Album Review: "Crippling Lack Vol. 3" by David Thomas Broughton

Crippling Lack

It's time to visit the third volume of David Thomas Broughton's magnum opus, Crippling Lack.

How many times have we heard an album and then years later several tracks that didn't make the cut were released later.

Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin was the result of adding the leftover tracks from the Houses of the Holy sessions to the new recording sessions which gave us their stellar double album.

Of course, years later after John Bonham died, there was a full album's worth of tunes that was released as Coda.

Then consider god himself, Jimi Hendrix.

It's been 45 years since his untimely death and we are still getting concerts, albums, and unfinished tracks. Well, the antidote for this is to release the entire album I suppose. Honestly, when is the last time you heard of a triple album?

Mr. Broughton

Like the first two volumes, this one features only a few songs that are drawn out over the course of an entire LP.

The Broughton's singing is what vexes me the most on these albums.

There's no way I know of to describe his style. Presumably, it's some sort of traditional delivery from the United Kingdom.

His guitar work is sloppy and morose.

It's a wonderful way of being. There's great confidence in leaving in one's mistakes. If that's how the song goes, that's how it goes.

This volume features some interesting spoken work sprinkled in through the songs. The protagonist wishes for death and decides how his afterlife will go. Then he calculates how much alcohol it will take to poison him.

It's rare in 2016 to refer to music as artistic, but this album, and the entire volume is a true work of art. Being art, it won't be easy to listen to or accepted by the masses.

For those who can get it, this album is a masterpiece.

Release: 6/2/16
Genre: Experimental Folk
Label: Paper Garden
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