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Diesel Park West Decency FOOD CD7 |
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Q review by John Aizlewood - March, 1992
It's still a struggle for Diesel Park West. They're out of place on the Food label, home
of Jesus Jones and Blur, by virtue of using technology no more exotic than guitar, bass
and drums, and not by being bright, shamanistic things. Worse, they're in the embarassing
position of sounding like they regularly sell out Madison Square Garden, when in the real
world they couldn't half-fill Blackpool Winter Gardens once. Decency is their second album;
it boasts a shiny, happy, Laurie Latham production and clearly, much rests upon it's broad
shoulders. In the main, Diesel Park West deliver. Singer, guitarist, and songwriter John
Butler is a traditional songsmith: he writes sturdy tunes with proper verses, anthemic
choruses which soar towards the end to signify extra passion and with space for a brief
instrumental break. It's what "real" acts from Springsteen to Cutting Crew, from Bon Jovi
to Thousand Yard Stare do, and Diesel Park West do it better than most. they almost
blow it though. Butler has an unhealthy Buffalo Springfield obsession. It's probably more
useful than a lurkers fixation, and when it works, like Fine Lily Fine's scrumptious
harmonies, all is well in the world. When it doesn't, as on the hopelessly dated and twee
Till The Moon Struck Two with it's talk of "looking for the mojo man", they're just a
hipper bootleg Beatles. Still, there is much to be commended here. Butler is a sucker for
a lovely melody which, added to his wrought, wracked vocals, makes a convincing case
for his take-on -the-world stance. Walk With The Mountain threatens to be a U2 B-side
from it's title alone but is firmly reined in by a weary lyric, "It's late and I'm yawning, let's
sleep untill the morning", yet more harmonies and a lean keen tune. best comes last with
Clutching At Love, with its flab-free ending which stops dead after making its point, just
like that, with no epic frills. Lyrically, Butler isn't above the clumst analogy ("Anger coils
as the snake does" indeed), but he's more at home with chatty vignettes ("Here we are
kicking through the mainstream, making treasure on demand"), the odd, frankly useless
homily ("Some things you can't change - you'll sleep 'till you wake") and the occasional
self-aware joke ("Like John Phillips at Monterey"). There's much hot air and the odd
insight, but it's how Butler puts the package across that finally wins - he simply sounds
like he means it. They won't shake the world, but with a hit single - the splendidly uplifting
Boy On Top Of The News ought to do it - Diesel Park West will be on their way and
Decency may yet enable them to play Madison Square Garden.
Diesel Park West
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