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Music Review |
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 It was around 1990 that I discovered the song "No
Myth." I carried the lyrics around in my head for a long time.
"What if I was Romeo in black jeans / What if I was Heathcliff / it's no
myth..." The CD that song came from, entitled March, from a new artist
named Michael Penn, was in constant rotation on my player. (Michael Penn is the
older brother of actors Chris and Sean Penn. He is very empathic about not riding on
their coattails)Two years later, and Free-For-All is released. There is no sophomore slump here. Songs like "Long Way Down" and "Bunker Hill" still float around in my mind. Here was an artist who combined the pop richness of Lennon and McCartney with modern sensibilities. A combination of bad timing and bad press relations (he refuses to talk about his brothers) put his work in the bargain bins. Both albums, March and Free-For-All, are well-crafted, brilliant works that deserved more attention than they probably got. I thought that I would never see another CD from this artist. I was wrong. It's 1997 and five years later, we see antoher Michael Penn album (some time was spent dealing with record companies and contracts). Released under a new label, Epic's 57 Records, Resigned is a continuation of the work from his first albums. That's a very good thing. Michael Penn has not lost his edge. In fact, he has gotten musically stronger. With the help of Producer Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Matthew Sweet) and long-time accomopanist Patrick Warren, Michael has released an 11-song CD that is sardonic and tuneful, melancholy and wistful. The first tune, "Try", is destined to be a single. It's a song of acceptance and resignation, a theme that tends to run through his work. Other songs, like the Badfingeresque "I Can tell" and "Comfort" prove that Penn can create a psychedelic, contemporary work (if there can be such a thing). Musically, Resigned is full of strange ambience. Patrick Warren's masterful work on organ, piano and chamberlin eerily drift underneath Penn's guitar. The rest of Penn's band is very tight, with producer O'Brien on bass and Dan McCarroll on drums (listening to the ballad "Out of My Hands" shows an intriguing mating of fuzzy bass and acoustic guitars). Those who purchase Resigned on CD are in for a little extra treat. It has a Macromedia presentation that plays on both PCs and Macs. It's a fluffy piece that shows Quicktime movies of the album being made. There is something called Amusement that I have no idea what it does (it's some funky card thing). You can access the Michael Penn web site with whatever browser you use. It's the place to find out tour dates and glimpse press reviews. The most important thing is you can get a printout of Resigned's lyrics (proving that Michael Penn is one of rock's best lyricists since Elvis Costello). The presentation may not seem much, but it's a nice little bonus. Now that Resigned is here, there is hope that Michael Penn can find a larger audience that can appreciate his work. It's a small pop masterpiece and worthy addition to anyone's CD collection. --review by Tony Sherman |
