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Todd Snider: A New Connection |
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Track List
New Connection
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Todd Snider has been making "Americana" music
since before the term was coined to describe music that's probably "too
fill-in-the-blank" for whatever genre it belongs in. Snider's music is
probably "too country," "too blues," and "too alternative" to be
played on any mainstream radio from rock to country, but it's clear from
listening to his sly lyrics that he's not pandering to any mainstream
listeners. His first three albums, for MCA, were underground successes, if not big commercially. With his John Prine style and laid-back approach, Snider clearly wasn't meant for major label success. Now on Oh Boy Records, Snider has released his second album for them, "New Connection," an adroit, haunting, vibrant, and sometimes wickedly funny collection of songs woven together like a fine tapestry. Snider has always written terrific songs; but these new ones have a sharp edge to them which he credits to time spent with his idol, John Prine, who lends him the song "Crooked Piece of Time" and Prine's own vocals in a ragged duet, their dual rough voices perfectly suited to each other and to the time-tested Prine lyrics. If John Prine has been an influence, it's a good one. Snider's lyrics are simplicity itself, yet deal with the complexities of life in all their weird and wonderful glory, facing the ordinary in an extraordinary way. With a few simple words, a clever twist, he can deliver meaning with wry, well-chosen sentence, "Riding in a cab around a town I'd never been/ cab driver's chain smoking trying to get a station in/ twenty minutes in the ride the guy asked where I was going again/ where was I going again?" The opening song tells right away what you're going to get, and it's impossible not to go along for the ride. The second track is the deeply infectious "Vinyl Records," where Snider reveals he's got as eclectic a taste in music as his listeners probably do: "I got Willie, Waylon, and Woody Guthrie, Jimmy Buffett, Lyle Lovett, and Bobby Gentry, Jerry Jeff, Bob Dylan, Donnie Fritts, the Dead, and the Doors, Patsy Cline, John Prine and more." From the humorous to the sorrowful, Snider has turned out as personal an album as a singer/songwriter can produce. He speaks eloquently of his Portland, Oregon, home; he openly loves his wife across the distances no matter where he might be; he teases with the delightfully riotous parody/re-write of "Beer Run" (similar, but not identical, to the George Jones/Garth Brooks duet which caused such ripples in country music at the end of 2001), the cheerful-bluesy "Broke," and the hilarious "Statistician's Blues." But he also deeply mourns a lost friend with the haunting "Waco Moon," a heartfelt and painful farewell to friend Eddy Shaver.
He also gives a big "thank you" to the gang at
KPIG radio, one of my favorite streaming online radio stations and a
stalwart supporter of keeping online stations on line. Even if his music
wasn't as terrific as it was I'd like him for mentioning good ol' KPIG.
But this album is more than worth listening to, owning, and keeping around
to listen to as often as possible. If for nothing else, being able to
sing along with "Vinyl Records" makes this album a challenge. Watching
people's faces break into smiles of delight when you play "Broke" for them
is another terrific perk. This diamond may be in the rough, but it's
definitely a true treasure. |
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Laurie Joulie
Take Country Back January 2003