Along with the I Like Isaac album reviewed the other day there was another gem from The Antipodes (New Zealand this time) in the package - this vocal masterpiece!
If you dig Dave Frishberg then hang around because Bruce Brown, born in LA, is now down under and NZ's answer to Frish. There's also a suggestion of Michael Franks, Bob Dorough maybe even Joe Mooney in Brown's relaxed, laid back performance.
All the songs are by Brown and the lyrics are so perceptive of today's society. Funny and yet cruelly true particularly in the title track Death of Expertise. the gist of this one is that you can do anything yourself just read a couple of books or go online and you know it all - fly a plane, be a surgeon whatever e.g. I pulled my own teeth out/I replaced my own hips!
Apart from the lyrics, which are as sharp and as witty as the work of W.S. Gilbert, Larry Hart, Dave Frishberg, Tom Waits, combined, the tunes are classic GASbook material and the tracks are all peppered with cool, West Coast inspired solos.
This one jumped right in at the very last minute to rate as my number one male vocal album of the year!
Lance
Death of Expertise; They're Everywhere; Find Three Things to be Grateful For; Love Makes us Who we Are; A Mind is a Terrible Thing; Back in the Day; Doreen; Love Always Wins; To Find Things Out; We Click; Losers Are People Too ; Giving up is Not an Option; We're Up We're Down; The Music Plays Again.
1 comment :
Thank you for an excellent review!
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