Fast Man Raider Man
	Produced by Jon Tiven
	Released on June 20, 2006
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
55875-2 cover [high resolution scan]

K ronomyth 12.0: MUSIC FROM BIG FRANK. This is the basement brain of Frank Black writing a new American songbook with members of The Band, The Swans and anyone else willing to come along for the ride. Sure, it’s stylistically all over the place. And, yes, it could have been pared down to a single album without losing anything vital. But, dammit, you have to love the man for arranging this kind of shotgun wedding between the 70s and the 90s. Fast Man Raider Man contains remarkably few standout tracks for a double-disc set: “If Your Poison Gets You,” “It’s Just Not Your Moment,” “In The Time of My Ruin,” “Fast Man.” Really, that’s about it. So why do I come away from Fast Man thinking Black is more of a genius than ever? Maybe it’s the fact that he could do this: make a double album that captures the wide-open spirit of Dylan and The Band and populate it with icons like Al Kooper, Jim Keltner, Levon Helm and Steve Cropper. Or maybe it’s the fact that, no matter what Black is singing, he makes you believe it’s the most important song at that moment. Now, from what I’ve read, Fast Man Raider Man is a continuation of Honeycomb (also recorded with Jon Tiven), so maybe this is the new Frank Black we’re hearing. If so, it’s the new nostalgic Black we’re getting, someone who has spent a lot of time thumbing through his record collection and wants to give a little back to the old gods. There are some who will shrink away from this collection because it lacks the chaotic fury of his early work. I hear it as Frank Black stepping forward in his own work. Remember when Elvis Costello discovered he was actually a good singer? I feel like the same thing is happening here as Frank discovers that his voice can actually carry an entire song without three minutes of bar-chord destruction to drive it along. Like The Basement Tapes, fans will find plenty to pore over here, taking away some as treasured moments while tossing away others, and returning often to gather the loose coins dropped in the discovery of such an unexpected abundance.

TRACK LISTING

Disc One

1. IF YOUR POISON GETS YOU
2. JOHNNY BARLEYCORN
3. FAST MAN
4. YOU CAN'T CRUCIFY YOURSELF
5. DIRTY OLD TOWN    (Ewan MacColl)
6. WANDERLUST
7. SEVEN DAYS
8. RAIDER MAN
9. THE END OF THE SUMMER    (Music adapted from 'La Sicilienne' by Gabriel Fauré)
10. DOG SLEEP    (Frank Black/Reid Paley)
11. WHEN THE PAINT GROWS DARKER STILL
12. I'M NOT DEAD (I'M IN PITTSBURGH)    (Frank Black/Reid Paley)
13. GOLDEN SHORE    (Frank Black/Reid Paley)
    
    Disc Two
    
1. IN THE TIME OF MY RUIN
2. DOWN TO YOU    (Frank Black/Reid Paley)
3. HIGHWAY TO LOWDOWN
4. KISS MY RING
5. MY TERRIBLE WAYS
6. FITZGERALD
7. ELIJAH
8. IT'S JUST NOT YOUR MOMENT
9. THE REAL EL REY
10. WHERE THE WIND IS GOING
11. HOLLAND TOWN
12. SAD OLD WORLD
13. DON'T CRY THAT WAY
14. FARE THEE WELL    (trad. arr. by Frank Black)
15. (JPN CD bonus track:) I DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE
    
    All selections written by Graham Parker unless noted

CREDITS

FRANK BLACK -- vocals, guitar, ukelele
Bob Babbitt -- bass
Bobby Bare Jr. -- backing vocals
Billy Block -- drums, backing vocals
Marty Brown -- bass, backing vocals, duet vocals on A5
Violet Clark-Thompson -- backing vocals
Jack Clement -- dobro, backing vocals
Steve Cropper -- guitar
Rick Duvall -- backing vocals
Steve Ferrone -- drums
Rich Gilbert -- pedal steel guitar
James Griffin -- backing vocals
Levon Helm -- drums, percussion
David Hood -- bass
Ellis Hooks -- backing vocals
Wayne Jackson -- trumpet, trombone, fluegelhorn
Duane Jarvis -- guitar
Mark Jordan -- keyboards
Carol Kaye -- bass, guitar
Jim Keltner -- drums, percussion
Simon Kirke -- drums, percussion
Jack Kidney -- harmonica, tenor saxophone
Al Kooper -- organ
Ian McLagan -- keyboards
Buddy Miller -- guitar, mandoguitar, backing vocals
Spooner Oldham -- keyboards, backing vocals
Tom Petersson -- bass
Dave Philips -- pedal steel guitar
P.F. Sloan -- piano, backing vocals
Billy Swan -- backing vocals
Planet Swan -- backing vocals
Sierra Swan -- backing vocals
Akil Thompson -- drums
Chester Thompson -- drums
Jon Tiven -- alto saxophone, guitar, percussion, piano, backing vocals, engineer
Brooks Watson -- backing vocals
Lyle Workman -- guitar, arrangements
Reggie Young -- guitar
Jake Burns -- engineer, mixing
Marc Chevalier -- engineer
Dan Penn -- engineer
Miles Wilson -- engineer
David Z -- mixing
Earl Drake -- additional mixing
Brent Hardy-Smith -- illustration
Andrew Swainson -- illustration, design
Michael Halsband -- original photography

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