 Edie Brickell and New Bohemians On Ghost of a Dog, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians took what they did on Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars and took it way the hell out on a ledge, raising the stakes considerably and resulting in a really great album. The sad thing is that it would be their last, because it was a comparative flop and the band broke up before being able to make a true classic. Song for song, though, this album is a great step forward from the prior one, which is itself a strong album. I see them as complementary volumes in a set – say, Geffen, how about a 2-disc Complete Edie Brickell & New Bohemians set? Say, does Geffen Records even exist anymore? Who cares. This CD is in print, which is certainly a good thing. Edie's voice is swoony and seductive as ever, but the band is playing a more organic brand of groovy rock with slightly less dated production values. It's a markedly less slick album than Rubberbands, which probably accounts for its failure, but it makes for a much more permanent album. The strong points eclipse the best moments on Rubberbands, and the band actually sounds like it's having a blast. The first three cuts get things going with great exuberance: the brilliant "Mama Help Me" into the very poppy "Black & Blue," into the Mellencampesque-if-Mellencamp-wrote-good-songs "Carmelito." At that point, every subsequent song could suck and it would still be a pretty good album. But there's great bits like "He Said," "Strings of Love," "Swisted," "10,000 Angels," and acoustic cuts like the exquisite "Times Like This," "This Eye" (really pretty), "Ghost of a Dog," and the very odd "Oak Cliff Bra." Edie's personality is more clearly defined on this record than the first one, and it shines. Her singing, already a great thing, has a confidence here that is really winning. There's a ponderousness to some of the album that gets kinda draggy in spots ("Forgiven" is a plodder), and it really seems like this album was a Fleetwood Mac to a Rumours that never materialized. Let everyone else cry about how the Replacements are the greatest band that ever got stunted by the music industry, I'll hold on to Edie & New Bohemians and continue to blame Paul Simon for everything. Well, how can you blame me, I am Art Fucking Garfunkel.
Review by Art F. Garfunkel |