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Mannerisms
Magnified
Written, arranged, performed, and engineered by multi-instrumentalist Dale Turner (recorded entirely within his living room and bedroom office), MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED is one of the most eclectic—yet surprisingly cohesive—rock albums conceived and executed by a lone musician in recent memory. (Imagine the haunting unpredictability of Radiohead, dynamic peaks/valleys of Jimmy Gnecco's OURS, with a dose of King's X heaviness and Mr. Bungle's quirkiness, interspersed with Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith-like introspective vocal moments—all polished off with Beach Boys/Brian Wilson-meets-Bobby McFerrin-style vocal arrangements and Jon Brion-esque instrumental bits.) While the focus of this 12-song collection is clearly "presentation of songcraft," MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED is heavily propelled by Turner's nuanced fretwork (acoustic and electric guitar influences that include the aforementioned Buckley and Smith, along with Steve Morse, Tommy Emmanuel, John Frusciante, Ani DiFranco, Ty Tabor, Andrew York, Jimi Hendrix, and Jeff Beck—many of whom Turner has had the privilege of conducting interviews/private lessons with at his former "job") and wide-ranging vocal approaches (from eerie whispers, dreamy falsetto, and stunningly-intricate harmonies, to full-throttle rock wails, cartoon-like voices, and throat singing effects).
Over a decade ago, various hand injuries (Carpal Tunnel and Tendinitis, among others) prompted Turner to abandon various aspects of his guitar style (fast playing, most string bends, and certain other aggressive fret-hand moves) and focus intensively on songcraft, morph his six-string statements into something more orchestral/piano-like, as well as develop his varied vocal interests. This first resulted in 2004's INTERPRETATIONS (a live guitar-and-vocal only covers album done as a tribute to Jeff Buckley). On the all-original MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED, all songs (with the exception of the multi-tracked a cappella opening cut, and Brian Wilson homage, "Brian on the Brain") still feature acoustic guitar and voice as their foundation (the manner in which Turner currently performs them live, as a solo act), but have been augmented in the recording process with Turner's subtly unorthodox drumming (self taught by transcribing Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith's drum parts, studying Steve Smith's instructional videos, and various drum instructional books), linear-yet-supportive bass playing (influenced by Flea, first and foremost, along with Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, and Carol Kaye), and, of course, Turner's vast array of electric guitar sounds. Add to that, Turner's piano, mandolin, and accordion touches on select cuts—and the fact that virtually any other “instrument” heard is actually a vocal sound (think: Mike Patton meets Bobby McFerrin meets Raul Midon)—and you get a hint of the unpredictable, yet highly-musical listening experience this 42-minute sonic journey offers. Though MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED contains its share of humorous moments in the lyrics department (comedy which Turner claims inspiration from Dr. Seuss, Tom Lehrer, George Carlin, Bill Maher, and David Cross), the majority of songs deal with serious subjects—things Turner feels strongly about, like religion, women/women's rights, racism, child abduction/abuse, death/suicide, gay rights, chemical dependency, and various types of social/psychological dysfunction. (Does the world really need another dozen love songs?) MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED was initially mixed on a Power Mac G4 by Dale Turner, then remixed (from stems) through vintage/modern analog gear by sonic wizard Robert Wawoe. Mastered by Eddy Schreyer (Jon Brion, Fiona Apple, Take 6, Korn, Queen) at Oasis Mastering. CD/DigiPak includes original art/illustrations and complete lyrics booklet.
ABOUT
THE ARTIST: ###
July
8, 2008
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