4 New Songs Streaming
at MySpace |
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BOOKING & PROMOTION
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Motion Booking
Minneapolis, MN
Office: 651-644-6569 |
Andy Everett • Booking Agent
motionbooking@earthlink.net
Available for solo and/or band shows throughout the U.S. |
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Duluth Reader Weekly
December 2005
Dan Israel's musical journey has been one of staying in the same place, or
so one might gather from his songs, which are generally about depression,
stagnation, frustration, and anger. But he's been chipping away at the walls
around him with dogged determination and like Andy Dufresne (the hero of the
film The Shawshank Redemption, who took years to carve an escape route from
his cement prison cell) his steady efforts seem to be paying off. 2005 was a
decent year for Israel; he was named City Pages' Best Acoustic Musician (the
Twin Cities intelligentsia class notices at last!), he garnered Minnesota
Music Awards for Best American Roots Recording (his previous album, Time I
Get Home) and Song of the Year ("Come to Me"), and he opened for
well-established performers like Todd Snider and Iris Dement. Plus his
first son was just born. He still has to work his torturous day job as a
clerk at the state legislature to pay the bills, but maybe he won't for long
if he keeps writing songs insulting his boss ("Plenty," on his new album, a
not-at-all-veiled swipe at the Minnesota Governor.)
Perhaps the bit of sunshine in the last year is the reason his latest
effort, simply titled Dan Israel, feels less dark than his previous solo
efforts. The lyrics are still mostly soulful downers ("Cold cold winter, so
long til spring") but the whole album has an agreeably loose, even funky
feel. Like Time I Get Home, it was recorded in his basement, playing all the
instruments himself. It recalls a similar do-it-yourself project, Paul
McCartney's first and best solo album (the one with the cherries on the
cover). It may be less than expertly performed and recorded, but the
material doesn't require any more polish. It has an experimental, "let's try
this on" casualness. The album is halfway between the driving folk-rock of
his band, The Cultivators, and his more somber solo acoustic albums. There's
a lot of jangly electric guitar and equal amounts of strumming. As usual the
tunes are spare but with hummable hooks. He seems to be having (could it
possibly be?) fun.
The opening tune, the steady rocking "Good Times," is really about the good
times being past; he meets an old friend and mourns how they're adults now,
weighed down by responsibilities and no longer prone to dreams. Still it's
hard to resist the line, "Hey there stranger, you got mouths to feed, won't
you take a minute just to laugh with me?" The second song, "Written on My
Face," has an upbeat pace that undermines its own sadness. The album has its
share of songs that seem to be pissed-off condemnations of the music scene
("Question," "Turning It Down," "Ain't Nobody") but they¹re the liveliest,
most danceable numbers. "Be By Me" distills the spirit of the album ("I'm
gonna shrug these blues off") plus speaks for all us who request support as
we take a stand, even if it's a muddled one. ("It's all a little funny to
me, people swearing one and one is three, can you stand me for what I just
don't know/will you be by me?") There's also a moving memorial to a late
friend and fellow music traveler ("One Last Time.")
The political song "Plenty" boldly dissects its target with blues riffs and
hilarious lyrics ("He quotes from pop song lyrics to show you that he's
hip/If the lower decks would agree to drown, he could right this ship.") It
would be the high point of the album if he didn't top it right afterwards
with "Every Single Day,"an ode to his son performed on the living room
piano. Simple and straightforward, it communicates love in its most basic
and transcendent form.
-Richard Thomas
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