGLISH VERSION:
ZIPPO - The Road To Knowledge
Subsound Records
Rating: 80/100
An Italian stonerrock band decides to base its second album ‘The Road To Knowledge’ on “The Teachings Of Don Juan”, a book by Carlos Castaneda. It should not get much weirder than this, I thought. Where have the times gone that bands wrote songs about simple things such as girls and cars, just like that or in a combination? After detailed inspection of the work of Castaneda, the choice of Zippo - winner of the prize for worst band name of 2009 - seemed less surprising than at first sight. "The Teachings Of Don Juan" is a typical product of the sixties, in which the writer tells about his encounters and experiences with the Indian shaman / sorcerer Don Juan Matus, a person who has supposed to have lived in northern Mexico. Old rituals under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms and cacti and descriptions of a life philosophy that is very new age-like: you can achieve a higher state of consciousness through techniques combining lucid dreaming and breaking fixed routines. Wow. Heavy stuff man. Completely stoner in other words. After putting my initial scepticism aside had it I listened to the CD uninhibited and I had to admit that it was actually surprisingly good. The rather silly and pretentious concept appeared to be no excuse to make poor songs look great; something that happens far too often in such cases. They have a story to tell and as a result the band forget their core business, i.e. writing great songs. Zippo has not forgotten this and should you never have heard of Castaneda then you fortunately do not miss much, although it helps if you want to understand what songs like 'Chihuahua Valley' or 'Mitote' are about. Be it as it is, 'The Road to Knowledge' has become a very varied album. Heavy psychedelic rock and light interludes follow each other in just a few seconds less than an hour. Fortunately this is no dope album, the kind of vagueness that is only enjoyable with large doses of something. I think music should be great when sober as well, and that is the case here. Actually it is a well-balanced and varied record. It has trippy bits, especially in the second half of the album, but there are also nice quiet, acoustic pieces, like ‘Lizards Can’t Be Wrong’. At times it sounds like a stoner version of Tool. Tool, but not as tiresome, in other words. Zippo shows that not all stonerrock should either be like Kyuss, or go to the other extreme of some sort of Cheech and Chong musical. There is room for originality as well, and this marriage of literature and music is a good one, as far as I am concerned.
Jan-Simon
www.lordsofmetal.nl
Rating: 80/100
An Italian stonerrock band decides to base its second album ‘The Road To Knowledge’ on “The Teachings Of Don Juan”, a book by Carlos Castaneda. It should not get much weirder than this, I thought. Where have the times gone that bands wrote songs about simple things such as girls and cars, just like that or in a combination? After detailed inspection of the work of Castaneda, the choice of Zippo - winner of the prize for worst band name of 2009 - seemed less surprising than at first sight. "The Teachings Of Don Juan" is a typical product of the sixties, in which the writer tells about his encounters and experiences with the Indian shaman / sorcerer Don Juan Matus, a person who has supposed to have lived in northern Mexico. Old rituals under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms and cacti and descriptions of a life philosophy that is very new age-like: you can achieve a higher state of consciousness through techniques combining lucid dreaming and breaking fixed routines. Wow. Heavy stuff man. Completely stoner in other words. After putting my initial scepticism aside had it I listened to the CD uninhibited and I had to admit that it was actually surprisingly good. The rather silly and pretentious concept appeared to be no excuse to make poor songs look great; something that happens far too often in such cases. They have a story to tell and as a result the band forget their core business, i.e. writing great songs. Zippo has not forgotten this and should you never have heard of Castaneda then you fortunately do not miss much, although it helps if you want to understand what songs like 'Chihuahua Valley' or 'Mitote' are about. Be it as it is, 'The Road to Knowledge' has become a very varied album. Heavy psychedelic rock and light interludes follow each other in just a few seconds less than an hour. Fortunately this is no dope album, the kind of vagueness that is only enjoyable with large doses of something. I think music should be great when sober as well, and that is the case here. Actually it is a well-balanced and varied record. It has trippy bits, especially in the second half of the album, but there are also nice quiet, acoustic pieces, like ‘Lizards Can’t Be Wrong’. At times it sounds like a stoner version of Tool. Tool, but not as tiresome, in other words. Zippo shows that not all stonerrock should either be like Kyuss, or go to the other extreme of some sort of Cheech and Chong musical. There is room for originality as well, and this marriage of literature and music is a good one, as far as I am concerned.Jan-Simon
www.lordsofmetal.nl
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