Released: April 4, 2000
Bloodshot Records
The first time I listened to this album I thought that many of the songs sounded familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on where I might have heard them originally. Except one song. The song that made me want to borrow the album from the library years ago. (I don't know why I never looked at the liner notes...) Hogan covers "Papa Was a Rodeo", by Stephen Merritt; the original can be found on one of the greatest albums made at the end of the 20th century, 69 Love Songs. After much searching around the internet, today, I was able to confirm that all but four songs were written for this album, three by Hogan and guitarist Andy Hopkins, and one by guitarist John Langford. The best songs are the covers.
Of the new songs, Langford's is, to my ears, preferable to the other three. I wanted to like "Crackers Rule" because I liked the tune, and have chuckled trying to figure out what "practicing drunkard's etiquette" could possibly look like. Many ideas have crossed my mind, all of them ridiculous in a silly way. But I lose my like at the title and at the refrain "Crackers rule this place, where we hide. Suckers long for yesterday, just let this day be mine." Maybe it's a Georgian thing? Maybe I'm a stick in the mud too proper for my own good gal? Her slavish devotion to this drunk, depressingly pathetic lover is a bit much for me, as well.
Enough about that. What I do like are Hogan's vocals. They are clean, solid and can be very pretty. Her versions of "Easy Loving" and "Whispering Pines" (by Freddie Hart and The Band, respectively) show a strength for phrasing and connection to the material. Her voice slides neatly on a note, lingering for effect when appropriate. Sort of like the slide guitar (or is it a lap steele?) and the fiddle playing in the background of "Easy Loving". This in contrast to letting go on "Wild Mountain Berries" (Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn sang this one). It's cheesy, but fun. Frolicsome and cute. Pitchfork called it campy and not in a flattering way. Sure it's silly, big deal. Cheese can be very appropriate sometimes. I like that she lets loose a little more on this song, too. Growls, yips and whoops it up. There is still control, however. And maybe that's why I'm not super wild for Kelly Hogan and she'll just be a singer that I like enough to listen to but I doubt I'll crave her album. For me, she is missing an edge, which I think is partly what separates her from the likes of Neko Case.
I don't know much more about the Pine Valley Cosmonauts than I do Hogan, and I'm afraid I haven't much to say about their presence on this album. They play perfectly nicely, as far as I can tell, but there isn't anything about them that makes me stand up and take notice. I listen to this album because I like Hogan's singing and her take on the covers. This may say a lot more about the Cosmonauts talents as a backing band, as they meld well with the singer and it's all one enjoyable sound. Plenty pleasant to listen to but doesn't leave me with a need to listen to over and over again. That's a funny side affect of this project. When I listen to something that I love, it's so easy to sit through it at home, and then on my iPod as I walk around town doing whatever it is that I do. With a few albums, so far (I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooo barely scratching the surface...) I've been reluctant to get through them. The first time I tried to listen to Beneath the Country Underdog the day after I got back from Idaho, last week. I was going to Trader Joe's and Madison Market, which is a lot of time round trip on foot, plenty of time to hear it through a couple of times. I started it, I thought: Ok. That's right, this is a fun album. But by the time I got home I really couldn't imagine listening again, and I put in Pet Sounds for about 18 rotations. I was excited about that one and I couldn't get enough for three days. What is it, what is it, what is it? That thing that makes something so much better than something else?
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