Liz Phair finds the balance on “Everything to Me”
Somebody’s Miracle
The new Liz Phair album, “Somebody’s Miracle
It splits the difference between her older stuff and her self-titled CD a few years ago. It’s polished, but at the level of her previous albums “Whip-Smart” and “whitechocolatespaceegg,” not to the gleaming level of “Liz Phair.”
It’s very personal and honest, with some very frank discussions about her divorce, the substance abuse of people she knows (and possibly herself) and coming out the other side.
From “Leap of Innocence,” the album’s lead-off track:
And my mistake was being already married.
I wanna make a leap of innocence to you.I guess when you were living the high life,
It’s one of those things that just can’t last,
Kind of like love in California.
But I never had such a blast.
Her lyrics aren’t at the wacky level they once were, but they still are quite fun and interesting. She remains one of the best lyricists of her generation.
From “Got My Own Thing”:
Ooh boy, I’d love to help give enough rope to hang yourself,
And watch the silly things you do.
Ooh boy, I’d love to help give enough rope to hang yourself,
And I hope you swing it this way too.
Boy, I do.
From “Table for One”:
It’s morning and I pour myself coffee.
I drink it til the kitchen stops shaking.
I’m backing out of the driveway,
And into creation.And the loving spirit that follows me,
Watching helplessly, will always forgive me.Oh, I want to die alone,
With my sympathy beside me.
I want to bring down all those demons who drank with me,
Feasting bleed through me,
On my desperation.
For those who want it to be “Exile in Guyville, Part V,” it’ll likely be a disappointment, but it’s a great portrait of where she is now, at 38, a divorced (and possibly re-married) mother who once was a college drop-out with a four-track recorder and a guitar.
Recommended for all fans of her previous work, save those who just want repeats of EIG (you know who you are). And an FYI for the women who are threatened by her sexual frankness (and you know who you are, too), there’s little of it this time around — the song “Can’t Get Out of What I’m Into” was banished to import versions and an iTunes “exclusive.”
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>
