Yombute
09-04-2006, 12:17 PM
The first thing I hear anyone say when they listen to Dan Bern's Fifty Eggs is: "He sounds like Bob Dylan." Well, if you stop there, you've cheated yourself of a real treat.
Yeah, Mr. Bern is listed as folk genre and I suppose that would be true, but I would consider him much more alternative folk - if that's even a genre. Maybe it's best not to categorize him at all. Just listen. 9 our of 10 folks agree: Definitely an original.
Because the only thing Dan has in common with Senor Dylan is, yeah, well, the voice, I suppose but one listen to what he's saying and you will know Mr. Bern has different axes to grind.
More precisely, This is NOT a CD to be played at work or in polite company - at least not all of it. Bern starts us off with a rousing statement to the size of his balls. His only wish is that they were as big as those belonging to one Tiger Woods. Or those of Muhammed Ali - "before he lost too many fights and left his brain inside the ring."
Add that to Bern's explanation for evolution that would have all the intelligent design folks cringing in "No Missing Link", or how his world might look when they finally find a "Cure For Aids" and you can easily see why bosses and prudes will be running for cover and pink slips.
To read this and think that this is, somehow a comedy album or that Bern is simply a silly songwriter is a HUGE mistake. Underneath his irreverent and unapologetic look at the world is a man who can also treat serious subjects with incredible lyrics and nothing that would have anyone cringing at the language.
He takes a look at Monica Seles and the aftermath of her stabbing at a tournament ("Monica") that actually makes you feel deeply for her and for all the fucked up things that happen to most of us that change our lives drastically. The man seems to have an understanding of things that the rest of us don't have and, more importantly, can put that understanding into words and melodies. "Everybody's Baby" has got to be one of my favorite all-time songs and it, also, requires no parental advisory label.
If I had to level a complaint at this CD, it would be that Bern can't seem to decide whether he wants to shock us with Aliens coming and fucking the monkeys, or have us thinking about that one person we've all wanted to be with in songs like "One Dance." Then again, maybe that's why I love this CD so much and play it more than any I've ever owned.
One other small thing that's a bit of a plus is that if you e-mail this guy, he'll even write you back. He plays small venues and, while I'm sure he wouldn't mind at all being rich and famous, seems to enjoy where he is.
After you listen to this CD, you might try some of his other offerings. This one is definitley the best produced of his earlier works, but there are some great songs on his other albums as well.
PS: Make sure you don't eject the CD after the last listed song. There's another one there....
Yeah, Mr. Bern is listed as folk genre and I suppose that would be true, but I would consider him much more alternative folk - if that's even a genre. Maybe it's best not to categorize him at all. Just listen. 9 our of 10 folks agree: Definitely an original.
Because the only thing Dan has in common with Senor Dylan is, yeah, well, the voice, I suppose but one listen to what he's saying and you will know Mr. Bern has different axes to grind.
More precisely, This is NOT a CD to be played at work or in polite company - at least not all of it. Bern starts us off with a rousing statement to the size of his balls. His only wish is that they were as big as those belonging to one Tiger Woods. Or those of Muhammed Ali - "before he lost too many fights and left his brain inside the ring."
Add that to Bern's explanation for evolution that would have all the intelligent design folks cringing in "No Missing Link", or how his world might look when they finally find a "Cure For Aids" and you can easily see why bosses and prudes will be running for cover and pink slips.
To read this and think that this is, somehow a comedy album or that Bern is simply a silly songwriter is a HUGE mistake. Underneath his irreverent and unapologetic look at the world is a man who can also treat serious subjects with incredible lyrics and nothing that would have anyone cringing at the language.
He takes a look at Monica Seles and the aftermath of her stabbing at a tournament ("Monica") that actually makes you feel deeply for her and for all the fucked up things that happen to most of us that change our lives drastically. The man seems to have an understanding of things that the rest of us don't have and, more importantly, can put that understanding into words and melodies. "Everybody's Baby" has got to be one of my favorite all-time songs and it, also, requires no parental advisory label.
If I had to level a complaint at this CD, it would be that Bern can't seem to decide whether he wants to shock us with Aliens coming and fucking the monkeys, or have us thinking about that one person we've all wanted to be with in songs like "One Dance." Then again, maybe that's why I love this CD so much and play it more than any I've ever owned.
One other small thing that's a bit of a plus is that if you e-mail this guy, he'll even write you back. He plays small venues and, while I'm sure he wouldn't mind at all being rich and famous, seems to enjoy where he is.
After you listen to this CD, you might try some of his other offerings. This one is definitley the best produced of his earlier works, but there are some great songs on his other albums as well.
PS: Make sure you don't eject the CD after the last listed song. There's another one there....