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Avg: 3.5 (30 ratings)
- Date Released: July 22, 2003
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock, Power Pop, Singer-Songwriter
- Label: Razor & Tie
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We Say...
Two decades after a melodically rich, lyrically eloquent self-titled debut album won him oceans of adoring critical ink, Marshall Crenshaw still remembers the finer points of songwriting, especially his trademark concision. But 20 years down the road, he sees and hears things differently. Crenshaw sounds a little worn these days, a little less spry than his early power-pop days, and fatalism colors his work, beginning with the slow-burning opener "Will We Ever?," with its dolorous pedal steel. It's a lyrical tale of a road-weary Willy Loman type who pines for his wife while cursing out the vapid choices on his radio; it's hard to tell which weighs on the man more heavily — being apart from the one he loves or having to listen to lousy music. Crenshaw continues down this path, refining the cynical joy of his early work through the lens of a seasoned, even world-weary, singer-songwriter. The cover of Prince's "Take Me With U" lightens the tone ever so slightly, but cuts such as "The Spell Is Broken" and "Long and Complicated," with their intricate guitar parts and emotional upheavals, return Crenshaw to his autumnal conclusions.
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They Say...
If you had to pick the single most dominant lyrical theme in the history of postwar pop music, it would probably be love, and on his first few albums Marshall Crenshaw wrote better songs about girls -- longing for them, and trying to win them over -- than anyone of his generation. Two decades on from his instant classic debut, Crenshaw still has plenty to say about love, but 2003's What's in the Bag? finds an older and more world-weary Crenshaw singing about men and women, not boys and girls, and contemplating a world where relationships are often hard work without the promise of a happy ending. What's in the Bag? begins with "Will We Ever?," in which Crenshaw takes the voice of a man on the road late at night, wondering when or if he'll ever see his wife again, and the melancholy beauty of the lyric is matched by Greg Leisz's steel guitar and the vibes of Bill Ware. It's a powerful and richly evocative performance, and it sets the stage for the rest of the set, in which Crenshaw's characters are haunted by the specters of failed romances, memories which are at once beautiful and heartbreaking, and the struggle to move on from life's disappointments. The mood is lightened on a pair of R&B covers, but the plaintive tone of "Take Me With You" and "I'd Rather Be With You" still feels consistent with the album's theme of men trying to make love work, under difficult circumstances. In short, if you're looking for a shot of pure pop heaven to bring you a smile, What's in the Bag? is not the album for you. However, anyone who admires the craft of Crenshaw's songwriting (and his increasingly potent guitar work) will want to hear this set -- this is beautiful, affecting, and emotionally powerful music, and makes it clear Crenshaw still has plenty of surprising things left to say after all these years.
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| 01. |  |
Will We Ever |
4:06 |
|
| 02. | |
Where Home Used To Be |
4:54 |
|
| 03. | |
Take Me With U |
3:46 |
|
| 04. | |
From Now Until Then |
4:05 |
|
| 05. | |
Despite The Sun |
4:54 |
|
| 06. | |
The Spell Is Broken |
4:12 |
|
| 07. | |
A Few Thousand Days |
4:04 |
|
| 08. | |
Long And Complicated |
5:35 |
|
| 09. | |
I'd Rather Be With You |
4:27 |
|
| 10. | |
Alone In A Room |
3:39 |
|
| 11. | |
AKA "A Big Heavy Hot Dog" |
4:00 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 47:42 Total Length
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Credits
- Marshall Crenshaw - Guitar // Marshall Crenshaw - Percussion // Marshall Crenshaw - Drums // Marshall Crenshaw - Guitar (Bass) // Marshall Crenshaw - Guitar (Rhythm) // Marshall Crenshaw - Producer // Marshall Crenshaw - Mellotron // Marshall Crenshaw - Finger Cymbals // Marshall Crenshaw - Soloist // Marshall Crenshaw - Mando-Guitar // Marshall Crenshaw - Vox Continental // Eric Ambel - Guitar (Bass) // Eric Ambel - Guitar (Bass) // Eric Ambel - Producer // Eric Ambel - Producer // Eric Ambel - Dulcitone // Eric Ambel - Dulcitone // Tom Teeley - Guitar // Tom Teeley - Soloist // Bill Ware - Vibraphone // Greg Calbi - Mastering // Chris Cunningham - Guitar // Chris Cunningham - 6-String Bass // Chris Cunningham - Soloist // Tim Hatfield - Engineer // Blake Hines - Cover Photo // Gene Holder - Engineer // Greg Leisz - Guitar (Steel) // Graham Maby - Bass // Tony Scherr - Standup Bass // Andy York - Guitar // Andy York - Guitar (Bass) // Andy York - Handclapping // Andy York - Soloist // Andy York - Mando-Guitar // Dred Scott - Farfisa Organ // Greg Duffin - Engineer // Diego Voglino - Drums // Ronnie Spencer - Art Direction // Jason Crigler - Slide Guitar // Joe Clueless - Engineer
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