Tweet

Album Details

• Artist: The Gena Rowlands Band
• Album: Flesh & Spirits
• Label: Lujo
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2007-03-07

Smart and Smart-assed is a rare combo in a lyricist. Usually one trumps the other and the results are more smarmy than resonant. Not so here, as songwriter/guitarist Bob Massey channels both Mark Eitzel and Ben Folds to produce a grand salute to failure, hard-won insight, and, well, grandiosity itself. Using mostly piano or acoustic guitar driven pop as the vehicle for his take on everyone who ever jumped for the top rung and lost their palm in shit, Massey reaches for the dirt and the holy, and more often than not, reaches both in the same line. The opener, the shimmering “Fuckups of the World Unite” sets the tone for this set, with its irreverent, yet wistful lyrics and pulsing, dramatic pop rhythm. “Love, For Want of a Better Word” and “The Joke I Play on Washington” are epic in the way they make the political personal. Noir-ish drak pop touches make “God and The Way Women Walk” and “Hope, For Want of a Greater Word” seem ageless. This is one of the best releases of the year so far.

User Reviews and Comments

Log In or Register to Rate Albums