2007年 Jun 16日 Saturday, 7:38

This is jazz informed, soul inspired, blues infused, country tinged, breathtaking rock and roll. The lyrics are raw and vulnerable, vivid and evocative, wryly insightful and frequently heartrending, with what seems like endless layers of subtext and possible interpretations. There are occasional overt nods to the author's heroes like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson and Bill Frisell, but the songwriting, musicianship and production style are all uniquely, unmistakably Tony Scherr.

This isn't background music. You don't pop it in at a dinner party or on a drive to the beach. You listen to Come Around on a good sound system, alone or with like-minded friends. You sit quietly and you listen. Sure, you'll tap your foot. Occasionally your jaw will drop in disbelief. Bolting upright and pacing with rhythmic exhilaration is not uncommon. Even out and out dancing has been known to occur. Whatever you end up doing, though, it won't be alongside the music, but rather because of the music.

Of the many notable (albeit obscure) records he has produced out of his Brooklyn home/studio, such as Slow Poke's At Home (the brilliant byproduct of a hastily arranged jam session meant to test out the studio), the second (and best) Jesse Harris and the Ferdinandos release, Crooked Lines, Kate Fenner's rousing, bucolic, folk anthem-filled debut, Horses and Burning Cars, Rick Moranis' wry, but genuine Grammy nominated foray into country music, The Agoraphobic Cowboy, and Ursa Minor's lush, heavy and stirring Silent Moving Picture, Come Around is still the best, but anyone who's heard some of Scherr's newer material at a live show won't be surprised if his long awaited follow up (supposedly due out this year) tops it.

There's a reason that Norah Jones, Feist, Bonnie Raitt, Ani DiFranco and KT Tunstall all count this record among their favorites. There's a reason that nearly everyone I've shared it with has fallen head over heels for this artist. Give Tony Scherr's Come Around your full attention once and I'm betting that reason will be patently clear.