Game
Theory
Supercalifragile
KCM
Records
Where
to start with a heartbreaking review like this? With the basic story? I can,
but I know there’s more.
Scott
Miller was working on this album, had the title for it, the first GT album
since 1988, and then he died before he could finish it. His wife, Kristine,
with a whole cast of people helping, finished the album. While it was first
crowd-funded, demand is such that it now has a general release on Bandcamp.
There
are so many what ifs here. Scott’s voice and writing hadn’t aged a bit; these
songs could have been on most any Game Theory album, or maybe "Plants and
Birds and Rocks and Things," the first album by the Loud Family,
Scott’s band in the 90s. With this expanded posse the songs were finished
in ways not anticipated, but as close to Scott's vision of it as possible. It’s
heartbreaking that it has to be like this. He still had it, which is what makes
this album so good. Everyone involved pays fine tribute with their playing, and
in some cases singing (Scott had recorded some vocals), but I’m going to single
out the late Gil Ray here, a member of both Game Theory and the Loud Family,
who lost his battle with cancer before the album was released. His percussion
tracks are great. After that, it’s all equal.
Most
of those who played with Scott are on here, along with others who were
influenced by him. Did you know Aimee Mann was a Scott fan? Ted Leo, Will Sheff
from Okkervil River, the Posies, and Doug Gillard of Guided by Voices and
Nada Surf? You’ll hear what they got from Scott here.
With the exception of a comp of demos from the final Game
Theory lineup in the pipeline, this is it. There wasn’t anything else, which
means this is good-bye. I know for me Scott’s songs will live forever, and this
album now belongs to history, and eternity. Thanks, Scott, if you’re anywhere,
for all the great music.
Andrea Weiss
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