Customer Reviews

The Excitement Plan

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Todd Snider draws inspiration from all over the musical map, from tough-guy outlaws like Billy Joe Shaver to wise guy satirists like Randy Newman and John Prine. But Todd's not an imitator of those geniuses - he's a peer. The Excitement Plan showcases one of America's greatest songwriters at the top of his game. This guy can deliver a line so poignant and honest it hurts - and then counter with a punch line that makes you laugh out loud. That alone makes him a rare talent - and he's even better live. Viva Todd Snider!

When I heard that Todd Snider's "The Excitement Plan" featured a song about Dock Ellis, former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, throwing a no-hitter while tripped out on LSD, I thought "why hasn't this been sung about before?" And leave it to Todd Snider to make the song both historical and hysterical. This CD, like all of Todd's, is full of story songs about down on their luck, regular everyday people either trying to make the best with what they have or rationializing their situations. The lyrics and song themes are outstanding, and "Corpus Christi Bay", a cover of a Robert Earl Keen song, comes off as a vintage Snider song.

What about the sound of the CD? Well, Don Was produced and played upright bass, but don't expect an album that sounds like Was (Not Was) or the B-52s. If anything, this is the most country-sounding album Todd has done, due likely to the presence of Greg Leisz on dobro and pedal steel guitar (Leisz has played with Sheryl Crow, Robert Plant/Alison Kraus, Wilco....) But it's a good, raw, folk-and-booze inflected country, not pop/rock country like is common here in 2009, doubly effective with Todd's not-always-on-pitch vocals. One or two songs even sound a little like Randy Newman. Oh, and Loretta Lynn co-wrote a duet song and Jim Keltner plays drums (Keltner played drums for John Lennon, Joe Cocker, Steve Miller, Bill Withers, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond....)

So great lyrics and concepts, a tight band, and an overall great sound. Perhaps his best CD since the demise of "Todd Snider and the Nervous Wrecks."

Todd Snider has come up with another great CD with "The Excitement Plan". There aren't very many up-tempo tunes on this CD as there were with the last full-length CD ("The Devil You Know"), but the wit is sharper than ever. Personal favorites are "Greencastle Blues" (written after he was arrested for pot possession in Greencastle, Indiana last year), "Corpus Christi Bay" (not one he wrote, but well-covered) and "Money, Compliments and Publicity" (his method of taking care of all of his friends when he gets enough money is classic). There's a lot of piano on this CD than I hear on other Snider CDs, but I think that's a nice change. I also get a kick out of his collaboration with Loretta Lynn on "Don't Tempt Me".

I've done reviews of many of Todd's other CDs and I always say, get the CD, but if he comes near your town, get to one of his live shows. You WILL have a great time!

This is a fantastic album for Todd. Less rock-n-roll than previous albums, but not as folky as live performances. A must have CD and the best CD I have purchased this year.

Producer Don Was (Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, etc.) helps Snider bring out his inner blues singer. Kind of. "Folk-blues" would be more like it; I'm a sucker for coining genre names, so let's go with that: Folk-blues.

This is easily one of Snider's most solid albums, lyrically and musically. On the lyrics end, his wit and banter is razor-sharp, from his "Goodfellas"-esque tale of crime ("Unorganized Crime"), to his lament of the life/death of a newspaper ("Doll Face"), to his brazen straight-forward anti-war plea ("Bring 'em Home"), to his heartfelt take on Robert Earl Keen's "Corpus Cristi Bay." Musically, Was has supplied him with a rather sparse arrangement: guitar or piano, bass, drums, and percussion (but not on all tracks). And then Loretta Lynn lends her writing/vocal talents on album-highlight "Don't Tempt Me," and basically it's Folk-blues Heaven from there. THE EXCITEMENT PLAN is (pun alert) certainly something to get excited about. Give it a spin, give it a listen. (And purchase the physical CD, so you can get three free downloads from Yep-Roc Records, including the absolutely hilarious "Mushroom Story.") Just do yourself a huge favor and buy this album.

Todd is brilliant, a natural, lovable, astute and very funny when he wants to be. I've been enjoying his work ever since 1994's "Songs for the Daily Planet". However, I want to make it clear that he is not the first to write about the no-hitter that Doc Ellis threw while "altered".

I would like to refer all readers to the work of Chuck Brodsky, another wonderful American singer-songwriter who can definitely spin a poignant story or a funny one, but also happens to have an interest in baseball history. He wrote and recorded a song about "Doc's No-no" years ago on his "Baseball Ballads" CD.

I think both Todd and Chuck are criminally under-appreciated, but in this day of manufactured "talent", maybe it's all we can do to just enjoy them as well-kept secrets and spread the word wherever and whenever we have the opportunity.

This, I believe, is Todd Snider's second release in the last year (Peace Queer is its immediate predescessor), and let's hope he stays this productive. There isn't much uptempo, but there is the same observant wit and empathy that distinguishes him from just about every other recording artist. There are verses that will make you want to laugh again and again - not something that is easily acccomplished when the topic is a symptom of heart disease, for example (I am a doctor and what he says is unfortunately all too true). I am also a Pirates fan (I've long since given up on them), and he has tapped into a goldmine there - quite an eclectic and successful bunch of players at Three Rivers in the 1970s. How about a song about Clemente?
Buy this and all the rest of his CDs if it doesn't matter to you how well a performer can dance (I've seen Todd live and suspect he could hold his own if he cared to) or what he or she wears (though I must protest about the bare feet), but it does matter to you to hear songs of substance, whether they be funny or tragic or both, written and played with panache. He is an American Treasure, whether he gets paid like one or not (you could help him out a bit there by sending one or more to your shopping cart).

Light-hearted and enjoyable, this album is a fantastic break from what most would consider country music. Will be buying more of his stuff for sure!

Yeah this album is pretty amazing. Todd combines a good ol' folk sound with pertinent lyrics. Duet with Loretta Lynn is amazing, the REK song is amazing, overall a fun and good singalong album.

Vintaged Snider, not a T. Snider starter but work your way up to this with previous releases - it's worth it.