Customer Reviews

Boy Wonder

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got a pre-release of this record at a radio station. The DJ gave it too me. It's TOO good for the annals of our sad radio spectrum. Sad ditties that somehow rock. Great melodies. Beautiful and sometimes silly harmonies. There's also some touches of Junk Rock still nestled in a couple tracks. Junk Rock is the musical branding that McAdam gave to his old band Sumack. Sumack had a few albums. I heard their release on V2 Records and it was awesome. Back to BOY WONDER...It's a beautiful, funny, and sad record. McAdam has become one of West Coast's best songwriters. They're lucky to have him. I don't find myself skipping any of the tracks when I play it in my car (except my girlfriend doesn't like the fourth track). My favorite track "Skin Thick Skin" is also the goofiest track on the record (part of the chorus is "I've got skin thick skin, I've got a heart shaped heart"). The melody and his singing on the track plays happy go lucky, but the lyrics are a slow descent into a romantic abyss. I can't get the dang song out of my head. So, I summerize with a recommendation: purchase this eminently timeless record.

I didn't find the performances on this recording to be very interesting. The songs are nice, the lyrics are great, but the arrangements and performances feel mundane. A big exception is "The Man Who Never Jumped", which has some really creative playing.

From his lyrics to his melodies, McAdam is a sterling musician. "Boy Wonder" is an amazing album of stunning greatness. "Driftwood" is one of my favorite songs ever! The mood he is able to capture, stultifies me with its beauty. The quick wit of "Skin Thick Skin" leaves me all agiggle. Buy a copy of this album, TODAY.

Not as strong or as diverse sounding at "Boy Wonder" but this release from McAdam does not fail the listener. "When They Know You," "Bowery Song," and "Cavalcade of Dues" are all excellent songs, full of amazing lyrics and stellar melodies. McAdam is a find, that more people need to discover. Get this album, by original non-over produced music. Simplicity, layering of sounds, and lyrics. What a fine artist McAdam is, and "Cavalcade" demonstrates this.

Take the dark witty lyrics of the Old 97's Rhett Miller. Add the warbling melodies of Aimee Mann and the mellow haze of Yo La Tengo. Dump in generous qualities of bittersweet longing, then spice with a bit of the twinkly-spooky whimsy of Yann Tiersen. Shake well and serve on one CD-- and you've got Mark McAdam's applause-worthy first solo album.

Drifting from country to pop to folk and back again, McAdam's album shines with tender empathy and wry regret. "Too Hard" is the sort of single commercial radio needs more of; "The Rouxs" sounds like an outtake from some ghostly .45 hidden away in an attic; "Skin Thick Skin" is a foot-shuffling Tin Pan Alley number; and "Sob Story No. 2" is so compellingly sad that it all but commands your attention.

Hard to believe an album this polished was recorded in living rooms and garages, or that an artist this skilled should have to crash on friends' couches when he should be earning the proverbial tall dollars. Buy this album right away. You won't regret it for a moment.

Mark McAdam is a boy wonder. Like the title of his cd.
He intimates influences the like of Kurt Weill, Tom Waits, as well as Simon & Garfunkel. There is even a hint of Beatles in his chorus riffs and blending of harmonies. He has musical guts and is not afraid of singing out of the commercial mold, and yet he achieves a commercial appeal,without being unoriginal.I especially liked DRIFTWOOD,a beautiful song about identity, as well as I'M ALLERGIC TO LOS ANGELES. He knows how to get the most out of word,and twists it melodically,to get the most emotion and musicality, similar to Sinatra.
HIS MUSIC TOUCHES THE HEART as well as the BRAIN.
A poet and philospher, with a sharp sense of humor and the voice marries perfectly with the instrumentals.He is able to achieve and intimacy that is the mark of an artist in his music.I am buying 3 tapes to give as presents. By the way I met Mark once recently, he is also charming in person.