I'm going to go ahead and get all of the Semisonic talk out of the way first thing. I'm sure everyone knows the song "Closing Time". It's been on nearly every VH1 One Hit Wonder special. No matter what that song did to this band, they put out a pretty decent album in Feeling Strangely Fine ("Secret Smile" and "Gone to the Movies" put me to sleep many nights). It's tough to be stuck with the one hit wonder label...I even walked past a Dan Wilson solo performance in Minneapolis figuring he didn't have much to offer. I was wrong.Wilson has put together a great solo album in Free Life. He has some great compilations with Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) on "Free Life" and "Baby Doll", Sheryl Crow on "Sugar", and Gary Louris (The Jayhawks) on "Cry" and "Come Home Angel". He's also written songs for the Dixie Chicks, Jason Mraz, and Mike Doughty. Obviously Wilson is talented and it really shows on this album. "Cry" first caught my attention, but the whole disc is solid. If I ever get a chance to hear him again, you can bet I'll stop and listen....
Listen to this album
I love this album.
ReplyDeleteI really dig this album as well. Dan Wilson's writing is so catchy, but not tired or cliché. I caught myself singing along to some of his songs as a first time listener to this collection.
ReplyDeleteI love his choice of instrumentation on most of the tracks too. Nice, natural sounding instruments, not overly produced, sweet harmonies here and there...perfect.