Customer Reviews

Public Library

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This has been my soundtrack on the way to work for the past week: from the ode to Smart Girls to the toe-tapping rockabilly 747's to the lament Every town's the same -- every song is unique and well-written. Buy it and queue it up on repeat -- you won't be disappointed!

In today's world of mass-produced bubble gum pop recordings, Jonathan Rundman shines out as the artist that he is. With simple elegance and wonderful music and wordplay, he can address the issues of every day life, rave about the importance of intellect in finding a mate, and address social and political issues that affect every single person in this world. His music and songs are original, tactiful, and very catchy. It's a great break from the normal mass-produced music that's heard almost every where today.

This is my favorite album of the past year! If I were to describe Rundman's music, he really is between Jonathan Richmond and Todd Rundgren (alphabetically and musically).

Minneapolis artist Jonathan Rundman scores big here with "Public Library". The lead off track is memorable, as much a lesson in love as it is an obvious tribute to a "smart girl" in his life. "Falling Down" is a soft rocker that results in something that an Owsley, REM, XTC collaboration would have sounded like. "Narthex" is a folksy tune with a sticks-in-your-head chorus and grinding guitar while "747s" is a fun country-boogie/bluegrass number with twangy vocals in place. This is an impressive release with songs of varied styles.

IT'S AWESOME. This guy can really write some good music. take a listen here at amazon or you can go to his webpage at: www.jonathanrundman.com or to his record label webpage at: www.saltlady.com. take it from a jonathan rundman fan such as myself buy this album.

I never heard of Jonathan Rundman before I heard "Public Library," but after hearing this CD, I'm surprised he's not very well known. This CD is amazing, and it sounds better with every listen. The lyrics are incredible (and funny!), the music is top-notch, and this has to be one of the best CDs of the year (really!!!). I buy a lot of CDs for people as gifts, typically more obscure artists, and this CD will definitely be given to many friends of mine in coming months. "Smart Girls" and "Librarian" are two of the highlights of this CD, but it is consistently excellent.

Jonathan Rundman's Public Library gets better with each listen, and that is generally the hallmark of a great album.

It should be noted at the outset that Walter Salas-Humara of the Silos produced, and the Silos play Rundman's backing band (though not Salas-Humara). Walter elicits a true and earnest roots rock, power-pop hybrid sound from Rundman; the album manages to be both organic and insanely catchy at the same time. The hooks stay with you- "Smart girls shine like laser light, cause they're so sharp and they're so bright" from the very first song; "Falling down" from the second. The instrumentation has the tastiness of, say, Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels On a Gravel Road, with a rich bed of acoustic guitars, harmonica, and Mary Rowell's sublime violin adding texture to the rhythm section, with Drew Glackin's stinging, punctual leads over the top. Think the Silos Cuba; think Tom Petty; think recent Marshall Crenshaw; think Ryan Adams, think rootsy power pop.

Some of the reviews of this album have suggested that it harkens back to the eighties-- to the so-called Americana movement circa 1985 that included bands like the Long Ryders, Del Fuegos, Del-Lords, Lone Justice, Mellencamp, Fogerty, and even the Silos. One can see their point. But to these ears the album has the transcendent quality of existing out of time; it could just as easily pass for a long-lost early 70s classic that slipped under the radar, lying somewhere between Emmit Rhodes and Gram Parsons.

The thing that makes this record so good is the song writing. Describing what makes a good song is no mean feat, but I'm going to take a shot. Rundman's songs are simple and direct, yet full of profound word play; the beauty of the song form is that you can embellish words by their use within the melody. Ideally there is a synergy between the two. On paper the lyrics "I'm a librarian" may seem hopelessly flat; but when Rundman lays into them here, emphasizes them, makes them anthemic, it is a sort of poetry. I almost said a poetry for the ear-- but all poetry is for the ear. And "Librarian," of course, is one of the album's key tracks.

OK, I've made enough references, offered enough praise. By now you have an idea of whether or not this is something you might dig. So what are you waiting for? Buy the darn thing. As my grandmother might have said, "What's not to like?" (Actually she'd say, "In MY day we had music!" But then she liked Borscht.)