Album Review: Zach Bryan- The Great American Bar Scene

The uninhibited behavior of a superfan captivated me at a Flatland Cavalry concert last month. Having previously worked out elaborate routines to the band’s repertoire, he acted out the lyrics to songs including "Sleeping Alone" with hand and body motions.

Like that earnest Flatland Cavalry fan, Zach Bryan has no use for irony. The star is as painfully sincere and unabashedly corny as he’s always been on the new album The Great American Bar Scene. Apparently, I’ve changed.

I’ve previously been disinterested in Bryan’s straightforward heartland rock. Yet The Great America Bar Scene’s recasting of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and John Mellencamp’s The Lonesome Jubilee won me over. Now please excuse me while I work on my routine for "American Nights". I pity everyone seated near me at Bryan’s two concerts at my local arena next month.

April 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the Irish National Opera’s trailer for Werther by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of April

1. Tilo Weber- Tesserae

My review.

2. Zsófia Boros- El último aliento

My review.

3. El Michels Affair and Black Thought- Glorious Game

Roots-y.

4. Adam Larson- With Love, From New York City

My review.

5. Tee Grizzley and Skilla Baby- Controversy

Detroit lions.

6. Thomas Adès- Dante

Hell, purgatory and paradise.

7. Danish String Quartet- Prism V

Bach, Beethoven and Webern.

8. YoungBoy Never Broke Again- Don’t Try This at Home

Untold riches.

9. Brandee Younger- Brand New Life

Starting over.

10. Kiko El Crazy- Pila’e Teteo

Dembow frenzy.

Top Ten Songs of April

1. Shirley Collins- “High and Away”

Storm’s a-brewin’.

2. Margo Price and Particle Kid- “Hands on the Wheel”

I feel like going home.

3. Smokey Robinson- "Beside You"

Cruisin’.

4. Stik Figa featuring Blu and The Expert- "Uknowhut?"

What?

5. Killer Mike featuring El-P and thankugoodsir- "Don't Let the Devil"

Nobody speak.

6. MC Yallah- "No One Seems to Bother"

The truest type of world music.

7. Thundercat and Tame Impala- "No More Lies"

Truth.

8. Armani White and A$AP Ferg- “Silver Tooth”

Novocain.

9. NLE Choppa- "Talk Different"

Money changes everything.

10. Jessie Ware- “Begin Again”

Age of Aquarius.

Top Ten Concerts of April

1. Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Folly Theater

My Instagram photo.

2. Adam Larson, Matt Clohesy and Jimmy Macbride at Westport Coffee House

My Instagram clip.

3. Willi Carlisle and Betse & Clarke at Knuckleheads

My Instagram photo.

4. John Mellencamp at the Midland theater

My Instagram clip.

5. Drew Williams, Seth Davis and Brian Steever at Westport Coffee House

My Instagram clip.

6. Booker T. Jones at the Folly Theater

My review.

7. Joseph Genualdi at Grant Recital Hall

My Instagram photo.

8. Anne-Marie McDermott’s master class at Grant Recital Hall

My notes.

9. Thomas Lacy at Southminster Presbyterian Church

My Instagram clip.

10. Nate Nall, Matt Hopper and Joey Panella at the Market at Meadowbrook

My Instagram photo.

The previous monthly survey is here.

January 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of The Face of Another by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in January)

1. The Weeknd- Dawn FM

My podcast analysis.

2. Andrew Cyrille, William Parker and Enrico Rava- 2 Blues for Cecil

My review.

3. Earl Sweatshirt- Sick!

My review.

4. Tony Malaby’s Sabino- The Cave of Winds

My review.

5. Silvana Estrada- Marchita

Not unlike peak k.d. lang.

6. Modern Nature- Island of Noise

Jazz-stained freak-folk.

7. Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes- Edvard Grieg

My review.

8. John Mellencamp- Strictly a One-Eyed Jack

My review.

9. Pan Daijing- Tissues

Industrial opera.

10. FKA twigs- Caprisongs

Peculiar pop.

Top Ten Songs (released in January)

1. The Smile- "You Will Never Work in Television Again"

Static.

2. Big Boss Vette- "Heavy"

The weight.

3. Christina Aguilera- "La Reina"

I knew she had it in her.

4. Barbara Hannigan- "Youkali"

Well done Weill.

5. Che Noir- "Split the Bread"

Food for thought.

6. The Streets- "Wrong Answers Only"

“I am a God: I can turn wine into vomit.”

7. Banda Los Recoditos- "Me Siento a Todo Dar"

Drinking and dancing.

8. Love Regenerator featuring Sananda Maitreya- "Lonely"

Terence Trent D’Arby!

9. Sebastián Yatra featuring Rosario and Jorge Celedón- "Dharma"

Dance, laugh, cry.

10. Benny the Butcher and J. Cole- “Johnny P’s Caddy”

The Butcher arrives.

Top Ten Movies, Television Broadcasts and Streaming Programming (viewed for the first time in January, in lieu of live music)

1. The Face of Another/他人の顔 (1966)

Freaky Japanese psychological thriller.

2. Jeopardy! (2022)

Amy Schneider’s remarkable 40-game streak ends.

3. Handsome Serge/Le Beau Serge (1958)

Très barbare.

4. Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs (2022)

The NFL is made for TV.

5. Mary Lou Williams and Carline Ray- At Les Mouches (1978)

My associated review.

6. The Lost Daughter (2021)

Grief in Greece.

7. The Royal College of Music’s Die Zauberflöte (2021)

My review.

8. The Catered Affair (1956)

Ernest Borgnine, Bette Davis and Gore Vidal.

9. Winter JazzFest (2022)

A handful of the virtual performances are stunning.

10. From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2022

Life goal.

Links to previous monthly surveys begin here.

Album Review: John Mellencamp- Strictly a One-Eyed Jack

I worked at a newsstand for a couple years in the 1980s.  Between reading the merchandise and silently judging customers’ purchases, there was a lot to like about the minimum wage job.  John Mellencamp was one of the most famous people I rang up.  The  heartland rock heavyweight was characteristically aloof.

Even though I was a Bruce Springsteen guy, I recognized that Mellencamp’s misanthropic songs were more representative of the people I knew and the place I called home.  Springsteen appears on three tracks of Mellencamp’s astounding new album Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. The hard-knock tone is matched by Mellencamp’s smoke-ravaged voice.  Strictly a One-Eyed Jack often sounds as if Tom Waits is covering Mellencamp’s superlative 1987 album The Lonesome Jubilee.

I shouldn’t be surprised to find myself admiring a Mellencamp album in 2022.  The cynic’s advanced age finally matches his lifelong sensibility.  I feel much the same way about myself.  It’s simply stating the obvious to reveal that Mellencamp purchased a pack of cigarettes during our brief encounter 35 years ago.