So often we here at the Sea receive do-it-yourself CDs from virtuosos who play every instrument on their albums. And that's great. But many of those albums are made by classically trained players who think a little self-indulgence never hurt anyone - especially them and the people listening to their music. How refreshing, then, to hear another DIY record from a guy who had a few years of live gigging behind him by the time he was 17, dropped out of the Berklee College of Music in Boston because he had too much experience and has just seen his first album, the brisk My Favorite Revolution (originally released in 2004) issued to the masses.
Meet Eugene Edwards, a still-young multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter who bridges Tom Petty, Squeeze, The Smithereens, Gin Blossoms and even the lighter side of the Foo Fighters with songs full of timeless melodies, near-perfect pop structures and classic-rock sensibilities. Edwards delivers the 14 songs on My Favorite Revolution in a slightly nasal tone, one that adds Elvis Costello and Marshall Crenshaw flavor to his music, and he mixes clever lyrics with insanely catchy tunes like "Your Own Nightmare," "Victim at Bedtime," "The Next Time You Go," "Shattered Flower" and "At Your Place." Some of them linger like Cheap Trick's most memorable songs.
No, it ain't prog. Or metal. Or fusion. But it is music built from the ground up, with roots in some of America's most enduring music. The fact that somebody in the latter half of 2005 cares enough to keep music like this alive should be all that matters. Revolution, indeed.
Track Listing:
1) Your Own Nightmare
2) It Doesn't Get Better Than This
3) Congratulations, My Darling
4) The Next Time You Go
5) At Your Place
6) All About You
7) Telling That Lie Again
8) Shattered Flower
9) Victim at Bedtime
10) I'd Like to Think So
11) Not That Kind of a Girl
12) I'll Be True (Someday)
13) My Favorite Revolution
14) Permanent One
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