The Wallflowers

I originally became interested in The Wallflowers when I picked up a copy of their 1996 album Bringing Down The Horse for less than it was worth. It was "that sort of music" - difficult to classify because it combined elements of many different styles of popular music... and very nice to listen to. Some time later I picked up their 1992 self-titled debut and listened to it a bit, but still preferred Bringing Down The Horse.

The Wallflowers lacks the commercial edge of the band's later releases. The songs seem a little rougher around the edges. The album is a little more rootsy and a little edgier. However, there are shades of things to come. For these reasons I now prefer this album over the later ones.

The album opens with Shy Of The Moon, a rootsy, jangly mesh of honky-tonk piano, organ and guitars. Musically, this song is very reminiscent of something by The Band (once Dylan senior's backing band). The next track Sugarfoot, has similar instrumentation, but features quite a heavy introduction and chorus combining organ and distorted guitars. Later on Another One In The Dark seems like a precursor to Bringing Down The Horse's pretty ballad Josephine - it feels similar and sound similar in some parts.

Among a collection of very strong tracks are 2 epic ballads. At just over 7 minutes Hollywood documents changes in what I presume is Jakob Dylan's home town. Later Dylan spends over 8 minutes discussing greed in Somebody Else's Money. Both of these songs feature strong piano work and hint at some of the more glossy ballads on later albums, but still manage to retain a nice raw sound. These are probably my favourite tracks on the album.

Near the end of the album Asleep At The Wheel features a solo Jakob Dylan playing finger-picked guitar and singing about a leader who has lost their way. The second last track Honeybee is another epic, weighing in at over 9 minutes, featuring Dylan initially singing falsetto, which I find reminiscent of The Band's Rick Danko. Finally, For The Life Of Me rounds out the set nicely.

This album is long: 12 tracks totalling nearly 70 minutes of music - nearly 20 minutes longer than any of The Wallflowers' subsequent albums. There are certainly hints that some, or all, of the songs on The Wallflowers were recorded live, with a certain amount of improvisation. This album isn't as consistently catchy and commercial as the band's later releases. However, it does have some properties that the later albums lack so, although it might not be representative of what the band has done over the last 10 years, it is my favourite album by The Wallflowers.