For some reason I'm always thinking "Down Colourful Hill" is an EP. Maybe because it only has 6 songs on it...but it IS a full length. It's just that a few of the songs are rather lengthy. An excellent debut which lays the groundwork for the exquisite melancholy that Mark Kozelek & RHP went on to record. "Medicine Bottle" is epic, and one of their "signature" songs. My favourites are "Michael" and the title track. "Lord Kill the Pain" is the only weak track here, IMO.
When push comes to shove, this is my favourite RHP album. The longing for "lost times of youth" is palpable in "Grace Cathedral Park", the song that made an RHP fan out of me and which is probably STILL my favorite RHP track. The album may be a bit much for non-depressives to take, with it's unrelenting emotion and honesty, but I certainly can relate to most of it. Standout tracks include "Mistress" (both versions), "Katy Song", "Rollercoaster", "Mother" and "Strawberry Hill".
The second self-titled album may not be as consistant as the first, but certain tracks are more than powerful enough to make up for any shortcomings ("Bubble", in particular, moves me). The version of "New Jersey" is, IMO, better than the one on "Rollercoaster", and "Helicopter", "Uncle Joe" and "Blindfold" are very strong. The CD release also includes the "Shock Me" EP...Their cover of Ace Frehley's "Shock Me" has always been my least favorite RHP track, but "Sundays and Holidays" more than makes up for it.
More acoustic based than the previous albums, I confess that I haven't given "Ocean Beach" the attention it deserves. It is a strong album, though, and every bit as good as it's predecessors. Though I disliked it at first, I have come to really enjoy "Summer Dress", and "Over My Head" was the first RHP song I ever heard. "San Geronimo" is dense and melodic, with some unique guitar arpeggios. Other standouts include "Brockwell Park", "Moments" and "Drop", which even I think is a most effective downer.
A split with the 4AD label and a personell change aren't the only things that make "Songs for a Blue Guitar" such a departure from the previous RHP sound. Originally this was to be Mark Kozelek's first solo album, and it's not a "proper" RHP album because the other members of the band are nowhere to be found. Still, it is a satisfying experience, thanks to the quality and diversity of the material, which includes radically reconstructed arrangements of songs by Yes, Paul McCartney and the Cars (this is where you'll find the version of "All Mixed Up" that's spicing up the Gap's adverts). A consistantly great CD.
Unlike most collections, "Retrospective" is actually a good place for the RHP initiate to start. Compiled by 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, the first disc is a decent primer in their pre-"SFABG" work, including essentials like "Grace Cathedral Park", "Bubble", "Katy Song", "Mistress (piano version)", "Medicine Bottle" and "Michael". The 2nd disc is for the converted, and includes demos, outtakes and live performances, plus 2 previously unreleased songs, "Waterkill" and a wistful "Instrumental". The outtake of "Shadows" is even better than the original, if you ask me.
Mark Kozelek's first solo EP, "Rock and Roll Singer", is every bit as good as anything RHP has ever released. Beautiful acoustic guitar based songs (with the exception of the title track) which are intimate and heartfelt... They are everything I like about RHP stripped down to bare essential. Kozelek, who has a deep appreciation for classic rock, has even managed to transform 3 Bon Scott-era AC/DC songs into introspective folkie ballads ("You Ain't Got a Hold on Me" is my favourite). He's also one of the few who understand what a great songwriter John Denver was, and his version of "Around and Around" is awe-inspiring.
"Down Colourful Hill" (1992, 4AD)
"Red House Painters (Rollercoaster)" (1993, 4AD)
"Red House Painters (Bridge)" (1993, 4AD)
"Ocean Beach" (1995, 4AD)
"Songs For a Blue Guitar" (1996, Supreme/Island)
"Retrospective" (2 CD compilation, 1999, 4AD)
"Rock and Roll Singer" (2000, Badman Recording Co.)
NOTE: As this piece was written in 2001, it only covers RHP/Kozelek albums up to that point. Red House Painters went on to release "Old Ramon", one of their best albums. Mark Kozelek put out an EP of AC/DC songs (restructured into folk ballads), called "What's Next to the Moon". Two live albums followed ("White Christmas Live" & "Little Drummer Boy Live"). Kozelek went on to be the driving force in Sun Kil Moon, whose album "Ghosts of the Great Highway" ranks with the absolute very best of RHP's ouvre. Sun Kil Moon later released "Tiny Cities", an album of Modest Mouse covers done up in a style remeniscent of his AC/DC reconstructions.
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