"Wood + Wire"
Chris von Sneidern
Mod Lang
A-
Take
Paul McCartney's solo stuff, squeeze out the syrup, add a dash of Crowded
House and you've got the new album by the Bay Area's own Chris von Sneidern
on the Bay Area's own Mod Lang Records.
It's
hard to know how to take this album. On the one hand, every song is a perfect
pop-rock gem. On the other hand, you'd swear you've heard them all many times
before and many years ago.
What
year is it, anyway? Listening to the album. you'd swear it was around 1971.
You
get the sense that von Sneidern has listened to way too many old LPs by Wings, Badfinger
and Bread. (He's even covered a Bread song, "Everything I
Own." on 1994's "Big White Lies.")
With
a lineage like that, the result should be God-awful, but it's quite the
opposite. von Sneidern's tenor is tender and affecting. His arrangements
are immaculate; he slips in a harpsichord here or a horn there in just the
right place to create a full, lovely sound.
The
harmonies are warm and sweet. And there's enough punchy rock
undergirding the tunes to keep them from drowning in their own lushness.
But
the only thing that drags the thing into the '90s are well-crafted and
realistic lyrics about all-too-modern concerns, usually revolving around love,
loss and jealousy. Still after a few listens you're likely to give in to the
time warp and let the nostalgic beauty of this album sweep you away.
Concert
note: von Sneidern will perform two sets Sunday at the Make-Out Room on
22nd Street, between Mission and Valencia, San Francisco.
The
9:30 p.m. set is solo, and the 10:30 p.m. set is with his band. Cover charge is
$3.
-William
Friar,
Times staff writer