Artist: Male solo artist
Career: debut
Language: English
Genre: Singer-songwriter
Well, it’s certainly not run of the mill. The only awful thing about Stew (leader of The Negro Problem, who I’ve never heard) is his moniker. Mark Stewart (his real name) is a black, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, who recorded this solo-debut at the rich young age of 39 and in the years since made a name writing Broadway musicals (for which he won Tony awards and the like). You hear all that stuff in his music. In the liner notes there are references to Stephen Sondheim, Jimmy Webb and Arthur Lee. ‘60s baroque pop? Yes, that too. And soul influenced backing vocals and a playwright’s mordant wit. That and a lot of singer-songwriter stuff. It’s a singular genre he ends up with, and I could see people not liking it: too flamboyant for the singer-songwriter crowd, too much college strum and focus on the lyrics (though with lovely arrangements on top) for the pop crowd. A little to playwright-y and sarcastic for both crowds (though he’s also capable of direct emotional impact).
Or you could love it. The first spin I heard it was something special. The second spin I knew it was good special. The third I loved it. I’ve listed a couple of special highlights below, but really there isn’t a weak spot on the album. Song after song of great, inspired stuff. And if, after reading this, you’re wondering if it’s rock’n’roll. Well, there’s a couple of ways to measure rock’n’roll but one of them is if they can sing ‘C’mon everybody’ and not look foolish. Carl Perkins, MC5, NRBQ, check. Bono, Bobby Gillespie, not so much. (See, it works.) Stew manages perfectly well on the final track on this album. I might check his other records out. (I’ll wait a while for the musicals.)
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