Though this record is composed of some great instrumentation, great lyrics and very fine production, at least half of it seems to suffer from the somehow inorganic "arranged marriage" syndrome. This is likely because lyricist Wyn Cooper, a poet of some renown best known for his written words (most notably the poem "Fun," which was adapted into lyrics for Sheryl Crow’s "All I Wanna Do"), penned most of the lyrics before the music was written. Much of the album’s lyrical content originally appeared in Cooper’s book Postcards from the Interior, and so the music and melodies were apparently developed around the words. This, as many pop songwriters will attest, is a notoriously difficult undertaking–it took Bob Dylan many years to get somewhat good at it, and even so you can still hear traces of melodic uncertainty, awkward phrasing and/or forced cadences and unsuccessful attempts at rhyme in his songs, as you can in these. You’ve got to appreciate the effort–such undertakings are akin to transforming a book into a movie or a movie into a video game: you are essentially trying to take the essence of one medium, melt it down and then pour it into an entirely different mold.
That said, not all of the songs on the record suffer so obviously; "Loose Fool," "Cut and Run" and "Postcard for a Painting" are fairly seamlessly adapted (or were actually written as song lyrics). The instrumentation is esoteric in a fun sort of way; among the listed instruments are clay pigs, ax head, shotgun, roasting pan, sawed-off tambourine and–wait for it–udders (?!?). The whole is excellently recorded, and though primary vocalist Madison Smartt Bell’s voice is a little shaky and doesn’t boast the most accurate of pitches, it has a nice raspy/bluesy quality and a laid-back, groovy vibe that sort of grows on you. Much of the feel reminds me of the Valley’s Ware River Club or Eddie Holly tunes–the overall effort is really pretty relaxed–I’d definitely put this on for mellow background music, though if I really wanted to know the words I’d probably just pick up the book.
