Pirms dažām nedēļām kādu vakaru klausījos Radio SWH Lielo vakaru, un Toms Grēviņš šo to teica par jauno Eels albumu “Blinking Lights and Other Revelations” (2005). Viņš teica, ka ļoti daudzi kritiķi to ir novērtējuši kā šī gada pašu labāko albumu (vismaz pagaidām). Es tam tā ne pārāk noticēju, jo ko gan tie kritiķi saprot no tā, kas man patīk, un ko viņi vispār zina? :) Bet. Tie tomēr ir Eels, no tiem var sagaidīt visu.

Eels pasaulē es nokļuvu, klausoties viņu pirmo albumu “Beautiful Freak” (1996). Eitunost, es biju sajūsmā! Kādreiz tās dziesmas man likās pārāk depresīvas, ka es varēju paklausīties albumu, bet nekad neizturēju līdz galam. Pēc tam gan kļuvu pacietīgāks, un man tas ļoti patika. Visā visumā viņi bija diezgan mierīgi, taču bija arī jestrāki gabali. Un dziesmu vārdi.. Daudzas dziesmas no šī albuma ir bijuši singli.

Pēc tam nāca nedaudz vājāki albumi – “Electro-Shock Blues” (1998) un “Daisies of the Galaxy” (1999). Kas man vispār patīk, klausīties var, bet tur tomēr kaut kas nedaudz trūkst. Katrā ziņā, tie ir savā stilā.

Tad 2001. gadā tika izdots “Souljacker”. Daauudz atšķirīgāks no iepriekšējajiem. Tas bija smags, vienkārši smags. Vairs nekādu lirisku dziesmiņu. Smags un raupjš roks. Kas man arī patika, pārmaiņas pēc. Tomēr ne tik labi kā, protams, “Beautiful Freak” (šedevrs).

2003. gadā Eels izlaida “Shootenanny!”, ko varētu novērtēt kā kaut ko pa vidam starp “Beautiful Freak” un “Souljacker” – gan mierīgas, gan trakulīgas dziesmas. Tas ir labs, man patīk. Pie tā gan tiku tikai pirms kāda mēneša. Bet tas ir labs.

Taču. Šā gada “Blinking Lights and Other Revelations”.. Nu vispār.. Šoreiz no visas sirds varu piekrist kritiķiem, ka tas ir šā gada labākais albums. Tas ir tik ļoti līdzīgs “Beautiful Freak” un tomēr atšķirīgs. Dziesmiņas ir daudz – 33 (uz diviem CD), nedaudz par īsu un tik foršas! Tik ļoti jaukas! Noņemtu cepuri Mr. E (Mark Oliver Everett) priekšā, ja man tāda būtu. Šis viennozīmīgi ir viens no gada pašiem labākajiem albumiem (līdz ar Athlete – “Tourist”)

Šajā albumā piedalījušies arī daži plašāk pazīstami cilvēki un citas personas. Piemēram, Tom Waits, Peter Buck (R.E.M.), kā arī Mr. E suns – Bobby, Jr. Lūk, divi gari citāti no šī albuma apraksta. Ja kādam šis apraksts netiks, tad paprasiet, nosūtīšu. Līdz ar “It's a Motherfucker”.

Of course, we're talking about an artist who, when asked to give a quote for the dust jacket to Kurt Cobain's posthumously published diaries submitted this quote: "Please don't do this to me after I kill myself." (The publishers opted not to use the quote.)

And an artist who was singled out by George W. Bush during the 2000 campaign for the U.S. presidency for writing "obscene" songs (the lovely "It's A Motherfucker" from DAISIES OF THE GALAXY, among them) and who, after being told by the Late Night With David Letterman producers that he could not use the term "goddamn" on network television, sang a medley of censored rock's greatest hits during his first appearance on the show -- all while standing on the very stage where The Ed Sullivan Show originally censored, or tried to censor them ("Let's spend some time together / Girl we couldn't get much higher..."). Everett's colleagues describe him as a troubled and complicated individual, angered by a "mixed-up, backwards world," as he sees it. What sets him apart from the garden variety misanthrope is that, somehow, he keeps a little twinkle in his eye. "If you're disappointed in the state of things, then you have some idea of what things could be, and I do recognize the good things in people and the world we live in. It's my job to celebrate those things as well," he says. This may help explain why eels' music is often described as sounding simultaneously sad, yet somehow life-affirming. It's hard not to feel lighter when the people-hating recluse of "I Like Birds" (DAISIES OF THE GALAXY) confesses his fondness, and offers shelter, for all things feathered.

Everett's father, famed quantum physicist Hugh Everett III, author of the Many Worlds Theory, died in 1982. His sister, Elizabeth committed suicide in 1996 and his mother, Nancy, who appears in a childhood photo on the cover of BLINKING LIGHTS, succumbed to cancer in 1998. "I would have ended up like my sister a long time ago except for one thing – music," says Everett, "I've been very lucky to have that to hold onto. I take it very seriously. Maybe too seriously. It's everything to me."

"The family I grew up with was completely gone by 1998. I dealt with it at the time by making ELECTRO-SHOCK BLUES. But it's something that is never going to change for me and its implications are far-reaching in my life," he says. And the "curse" didn't let up after 1998, either: Everett's cousin Jennifer was a flight attendant on the plane that hit the Pentagon September 11, 2001. "There's kind of a ghostly sound to a lot of BLINKING LIGHTS," says Everett, "maybe because I'm living with a bunch of ghosts."

Katrā ziņā, stila un Eels cienītājiem tas patiks. :)

• From Which I Came From / A Magic World
• Railroad Man
• The Other Shoe
• Last Time We Spoke
• Sweet Li'l Thing
• Things The Granchilder Should Know

Labots Dziesmas vairs nav pieejamas (23.05.2005).