I've been listening to "Death or Life" - the disk from Michael Kearns and the Lonely Mammals for a few weeks now. Got it from a friend, which is also the way I like to get books. Someone gets an idea of your tastes and says, "I think you'll like this . . . ".
Well, I like it. A happy find - Michael has a great touch. From sweet ballads like "And Then Some" to wry rockers like "Lose My Job" and bittersweet school-of-life songs like "Nashville Will Teach You" and "A little Rain", Michael and his backing band The Lonely Mammals are masters of the genre we've been calling Americana.
In the true spirit of that genre, this album is the band and their guests actually playing and singing together. (Says so right in the liner notes " . . . recorded the old fashioned way. We all played at once.")
I haven't got anything against highly produced studio artifacts - it's just that there is something more human (more Mammalian?) about a roomful of people playing and singing together.
Comparisons? How about Neil Young ("That Much Love")? Todd Snider ("Lose My Job")? Maybe even Johnny Cash ("Shortcut to Arthur").
I've been working these tunes into the show for the last few weeks. Hard to believe this is a first effort. Of course, Mike spent a lot of time producing disks for other folks - I hope he'll find the time to bring us more of his own gems soon.
