Review of Baby I'm Bored
By Rob Irwin from The Trades January 2004
Somewhat amazingly, despite years of critically acclaimed concerts all over the globe, there's been no studio album released by Evan Dando since his final outing with the Lemonheads on 1996's "Car Button Cloth". As such, it's hard to know where to start a review of "Baby I'm Bored". Should I try and speculate on why his output since 1996 has consisted of a simple live album ("Live at the Brattle Theatre") and its low-key bonus disc (the "Griffith Sunset" EP)? Should I lament the lost opportunities of the past 8 years on his behalf? Or should I just start with the music and take the review from there?
Let's go with option three, Bob.
"Baby I'm Bored" is a relatively lo-fi album with quite a warm feeling to the mix - particularly the vocals. This won't be to everyone's taste, of course. There are still times when even I wish the production was a little cleaner - particularly on the drums - and I really like the album! But don't let this comment put you off too much. If you have been fond of Dando's voice and songs on past releases, I think you'll still enjoy this - even if the production is a little different and harder to get into than on past releases.
Style-wise, the best way I can describe the music on "Baby I'm Bored" is alt-country. Before you get the image that this one time "sex god of grunge" has gone to Hicksville, however, let me add that Dando still pulls out his electric guitar for some fuzzy moments and some chunky little riffs on a number of tracks - bringing us close to genuinely Lemonheads-like moments at times. (By the way, if anyone can explain where Dando got the "sex god of grunge" title when he's never played anything like grunge, drop me a line at the usual address!)
Reading through the song credits for the album is something of a revelation. Two of the strongest tracks which have been live staples for a number of years ("Hard Drive" and "All My Life") weren't written by Dando at all, but Australian singer/songwriter and ex-Mr Claire Danes, Ben Lee. Meanwhile, Dando collaborates with a number of old and new partners on the remaining tracks. While Dando has often collaborated with other songwriters on past albums, it's genuinely surprising to me that only one of the 12 tracks on the album - the rather simplistic "In The Grass All Wine Colored" - is written solely by Dando. I don't know why, but I had imagined that after such a long time away, Dando might have returned with more of his own genuinely solo-written material.
Let me sign off this review with the following thought: "Baby I'm Bored" isn't a work of godlike genius from a formerly lost messiah who has now returned with a bag full of great songs after eight years in the wilderness - and it would be ridiculous to say, or hope, as much. What "Baby I'm Bored" offers is a string of solid songs, lo-fi production values and - on many of the numbers - the feeling that an old friend has dropped by with an acoustic guitar and a few bottles of wine. At the end of the evening, your life hasn't changed and your head, if not your heart, might hurt a little - yet you still feel that the experience was worth it and are already hoping for the next time it happens. I give this album an 8/10.
Random thoughts, track by track, follow:
Repeat: Something new hits you almost from the start of this number - namely, there's another male voice harmonising with Dando. In the past, this has been largely the area of women performers (notably Juliana Hatfield and Belinda Carlisle), yet the way the vocal blends here makes you wonder why Dando hasn't done it more often. In a sense, this track also wrongfoots the listener for what the album holds as, musically, it's one of the less acoustic tracks on the album.
My Idea: An intriguing lyric here as Dando explains that it's the end of "the affair," yet is asking the other party to say that they were the wronged party and that he, Dando, is the one at fault. Quite a melancholic piece, in all.
Rancho Santa Fe: This is my favorite track on the album, but I can't explain why. It starts off with some genuinely hair-raising sounds that make you feel like you're out in the middle of the desert. There's also some glorious Hammond organ work, which always makes my day in a song, and also adds it's own spookiness. I love it.
Waking Up: Definitely my least favorite track on the album by a country mile. Although I commend Dando for the piano and hand clapping-led tune - which sounds very different for him - it's the inclusion of a wailing vocal which intermingles with Dando's own vocal that distracts and, ultimately, just gets on my nerves. Again, kudos for being experimental with the style, but it just doesn't work for me.
Hard Drive: "This is the town I'm living in/This is the street I'm walking down/These are the friends I'm visiting/These are the clothes I'm wearing now..." If you try to imagine a track built around single-line statements starting with "this" or "these," you might think the result would be a pretty ordinary track. Weirdly, there's something so endearing and happy and sad about "Hard Drive" that it becomes more than a sum of its parts and is, deservedly, a favorite among fans.
Shots Is Fired: A closely-miked acoustic guitar, the slight tinkle of a piano and a double vocal from Dando is all this track is based upon. Quite a slow, melancholic number which fails to move me one way or the other. It's not a bad track, but it doesn't stand out, either.
It Looks Like You: People will probably think I'm quite crazy for saying that this track reminds me of The Beatles, circa "A Hard Day's Night" or "Beatles For Sale" but there's something in the drumbeat, vocal harmonies (like on the album's first track) and even, to some extent, the lyrics, that make me think of the Beatles. Very catchy, yet more than a throwaway tune, so beware of finding yourself singing it at all sorts of inappropriate moments.
The Same Thing You Thought Hard About Is The Same Part I Can't Live Without: One of the harder numbers on the album - but don't flick to it expecting that Dando suddenly goes all AC/DC on track eight. A straight ahead rocker with a soaring chorus, prefaced by one of the biggest, most rocking open chords heard on an album in 2004. Check it out.
Why Do You Do This To Yourself?: The first time I heard this song a few years ago in concert I just knew that Dando was singing about himself. "You stayed awake for 14 days and then you slept a week/Why do you do this to yourself?/You drank out on the fire escape until you couldn't speak/Why do you do this do yourself?" At the time, it made me feel sad, as though Dando was admitting his problems, but couldn't see past them. Repeated listens on this album, however, suggest that Dando is perhaps having more fun with his old image and there's more than a little self-mockery going on. Bless.
All My Life: "All my life I thought I needed all the things I didn't need at all..." I'm not going to pretend to have some weird insight into Ben Lee's brain, but these lyrics seem to be written for Dando, as he's moved from the truly hedonistic days of the late 80s and most of the 90s into a calmer, more domesticated 21st century. After all, there's just something so knowing in Dando's voice as he performs this number, and you sit there thinking, "Yeah man, don't you know it." This is one of the two tracks that regularly gets singled out as one of Dando's more recent gems, both live and on disc.
Stop My Head: Following on from "All My Life" is a tall order, so Dando doesn't even appear to try. This is a simple, boppy little number which is pleasant enough, but has few real redeeming features. A padder, if you will, before we get to the final track, an acoustic number called...
In The Grass All Wine Coloured: Take one nonsense statement and repeat over a pretty country tune. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, yet in this case it's not. Dando manages to make this an engaging little tune; perfect for closing the album. The repetition of the line is almost hypnotic and the acoustic guitar is so mellow, I could just... Zzzzzz...