As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

LP #3 David + David – Boomtown (1986)


David Baerwald and David Ricketts came seemingly out of nowhere to record this masterpiece, and seemingly disappeared almost as quickly. Baerwald subsequently released several solo albums, none of which met with much commercial success; Ricketts never released an album under his name. Both stayed in the music biz, however, writing and producing material for other artists. Baerwald is credited with co-founding the “Tuesday Music Club” that launched Sheryl Crow’s career and provided the title for her Tuesday Night Music Club album, for which both Baerwald and Ricketts co-wrote several songs.
 
Boomtown is the album that Daryl Hall & John Oates might have made had they grown up in L.A. and been heavily influenced by Tom Waits and the Police. Most of the tracks depict the seamy side of life in L.A. (or any big city), with characters who are “Being Alone Together” as they are “Swallowed By The Cracks”; the most upbeat track musically (“Ain’t So Easy”) is written from the perspective of a domestic abuser. (No, this is not the CD to put on during your next party.) “River’s Gonna Rise” has broader socio-political implications; it’s apocalyptically brutal, but redemption comes in the chorus (especially for those at all familiar with Greek mythology.)
 
Favorite tracks:
A Rock For The Forgotten
Welcome To The Boomtown
Swallowed By The Cracks

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