Peter Doherty - Grace/Wasteland
Words by Dan Jude
According to the likes of Bruce Willis, Ringo Starr and Alice Cooper, who all recently sold their souls by appearing in an advert for Aviva (née Norwich Union), a change in name can go a long way. ‘A change in name is a chance to show the world who you’ve always wanted to be’, Bruce kindly informs us. ‘Sometimes a change in name is more than a change in name’, Mr Starr pipes in.
Mr Doherty appears to have taken note. And so it is that he finds himself leaving behind ruffled, rakish, rogue ‘Pete’ and welcoming in the era of mature, come-of-age, grown-up ‘Peter’. Everything about his recent demeanour and behaviour appears to reinforce this metamorphosis. He dresses better for starters, remaining in suit, tie and trilby throughout gigs which he now not only turns up to, but does so a) on time and b) sober(ish). Hardly like the Pete of the past, who would stumble on stage three hours late, mumble sweatily through two or so songs, then amble off to spend his gig money on another ride on the horse.
No, this Pete is gone. Although only the most gullible of Doherty disciples would believe that he is totally clean and sober now, there’s no doubt that, both physically and mentally, he’s in the best shape he’s been in since the early days of The Libertines, before he became seduced by a lifestyle of hedonism, intemperance and excess. The Pete-r of 2009 is different. In recent interviews, his tone has altered; he is more sanguine, loquacious and comes across as a man possessed by a newfound optimism.
So has Pete(r) really reinvented himself? Or are we all being duped into believing that this man of empty promises has reformed when underneath, the new Peter is still the same old Pete; a mercurial, talented musician brimming with promise, but rarely delivering to a level anywhere close to his full potential?
For proof, we must try the pudding, and admittedly Doherty’s debut solo album - Grace / Wastelands - is far and away his most mature, rounded and sturdy album to date. Gone are the rambling, incoherent solos and incomprehensible slurs of Babyshambles’ shambolic debut Down In Albion, and the inherent amateurishness of the bulk of his previously leaked solo work; in their place come rich, coherent, thought-out melodies, accomplished guitar-work and audible, compelling lyrics.
There is no doubt that much of the praise for this is owed to one-time Blur and Smiths impresario Stephen Street, who agreed to take on production duties on the strict agreement that he would be working in a drug-free zone, and that it would be his way or the highway. Such is the influence of Street on Grace / Wastelands that Doherty’s plans to duet with Amy Winehouse on ‘Salome’ were immediately halted, and former Blur luminary Graham Coxon was brought in on guitar. Coxon’s contribution, too, is invaluable; just as the Pete of old was always most comfortable when backed by the accomplished guitar-work of Barat, so too does he now find himself gloriously lifted by the subtle but indispensible 6-stringed contributions of the man dubbed by many of his peers as the finest guitarist of a generation.
But for all its well-polished production, there is something missing on this album, and despite what Coxon and Street bring to the table, there is a certain spark absent from Grace / Wastelands, the sort of spark that made you fall in love with The Liberines when Up The Bracket left us breathless in 2002. Yes, this album is cleaner, more evolved, more rounded. But the raw, electric brilliance that Doherty exuded in the past has been replaced with an almost sterile tranquillity. For some devout Pete(r) followers, this will probably not matter -after all this was always going to be an album for the fans. But for those who have been longing for Doherty to rediscover the brilliance of The Libertines days, this album just doesn’t quite deliver.
This is all the more surprising, and disappointing, because the album is not, as Doherty maintains, a “snapshot of the present”; more a selected ‘Best Of’ of his solo archive stretching out over the past decade. ‘Arcadie’, ‘Sheepskin Tearaway’, ‘I Am The Rain’, ‘Palace Of Bone’, ‘A Little Death Around The Eyes’ and ‘Last Of The English Roses’ can all be traced back at least 5 years, though most were born much early. Which prompts the question: what of the seemingly stronger solo material that has been omitted? Surely there should have been a place for ‘Lust Of The Libertines’, ‘My Darling Clementine’ or at least the fantastic ‘Hooligans On E’?
As ever, the lyrics are strong; certainly greater than many of his painfully egoistic ramblings on both Babyshambles albums. Critics will suggest that he hasn’t quite been able to shake off his proclivity for self-indulgence, but there is actually much less narcissism on show in this album than most of his previous offerings, with Doherty content to bathe the record in rich literary and historical narratives, rather than just singing to the devil on his shoulder. Sadly though, all too often the songs themselves are just too weak, and bar a handful of tracks (most notably ‘1939 Returning’, ‘Sheepskin Tearaway’ and ‘Lady Don’t Fall Backward’), few leave a particularly lasting impression.
Peter Doherty has done some growing up; there is no doubt about that. But in doing so he appears to have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. He’s always been something of a paradox; supremely talented, but indolent and chaotic – capable of creating modern masterpieces and modern toss in equal measure. On this album, a much-laboured piece of work, there are, as on much of his previous material, moments of both genius and mediocrity. When Doherty doesn’t believe his own hype, he’s still capable of creating something close to the sort of magic that he and Barat churned out all those years ago. But more often than not, on Grace / Wastelands, Pete(r) still comes across as a McCartney without a Lennon, a Morrissey without a Marr.
The album’s dichotomous title says more about Doherty than he may know or admit – that for all his talents, he is still widely regarded as a nearly-man – a deeply revered musician, personality and icon, who has never quite been able to live up to the scale of his public persona. While this album is by no means the masterpiece he longs to create, it is a step in the right direction, and with a bit of time and a few more positive influences, as well as a prolonged period of abstinence and some serious ego-shedding, there is no doubt that Peter can achieve his magnum opus. Sadly, however, no matter how much he may want or believe it to be, Grace / Wastelands is not it.
Posted Tue, March 31, 2009
Comments on Peter Doherty - Grace/Wasteland
pete(r) is still ok in my book ... i mean sure i agree its not his strongest work but at least hes cleaned up a bit right?
Posted by: princesslekeisha | 31/03/2009 at 22:04
amazing songs
Posted by: heyho | 08/04/2009 at 19:08
I really like the album, and it shows that when he cleans up his act, he’s actually an even better musician than before. One of my favourite albums of the year so far.
Posted by: Matt Richardson | 15/04/2009 at 10:49