8.16.2005
You know how
A new CD from Michael Penn is always cause for celebration, but the party is a bit muted this time out because Mr. Hollywood Jr. 1947, while good, is a bit slight considering the five-year wait since his last, MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident. The disc is ostensibly a concept album dealing with, you guessed it, Hollywood in 1947. But as with most concept records, the story isn't really clear and the energy spent on trying to figure it out only distracts from the songs. Explaining the disc to fans on his e-mail list, Penn talked of what 1947 means to him, complete with its post-war progress and the seeds for future turmoil. "The point is, this isn't what the record's about," he writes, "but it's the sepia world it occupies."
The music here is strong, with the opening trio of tunes the equal of any he's recorded (and it seems, from taking a recent listen to Free-for-All and Resigned, in particular, that his discs have a tendency to open strong before fading into mid-tempo sameness), though save for references to Walter Reed Hospital and Denton Road, it would be hard to realize without help that there is an overarching story being told. The disappointing thing is that the disc really only includes nine songs (10 if you count the unlisted bonus track. How does that fit the story, one wonders?) Three tracks are bridging instrumentals that are about one minute long, and don't really add much, even when the disc is heard from front to back in one sitting. So, after a five-year wait, we're given a disc that is as thin as can be and still be considered an LP. I say all of this as a frustrated fan who has watched Penn deal with indifferent record companies over his 16-year career (a good reason why this is only his fifth album). Now on his own -- or rather, allied with like-minded folks such as his wife, Aimee Mann, under the United Musicians banner -- he finally can offer whatever the market will support. Believe me, Michael, it will support more than this.
Oh well. Those misgivings aside, the disc contains some of the best music of Penn's career and is well worth a listen. That it contains some of his most disposable work as well is a continuing problem that no concept can address. It's clear that Penn is a gifted songwriter; it would be nice to hear more of his better work on a more regular basis.
The music here is strong, with the opening trio of tunes the equal of any he's recorded (and it seems, from taking a recent listen to Free-for-All and Resigned, in particular, that his discs have a tendency to open strong before fading into mid-tempo sameness), though save for references to Walter Reed Hospital and Denton Road, it would be hard to realize without help that there is an overarching story being told. The disappointing thing is that the disc really only includes nine songs (10 if you count the unlisted bonus track. How does that fit the story, one wonders?) Three tracks are bridging instrumentals that are about one minute long, and don't really add much, even when the disc is heard from front to back in one sitting. So, after a five-year wait, we're given a disc that is as thin as can be and still be considered an LP. I say all of this as a frustrated fan who has watched Penn deal with indifferent record companies over his 16-year career (a good reason why this is only his fifth album). Now on his own -- or rather, allied with like-minded folks such as his wife, Aimee Mann, under the United Musicians banner -- he finally can offer whatever the market will support. Believe me, Michael, it will support more than this.
Oh well. Those misgivings aside, the disc contains some of the best music of Penn's career and is well worth a listen. That it contains some of his most disposable work as well is a continuing problem that no concept can address. It's clear that Penn is a gifted songwriter; it would be nice to hear more of his better work on a more regular basis.
