Question of Temperature
As a member of early-‘80s underground pop darlingsThe dBs, Chris Stamey played John Lennon to partner Peter Holsapple’s Paul McCartney. After spending most of the last two decades as a sought-after producer (Whiskeytown,Matthew Sweet) in his home state of North Carolina, Stamey has dusted off the mothballs with two solo releases in as many years: the adult-pop journalTravels in the Southand this full-throttle collaboration withYo La Tengo(whoseNew Wave Hot Dogswas produced by Stamey) and assorted high-flying guests pounding out selections from the Stamey catalog and a sprinkling of choice cover songs. While Stamey’s tinny voice is better suited for quieter moments like Television’s "Venus" and Tift Merritt’s "Plainest Thing," he garners inspiration from several of Ira Kaplan’s customary guitar flare-ups, as in the 10-minute-long "McCauley Street (Let's Go Downtown)," to give rebirth to the Yardbirds’ "Shapes of Things," Cream’s "Politician" and the unambiguous star of this collection—Les McCann’s and Eddie Harris’ late-sixties anti-war chant "(Let’s Make It Real) Compared to What." --Scott Holter