I listen to this record and I feel like I should be wearing “black tie” and sitting in some opulent place like the Rainbow Room.
There’s a formality and sumptuousness (except for the cover of his father’s One Man Guy which stays true to its Folk roots with just his and Teddy Thompson’s guitar, who also provides vocal support along with Wainwright’s sister Martha) that isn’t Rock and Roll.
That said, it can fill a certain melancholy need. The first track, Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk, and California stand out though. No matter when they’d cross your path the immediacy of their melodies and the solidity of their construction will stop you in your place.
The first has the tenor and P.O.V. to make one think it was plucked from some Sondheim musical (though what the hell do I know about Sondheim), down to the “big dip” ending.
The other is probably the closet thing to Rock and Roll on this record, with its up-front, solid drumming and guitars & organ interplay – in the vein of a Don Dixon or Freedy Johnston.
One side note: I’ve can’t say that the thought of a Canadian singing accent, like the twang of your Gauls for instance, ever really crossed my mind before. I’m not talking about the stereotypical Second City bleatings. But Wainwright’s phrasing and tone, particularly in the vibrato parts, can resemble fellow northerner Ron Sexsmith quite closely.
[Released by Dreamworks 2002]
Be the first to comment