When a record sounds or just feels conceptual aesthetically, it’s often burdened with a sense of overthinking the narrative characteristic of artists with a lot of ambition but little ability to fully realize their goals. If ever there was an exception to this unfortunate modern standard, I personally happen to think that Robert Miller’s Project Grand Slam qualifies, especially being that the group’s new album The Shakespeare Concert speaks to as much in all fifteen of its provocative songs.
“Redemption Road,” “Fire,” “Juliet Dances,” “The One I’m Not Supposed to See;” these aren’t new tracks to those trained and versed in the music of Project Grand Slam, but when this band lays into them here, they sound like they’re getting a whole new burst of energy from players who know this material exceptionally well. There’s a lot of commentary about the revolving door of musicians that come into PGS, but at the end of the day, it’s Miller’s careful hand guiding the narrative for this band more than anything else, and that’s probably the main reason why The Shakespeare Concert feels as complete, conceptual, and outright rebellious to the mundanities of the mainstream as it does this February.
The percussion grabbed me by the collar right off the top in “I’m Falling Off of the World,” “Constable on Patrol,” and “Fire,” and without its consistent pinch of the bassline, I don’t know if the backend of these tracks would sound as thoroughly thrashing as it does in this instance. There’s no debating the quality of the production – it’s truly top-notch and evidentiary of how important even smaller details like texture and tonal depth matter to someone like Miller, whose reputation as a perfectionist goes well beyond what we’re listening to in this latest affair under the PGS moniker. You can really feel his chemistry with the backing band in “It Is a Miracle to Me,” “Take Me,” “Aches and Pains,” and “No No No,” all of which lead us into the same kind of vibe we would get were we sitting front row at an intimate live concert. I suppose it doesn’t get much more personal and intimate than this, a tailor-made event that does what so many live LPs fail to in making us feel totally immersed in the music.
If it’s unforced perfection that really gets you going as a music lover, you need to make a point of listening to the new album by Project Grand Slam this winter, especially if you’ve been in the mood for some conceptual jazz fusion of a higher artistic value. Through Miller’s guidance at the helm of the band, we’re presented with a decidedly more mature offering than a lot of the live efforts you’re going to hear from any indie or mainstream players will be in 2022, and while The Shakespeare Concert isn’t a conventional concert record per se, it holds much of the same freewheeling spirit that makes said albums such a delightful listen, no matter what time of year it is.
Claire Uebelacker