#447 Arkansas

#447

Marshall Crenshaw

Razor And Tie Records, 1999

REVIEW BY: George Agnos

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/28/2000

The title of pop-rock singer/songwriter Marshall Crenshaw'slatest CD, #447, is a tongue and cheek exaggeration on the number ofrecordings he has released. However, far from being the generic CDthat the title suggests, I think #447 is one of Crenshaw's best efforts.

When his debut album, Marshall Crenshaw, came out in 1982, its back to basics rockand roll was a breath of fresh air in a polluted world ofoverproduced pop. His sound reminded me of a cross between rockpioneer Buddy Holly and an early John Lennon. (I guess I'm not theonly one who thought so because he ended up playing both artists:Holly in the movie La Bamba and Lennon on stage in Beatlemania).

Crenshaw scored a minor hit with the song "Someday, Someway,"but has since failed to make any impact in the music business,despite writing some wonderful songs along the way for himself aswell as other artists. (For example, he co-wrote the Gin Blossomshit "Till I Hear From You").

What makes his latest CD, #447, so good is how he combines the charms of his earlywork with a maturity only hinted at in previous releases. A goodexample of this maturity is on the song "Dime A Dozen Guy", alightly bluesy number co-written by David Cantor of the lounge-popgroup, Dave's True Story. The lyrics are sharp, and there is a niceguitar solo by Pat Buchanan (NOT the politician, but the leader ofa rock group called The Idle Jets).