The first thing to know about A Question of Temperature is that it's actually already been issued as another record. Originally credited to Chris Stamey & Yo la Tengo and titled V.O.T.E. (Shorthand, Stamey claims, for Very Obvious Total Emergency), it was released in a very limited run in October 2004 during the get-out-the-vote drive. This new version consists of the same recordings, with a new intro track (the voting PSA that lead off the original V.O.T.E. is converted into a bonus track at the tail end of the album, no longer urgently relevant but still charming), and an amusing whistling-and-marimba-driven instrumental called "Dr. Strangelove's Assistant". Otherwise, everything's the same: The Chris Stamey "Experience" is really just Yo la Tengo plus wayfaring keyboard wrangler Tyson Rogers. Stamey's old dB's bandmate Gene Holder handles the boards, and the set has the spontaneity you might expect from a bunch of friendly veterans playing together for three days.
Discounting the incidental new intro track "Conspiracy Theory", the first five full songs are covers of old favorites, including the Yardbirds' "Shapes of Things" and Cream's "Politician"-- both of which reflect Stamey's political mood-- a ravishing version of Television's already too-beautiful "Venus" and a rip-snorting take on Les McCann's "Compared to What" that takes the Brian Auger version to the cleaners. They even cover Stamey's own decades-old single "Summer Sun"...twice. The funky version tucked away on V.O.T.E. as a hidden track is in the place here, while the version in the tracklist is janglier, stuffed with backing harmonies and Byrds-y guitar leads. That both versions are great is a testament to the quality of Stamey's writing.
Stamey's other tunes are all pretty good in their own right, generally much punchier than the songs on last year's solo album Travels in the South. Yo la Tengo are obviously part of the extra kick, operating like the band they are instead of an assemblage of studio cats. The five-minute freakout that swallows the middle of "MacCauley Street (Let's Go Downtown)" comes complete with a crazy Ira Kaplan e-bow sojourn that the liners take pains to specify isn't a flute. In fact-- even though Stamey wrote all the original songs-- the double-billing once given Yo la Tengo makes plenty of sense because their input is central to the sound and success of the album.
A Question of Temperature ultimately comes out a very solid if not revelatory record. The covers are well-chosen, the steps back into Stamey's old songbook are enjoyable, and the band are loose and obviously enjoying themselves. Obviously, the original intention of the record-- helping to get out the (non-Bush) voters-- didn't pan out well, but the final result is one of Stamey's best solo joints and a fun, solid record, so the ancillary benefits make it more than worthwhile.
