Originally released in 1988, this is an album I really enjoy going back to. It features wonderful melodies, but lyrically has an unfortunate tendency to use wordplay that inadvertently leans towards “overly clever.”
Despite some lyrics reminding me of conversations I had in college with people who thought of themselves as “intellectuals,” her vocal delivery is wonderful. She has a warm, welcoming voice, where every now and then she begins to sound like a breathless, stoned hippy freaking out at how beautiful the sky is. It’s definitely unique, but her emotions are genuinely infectious. If you can accept the above description as a “given,” you’ll probably find it easy to sit back and enjoy this fantastic album. It’s an album that grows on you with each listen.
The biggest hit of their career came in the form of album opener “What I Am.” It’s a great number that swings lazily back and forth across its choppy up-stroked guitar riff. If for no other reason, the album is worth hearing for this song alone. It’s a fantastic piece of pop rock with a great melody, a funky rhythm, popping bass, and gently chugging organ that bubbles along in the background. If you enjoy this song, you will undoubtedly enjoy the album.
Edie Brickell’s vocals suit the song perfectly, singing as though she’s half asleep and experiencing some kind of ecstatic awakening. Has she reached nirvana via some kind of dream state, or is she just naturally effervescent? It’s hard to tell, but it’s infectious.
The sing-song lyrics are absolutely catchy, but I distinctly remember them annoying the hell out of some people when this song was first released. If it suffers from anything, I think it suffers from the fact that the wordplay is too clever by half, and comes across as a bit forced. Rather than feeling genuine, it sometimes sounds like a smart-ass trying to sound deep. Despite this, the construction and production of the song is so wonderful that I find it easy to overlook. It is what it is, if you know what I mean:
“Shove me in the shallow water/Before I get too Deep/
What I am is what I am/Are you what you are or what?“
A2, released as the third single from the album and inspired by Andy Warhol’s “Girl of 1965” (Edie Sedgwick, the titular Miss S), “Little Miss S” is just a great track. The vibrato on the guitar is superb. This is another one of those songs you just want to immerse yourself in and sing along with. As with much of the material, it has some odd lyrical choices, but in this case they sound more resigned to their fate than intentionally snarky. It works.
A4, “The Wheel,” is another track that’s particularly worth talking about. The chorus makes me smile. Here the band has relaxed a bit, and although they’re still attempting to talk about “important” ideas, they manage to be playful in the melody and the execution of it. It’s another song that, once it gets going, always manages to feel fresh and joyful.
“Love Like We Do” (A5) has a great driving bass and a bouncy guitar motif that echoes the joy of the lyrics. It evokes feelings of throwing your hands up in the air and singing out loud to the sky as you come to realize that you’re the luckiest soul alive. Edie Brickell described the song as “we’re broke and we’re ugly.” That may be, but they’re in love and they’re happy.
The second single to be released from the album closes out side A, “Circle” (A6). This song about being part of a circle of friends is among my favourites from the album. I’m not alone in liking it either, as it’s been licensed and used in a few recent American television shows, including Ugly Betty and Cold Case.
Side A is definitely my go-to side of this album. There really isn’t a bad track among them, and the vibe is mostly upbeat and hopeful. It’s a great way to spend 20 minutes. There are a couple of songs on the B-side that I really like, but although it’s a great listen, overall I don’t find it as strong or as compelling as the A-side. The two standout songs I particularly like on side B are “Beat the Time” and “Nothing.”
“Beat the Time” is an upbeat number that sounds like an unholy union between pop, rock, and country picking. “Nothing,” on the other hand, is more of a straightforward pop rock song with hints of folk that (funnily enough) reminds me a little of some of the music on Paul Simon’s 1985 LP Graceland (I say funnily enough because Edie Brickell married Paul Simon in 1992).
Once again, both songs have these weird, slightly off-kilter lyrics that are so omnipresent on the album. In the case of “Nothing,” though, they strike me as funny. It feels like we the listener are finally let in on the joke, as opposed to being kept at arm’s length by the clever lyricist of “What I Am.”
“There’s nothing I hate more than nothing/Nothing keeps me up at night
I toss and turn over nothing/Nothing could cause a great big fight“
My impression of this album is that it’s a real delight. It’s a hidden gem that, despite a few rough edges, really shines on repeated listens.
Frustratingly, Edie Brickell and New Bohemians were on the list of artists whose masters may or may not have been affected by the 2008 Universal fire. Whether this particular album’s tapes went up in smoke is anyone’s guess, though, because nobody’s saying. Thankfully, either way, the music itself hasn’t been lost.
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