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| ARTIST: |
Jedediah Parish
(Google this artist) |
| ALBUM: |
21st Century American |
| LABEL: |
Lunch Records |
| RELEASED: |
2002 |
Perhaps the only thing wrong with Jedediah Parish's second solo album, 21st
Century American, is the title. This intriguing and always entertaining
collection of tunes might better be titled Late 19th and early 20th Century
American because of its odd lyrical content. There are songs about trains
("A Train Named Hiawatha" and "A Train Named Ninety Three"), ships ("A Ship
Named Eclipse"), antique technology ("Rotary Phone"), and even antique
bathrooms ("Clawfoot Tub"). Parish, the singer for Boston's Gravel Pit, has
a big weapon in his musical arsenal: one tremendous voice. He can leap from
genre to genre effortlessly, sounding like a weathered bluesman one moment
("Bad Dream Blues") and the lead vocalist in a Cole Porter musical the next
("Memories Are Just a Day Away"). 21st
Century American sounds unlike any album released in this century, with pipe organs coexisting easily next to drum machines and catchy loops. Parish has created a timeless work that draws from the touchstones of all types of American music and reveals a new highlight with each listen. If this is what being a 21st Century American is all about, then sign me up.
review by Steve Reynolds
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Figgle 2001-2007