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Todd Snider
East Nashville Skyline
Oh Boy Records
By Danté Dominick
 You
know, it's a shame so much schlep originates in Nashville, 'cause
there's a lot of great stuff emanating from the storied music
city/glitz factory today. In fact, there's so much good stuff,
if any other city had such a concentration of creative, hell-of-an-act
musicians it would be unerringly glorified and it's name would
be a badge of honor for its local musicians and bards. Instead,
the NashVegas crap dominates the world's attention and we apologetically
give the non-laughables the introduction, "despite being
from Nashville, this is one heck of a record," or something
of the like.
Well, East Nashville Skyline, Todd Snider's fourth
for John Prine's Oh Boy Records, is one hell of a record regardless
of its geographic origins.
Refreshing is a feeling that keeps sweeping over me when listening.
Very rootsy/Americana "whatever that is," but.wait
a second. That moniker most often just doesn't apply anymore
'cause we know exactly what it is: A.) Jangly guitar riffs with
a whiff of twang, driven with earthy soul and Joe Singer's gravely
howl. Or, B.) Hushed, introspective lyrics of struggle and self-awareness
accompanied by lush, acoustic melodies that bounce inside your
brain long after the last lyric has been sung. Lord, this "alt"
ride that started off so free and exciting is becoming very stylized
(bordering on trite) and predictable. Ahhh, not Todd Snider.
Yes, this is very refreshing.
Snider opens unaccompanied with an autobiography that lasts
a minute forty seconds, "Old timer, old timer, too late
to die young now. / Old timer, five-and-dimer, trying to find
a way to age like wine somehow." For the record, Snider
is far from old; he just seems honestly surprised he's made it
intact this far.
For the following number co-producer Will Kimbrough (the other
co is Snider) lends perfectly delicate guitars; a light mix of
simple acoustic fingerpicking, touches of tame electric and an
icing of steel sweetness. A similarly sensitive score is used
effectively in support of Snider on a number of these songs.
But for two of the effort's three covers Snider gets his Crazy
Horse on with a grungier go at rock. Fred Eaglesmith's "Alcohol
and Pills," is part lament, nostalgia, rant, and sermon
on the predilection of groundbreaking musicians to wind up self-destructing.
Snider next offers his best vocals on Billy Joe Shaver's "Good
News Blues," thanking his lady for improving his life dramatically
by finally leaving.
Alas, we've come to "The Ballad of the Kingsmen,"
undeniably the gem of the gems. Even public radio stations fiercely
opposed to commercial radio's mind-numbing insistence on ignoring
97% of the world's songs cannot stop themselves from playing
this one repeatedly. Forgive them, they're only human. This
nugget is done in the talkin' blues manner over top of an almost
indiscernible fingerpicked acoustic riff of "Louie Louie"
that eventually discovers it shares the same chords with some
Marvin Gaye song. Hell, I'm tempted to print the lyrics in
their entirety, but I'm showing the restraint the deejays have
avoided thus far; I mean who wants to be the guy who discloses
Darth Vader is Luke's father to the unknowing chap unfamiliar
with the tale?
So, in my own words: the premise starts as a joke about the
inability to decipher just what the hell the exact lyrics to
"Louie, Louie" are and the subsequent fervor it caused
among parents and school officials who were concerned with the
inevitable scenario of rock and roll destroying the unblemished
souls of their darling, young children. Somewhere while smiling
and laughing with Snider's goof, you'll start to notice a serious
social commentary boiling to, eventually, the point of eruption.
Oh man, I'm seriously fighting like a junkie not to cave in
and print the lyrics.oh no; I just transcribed the entire friggin'
song (no small feat). I'm itching and twitching now.OK, compromise.
To prevent spilling the beans, I'll settle by offering Snider's
own commentary on his song:
I wanted to make the point that teaching kids to get as much
as they can all week at public school and then sending them to
some church on Sunday where some old guy goes on about how wrong
it is to need so much stuffand then somehow when the kids act
confused it's 'cause of Alice Cooper or somebodyis silly. That's
what I hope this song shows. That, and that I can memorize a
lot of words. And that the Kingsmen made cool records. I also
hope it inspires people to have sex with each other.
Well I'll shit in my pants right now if he didn't do it all.
What's more, he's being extremely humble in how strongly he
fleshes out his main idea and how strongly he drives the point
home; all while rhyming and wisecracking. Kudos.
If my proclamation to poop myself hasn't convinced you this
record is worth listening to, nothing will, so I might as well
wrap this up.
Snider's attitude and approach has a lot to do with this song-collection's
success. He writes what he lives, not necessarily what's supposed
to makes good songs, just what he knows and feels. His humor
has now matured beyond cute whimsy to well-placed satire. The
instrumentation, varying form sprite acoustic folk, alt-grunge
and boogie-woogie is always a natural fit for the particular
song. Snider, Kimbrough and company provide the perfect musical
frame to display the textured image each song paints with splendor.
www.toddsnider.net
Contact Dante Dominick at dominick-at-rockzilla.net
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