My Amazon Reviews: Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers"

Roll me like a dollar bill
4 Out Of 5 Stars 

Aimee Mann does something of a return to form after the concept album of "The Forgotten Arm" as she spends a rueful 13 songs that take aim at the "@#%&;*! Smilers" of the world. It's a collection of piano driven songs made alive by Mann's voice, tying the observations together. It's a collection of songs this time minus a concept, with Mann's snarky worldview punctuated by horns ("Borrowing Time") a new wavish recall of her 80's days ("Freeway") and a woozy barroom duet with Sean Hayes ("Ballantines"). While nothing here pops (in fact, my sole complaint is that the sound of the album tends to the homogenous side), every song unfolds its charm after repeated plays.

That is usually the case with most Mann albums, since she's more an accomplished lyricist than rocker. Subtlety is her biggest strength, and that is on full display on "Smilers." She gets that life is a series of often confusing and confused people in relationships that reflect that confusedness. On "31 Today," she wonders why her life isn't better than the way it's turned out as a new decade of life begins. Or how the disconnected junkie who comes to California to turn over a new leaf in "Freeway" is unknowingly walking into the lion's den. Then there's the fighting couple in "Medicine Wheel" who could have come straight out of "The Forgotten Arm's" codependent pairing.

It's those kind of characters and the consistency of Mann's albums that makes the curse of the CD's title something of an inside joke. The album is smoother than most of her regular work, and there's nothing angry more than grousing. "@#%;*! Smilers" delivers what Mann's fans have come to expect per albums like "I'm With Stupid" and "Lost In Space," and that's excellent songwriting with pleasures that grow thw more you lat the album play through the days.

     

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My Amazon Reviews: 10,000 Maniacs "In My Tribe"

Tribal Influences
4 Out Of 5 Stars

"In My Tribe" was the breakthrough album for 10,000 Maniacs, and it's easy to hear why. After a few recordings of self-conscious, arty pop (found mainly on "Hope Chest"), they tightened there sound into a more direct folk pop and Natalie Merchant found her voice as a sturdy instrument. Their penchant for message songs remained in place, but on the artier songs that remained ("Verdi Cries"), they discovered a grace that had not been previously there.

The secret weapon after Natalie was guitarist Robert Buck, who could shimmer and solo in perfect compliment to Natalie's poetry and statements. They tread ground about child abuse ("What's The Matter Here"), illiteracy ("Cherry Tree") and the loneliness of growing old ("Campfire Song" featuring Micheal Stipe of soulmates R.E.M.). That isn't to say they could be lighthearted, as the wedding of "My Sister Rose" or the single/video of "Like The Weather."

I also saw the band on this tour (with Tracy Chapman!), and they were more dynamic a live act than the records ever indicated. Despite the dropping of "Peace Train" (my CD still has it, though) due to the controversy that then surrounded Cat Stevens, the album was a message album whose message didn't get diluted in the translation. "In My Tribe" is the best of 10,000 Maniacs' albums, and the only way you could do better is with the collection "Campfire Songs."

     

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