The Afghan Whigs-Black Love (1996)


 

Artist:The Afghan Whigs

Title: Black Love

Label: Elektra/Sub Pop

Format: CD

Cat #: 61896-2

Year of Release: 1996

Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1996

Listed Condition: VG+/VG+

Sell Date: 1/12/22

Sell Price: $2.99

Discogs Last Sold: 12/16/21 $1.50

Low:$1.50

Median: $2.99

Average: $2.84

High: $4.55

Current low price: $2.00

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 33

Have/Want: 705/54

Where Sold: Washington, MO

Time it took to sell: 10 years

Where and When Bought: discarded cd collection

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade:  B+

Sad To See It Go: No

For whatever reason Black Love was an album that I regarded as decent and thought I didn't remember it.    It sold with Gentlemen, which I remember quite well as being a disappointment after a run of great releases on Sub Pop.  A disappointment I kept replaying to memory because the Whigs were in my top tier of bands for years up to that point.    I go way back seeing the Whigs as a last minute add on on a Sunday afternoon show at the Middle East upstairs in Cambridge.  Billy Ruane was disappointed nobody showed up at the Rat and added them after Mudhoney and Urge Overkill.  30 people showed up that day, so it was a decent draw.  This was before Mudhoney went to the UK to get press and also before the Whigs released anything on Sub Pop.  Big Top Halloween was all they had and I don't think they had it on the road or I would've bought it.  I remember having a big conversation at the table with the drummer about Led Zeppelin bootlegs that he could get at Second Coming records down the street.

So fast forward to 1996, the Whigs were established and on their second major label release.  Black Love is actually quite good.  Greg Dulli produced this, and he had a handle on his stuff.  Being at WFDU in '96 I probably played this at least 6 weeks of the 8-12 week rotation.  I have another copy sitting on the shelf, so I bought one and got one from a thrown out collection.

So what of Black Love?  It continues the plaintive pathos of Dulli in a style so familiar, sometimes I wonder if I have heard these songs more than once or twice.  "Crime Scene Part One," "My Enemy" and "Bulletproof" all have the explosive vocal into concession groan Dulli is known for.  All guitars, occasionally an organ comes in.  The Black Love is for Soul, but not Rhythm, so the needle never moved in terms of escaping alt-rock.

Not every aspiraton is gonna make it.

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