Patti Scialfa: 23rd Street Lullaby - 2004

 

It was eleven years until the release of Patti's next album and here we saw a few "contemporary" programmed rhythms employed on the percussion, but, that apart, the style of the songs are pretty much the same - thoughtful, evocative expression of feelings against a background of wistful nostalgia. 

Patti's voice is again moving in its sort of expressive urban-country style and her songs well-written and interesting. Highlights are the addressing of lost youth in You Can't Go Back, the riffy City Boys, Yesterday's Child, the shuffling Each Other's Medicine and the Deacon Blue meets Patti's husband vibe of Stumbling To Bethlehem. There is something vaguely Dylanesque in a lot of the lyrics and delivery too and Romeo is very redolent of hubby. 

Musically, it is a subtle album - subtle guitars, subtle keyboards and subtle backing vocals, sort of in keeping with Patti's gentle and elegant character (as I see it). Look, I don't listen to this and think "wow, what a song" but I certainly don't dismiss any of the songs - they are all damn good. Scialfa's albums really should have been given more credit, but they never were and probably never will, which is a shame.

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