The Time Between

In my mind I believe I met Marshall Crenshaw in Detroit, at Lili’s where my band – The Flexibles (a terrific punk/funk amalgam that was destroyed by shared girlfriends, illegal substances – not me honest – and a guitar player who would rather do laundry than play live – he had his reasons) were playing and the cast of Beatlemania came in to check us out (or have a drink at least). For some reason I was led to believe that Marshall was either John or Paul (assuming John). Seemed like a nice guy anyway (if it was him).
 Anyway since then – and his fabulous, terrific, never to be bettered by him, first album – I’ve always been a fan. I saw him this year at Hardly Strictly (if you go ever year sooner or later you’ll have seen everyone you ever wanted to see). And he was great. A mix of old/new with some fun covers thrown in (I believe this year he did some Richard Thompson song – but it was early). Anyway back to the first record. I hate to say it but it’s all you really need to listen to to get to know Marshall. Great, great pop tunes, snappy production, great vocals. It’s what the Rubinoos, the Records and all the other PowerPop wannabe’s tried to be and failed. And it’s not too Beatle-ly and it’s not to deferential to the 60’s, and it doesn’t have a dud track. The next few records tried hard but he never hit this high again (sorry Marshall). Can only assume this was the classic case of having tons of songs you’d spent years working on and then finally having the chance to record them. Then you hit that difficult second/third/fourth/etc album syndrome. I played it recently (and actually found a set of demos he did before it was released - which apart from the lame drum machine isn't bad) and it still holds up. Maybe a little bit too much reverb on the snare but it hasn’t dated at all really – and the songs are still fab. Just go listen to ‘mary anne” or ‘you’re my favorite waste of time”. Timeless stuff. I just looked on Amazon and evidently the first album is out of print! How can that be? It’s out there. Go find it and enjoy.

I’ve been a fan for years I have to say - I think it was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band version of Mr Bojangles that got me there. “It’s a good night for singing” was the first album I bought of his. Great band (the lost gonzo's were great I have to say although their own records didn't quite hit the spot), great songs, and Jerry Jeff’s (nee Ron Noble I believe – doesn’t have the same ring to it really does it?) vocal styling’s made the record. As I went deeper into Walker country – Hill Country Rain, A man must carry on, Riding High, etc. I got more hooked. He’s sort of the Dean Martin of country rock. It sounds so easy. Like he’s had a few beers (and in the early years that was more than true – my wife saw him in Ann Arbor years ago and he couldn’t stand up) and is in some small bar singing to you. He's also one of the people both my wife and I agree on - and we both came to him independently - and it's always fun to put on some JJW in the car to sing along to.

His choice of songs is pretty darn good. I got to Guy Clark, Paul Seibel, Tom Waits thru Jerry Jeff but he really makes the songs his own. He’s also pretty darn funny (try pissing in the wind for a very obvious start). There’s the obvious downside to Jerry Jeff too – he tends to have two types of fans (kind of like Robert Earl Keen). The guys who like the poetry and the guys who like the drinking (and go on the JJW cruises). I’m sort of in the middle. I like both – listen to some of his early songs, just him and guitar. They evoke a time and place – that seems long lost I have to say. I just got the Todd Snider does Jerry Jeff album. It’s fascinating – all it basically does (at least for me) is take me back to the old albums. It’s not so easy to do this stuff and Todd doesn't get there I'm afraid - but thanks for trying. I’ve seen him a few times and while he throws in the old favorites (redneck mother I don’t need to hear again) he’ll also do the pretty little songs that talk of old friends and porches and connecting to your fellow man. There’s some really lovely stuff here (David And Me for one, Charlie Dunn for another). So if you’ve been put off by the reputation I’d suggest you jump in – start with Riding High and you’ll see what I mean.