Marshall Crenshaw: From "The Hellhole"

In something of a reflection of its sardonic title, Marshall Crenshaw's From "The Hellhole" is not an album of all-new, never-before-recorded original material. It consists instead of revamped versions of recordings the Detroit native 'completed' for release in various forms in recent years (not the least of which is the now out-of-print #392: The EP Collection (Red River, 2015).

Like the remix of Rare Earth's Motown hit "I Just Want to Celebrate," the details of the reworkings of original songs and covers may or may not be readily discernible to anyone but the artist himself and his most rabid followers. Yet the overall effort bespeaks the musicianly approach Crenshaw has taken to his recent reissues of previous LPs, such as Miracle of Science (Razor & Tie, 1996).

In the end, the latest collection might easily pass for vintage Crenshaw circa his sophomore longplayer Field Day (Warner Bros., 1983). But the enumeration of fourteen cuts also reminds of classic Beatles albums such as Beatles For Sale (Parlophone, 1964) (not coincidentally, Crenshaw played John Lennon in the musical Beatlemania).

To that end, one unreleased original, "Walkin' Around," is juxtaposed with some broadly eclectic choices of outside material. "No Time" was composed by prominent Tom Petty collaborator Jeff Lynne when he was a member of the British cult group The Move (prior to founding Electric Light Orchestra). And then there is "Never To Be Forgotten" by the Bobby Fuller Four whose 1966 hit "I Fought The Law" was written by Sonny Curtis of Buddy Holly's band The Crickets.

Other notable outside composer credits crop up next to Crenshaw's throughout this fifty-six some minutes. The Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian composed "Didn't Want To Have To Do It"—a well-sequenced moment of reflection—while Todd Rundgren's "Couldn't I Just Tell You" features lush acoustic guitar illustrative of the sophisticated means by which the frontman, in a song of his own such as "Move Now," contours words to music.

In turn, the interweaving of vocals to instruments also reflects the balance Marshall Crenshaw maintains in his roles of songwriter, musician and recording artist. Accordingly, electric guitars and vocal harmonies dominate "I Don't See You Laughing Now," while the four-square drumming there (from MC himself)—adorns the track as stylishly as the eternally youthful tones of his voice as he sings. But then there is the resplendent chiming of the rhythm guitar, every bit as tuneful as his solos, as it envelops the other instruments and, in turn, a listener.

Marshall Crenshaw respects the virtues of other musicians too, no matter the genre(s) in which they abide. As a result, notable contributions on From "The Hellhole" come from bonafide contemporary jazz masters: on the travelogue "Driving And Dreaming," the organ Jamie Saft plays is as prominent as Marshall's fanciful falsetto and for Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "(They Long To Be) Close To You," while trumpeter Steve Bernstein's horns dispel all traces of saccharinity for the sake of an earthy undercurrent far removed from the Carpenters' version.

Perhaps less well-known than those players, Bryan Carrott nevertheless parlays his vibraphone for "Stranger And Stranger," an instrumental component as integral to the success of that track as those from the two aforementioned participants. Similarly sympathetic is the wavering of Rob Morseberger's accordion to suit "Red Wine."

Much like Neil Young, whose pride in his work has become increasingly clear through his archiving in recent years, Marshall Crenshaw finds the worth in his work growing over the course of time. And why not?: the recordings of From "The Hellhole," like the material and the musicianship, bespeak well- honed, sophisticated craftsmanship.

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