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Graham Coxon -
The Golden D
Reviewed
by
Q, July 2000
He feels
heavy metal. Really.
 Solo
albums - like roof thatching and monocle manufacture -
are now something of a lost art. Not literally; there are
still any number of Steven Gatelys and Melanie Cs keen to
supplement their meagre income. But within traditional
rock circles, the solo album once fulfilled a very
specific musical and cultural function: the luxury to
indulge a particular obsession or flaunt a peculiar
talent. In the '70s, they were a forum for the keyboard
player's piano concerto, the bare-chested singer's
madrigals or the bass player's hitherto unsuspected love
of modern jazz, à la Spinal Tap's Derek Smalls.
The Golden D is a solo album like they used
to make them. It's a robust assertion of individual
freedom, in this case Blur guitarist Graham Coxon's love
of ear-bending US hardcore exemplified by San Diego's
Gravity Records. He's gone alone before, on 1998's
splendid The Sky Is Too High, but here, aside from the
frail and touching Keep Hope Alive, he's too busy
cranking up to 11 to get in touch with his winningly
vulnerable side. Opener Jamie Thomas is a
filling-rattling tribute to a favourite skate-boarder,
setting the agenda for an hour of adolescent enthusiasm
and attractive extremism.
There's genial thrashing, incendiary
instrumentals (Satan I Gratan), occasional anguish
(The Lake), some forgettable face-pulling (Leave
Me Alone) and two Mission Of Burma covers, one -
"Fame and Fortune is a stupid game I play" -
very apposite to Blur's least starstruck member. There's
also Oochy Woochy, an infectious celebration of
Coxon's love for modern jazz which recalls the Erics
Dolphy and Morecambe. Overall, Coxon, playing all
instruments himself, makes an impressive approximation of
a clever, doughty little punk act.
It's not for everyone. It's certainly not
for Blur fans of Country House vintage. Nor is it the
best dinner party album in the world ever. But it's no
knottier than 13 and in its own noisy way, great
fun. Makers of proprietary sinus decongestants, beware.
Standout
Tracks: Satan I Gratan, Fags & Failure, Oochy
Woochy
(3/5) Stuart
Maconie
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