Off the Track

by Alan Rose

This week: Alan is certain that his facades are about to crash down around him, revealing his ugly truth.

White Open Spaces

Fade in.

I just rewrote my list of "Albums To Buy Eventually." The old one was disintegrating, and the coming of the new year (just a few days old as I write this) seemed to make this an opportune time to clean it up. While copying the faded names and titles, I recognized some that have been lingering around since before last year's First Night celebration. Particularly pesky are a few a cappella albums and a bunch of ska, all of which appear on obscure, but supposedly national, labels. Joining them on the veterans' roll call are equally hard-to-locate singer-songwriter albums.

On a recent trip to my old stomping grounds, I found a copy of a brand new album by one of those old names and decided to pick it up. Big White Lies (Heyday 037-2), the latest from Chris von Sneidern, is a welcome addition to my library. Von Sneidern's melodic, intelligent song writing recalls a less-sappy version of Paul McCartney. Musical touchstones include the Beatles, the Byrds, and the groups they influenced. The result is a well-brewed concoction of finely crafted pop songs.

The album's opening track is its only weak point. This thankfully brief a cappella piece, titled "Without a Prayer," contains an abundance of unintentionally jarring chords and is sadly dynamic-free. Although he demonstrates great skill at harmonizing with himself on each of the other eleven songs, von Sneidern missed the mark widely here. "Summertime Sun" contains fine examples of his strong harmonic sensibilities, notably in the chorus where he manages to create some exquisitely unexpected chords that sound perfectly in place. Although no other vocals come close to that "wow" factor, the opener is the only song that makes me cringe.

What follows is a group of hook-filled pop songs that you won't be able to stop singing along with. "On My Hands," a ballad about a man who finds his way to lovers but not to the one he loves, and "Here I Go," a plea to a lover not to leave, take full advantage of lessons learned from the Beatles. The title track, which seems to be sung from the perspective of a false prophet, marries a Beatlesque chorus to verses that might have been borrowed from Elvis Costello. "Dream Away" recalls late-sixties/early seventies groups like the Association and Classics IV. "Roll On" is a surf-summer-style song that draws upon the best of the Beach Boys and uses Squeeze's songwriting team (Difford-Tillbrook) for lyrical inspiration.

Adding to this sense of nostalgia is a cover of "Everything I Own," a song certain to bring back memories to everyone old enough to remember the original. Although few musicians who follow this musical path have struck gold recently, there are enough other high-quality purveyors in the underground such as, E and John Wesley Harding, both of whom are thanked in the liner notes) that this style might be the style that replaces "alternative" at the top of the charts.

Fortunately, it seems that Chris von Sneidern is content to simply write, record, and release well-crafted songs regardless of their immediate commercial potential. Until an album like Big White Lies makes it big enough to send label executives scurrying to sign every neo-Beatle in sight, von Sneidern and his compatriots will be our little secret. For now, I'll be scouring the stores to find its predecessor, Sight & Sound, and eagerly awaiting a follow-up.

Until next time, remember to patronize your local, independently owned record store and keep an ear to the ground.

Fade out.

mailto:Alan Rose <rose@casagato.org>

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