Brian Vander Ark and Jeff Daniels

A couple of weekends ago, I started a short break from the station by heading to Grand Rapids and the beautiful Frederik Meijer Gardens to see a double bill (well, a double bill in MY eyes) of Brian Vander Ark with Jeff Daniels.  Brian is, of course, the leader of the rock band The Verve Pipe and has released four solo CDs since 2003.  The first three were near the top or in the top 10 releases (in the world according to me) in their respective year of release.  I look forward to hearing new material from Brian whether it’s solo music or music for The Verve Pipe.  He’d previewed a couple of songs for me in Studio A2 a couple of months ago so I had a little taste, but wasn’t sure what to expect as his last release was the Verve Pipe “A Family Album.”  As the title suggests, this is one intended to please adults who have kids.  I don’t have kids, but I found the songs to be extremely catchy and well written.  “A Family Album” was definitely up to par with the recent solo material, but how would it’s success affect Brian’s songwriting I wondered..  I got a bit more of a taste of the new material at the aforementioned concert.

            Brian opened the show in his home town of Grand Rapids and played solo for just short of an hour.  It was the first time I’d seen him in his hometown and it was fun for me to see how he addressed the crowd, especially in regards to the song “Lily White Way” which doesn’t exactly paint a favorable picture of his current hometown.  He apologized for the song’s assumptions and admitted he was wrong about the lifestyle of the town he now lived in.  All in all, a wonderful performance and I got to hear a couple more new tunes while I was there.  I also had my first chance not to pay shipping in order to own the new CD, so I bought it from the merchandise area.  It would provide the soundtrack for the two hour ride home.  More on that later.  One of the songs Brian played in Studio A2 is one called “My Little Town,” co-written with Jeff Daniels.  I assumed Jeff would come out and play it with him, but alas, Brian played it solo. 

            Best known for his roles in Dumb and Dumber and Terms of Endearment, the actor who sings (Brian, incidentally, is a singer who acts) Jeff Daniels has released five CDs of mostly original material.  All of it is entertaining and Jeff is truly underrated for his guitar playing talent (oddly, the Wikipedia page for Jeff makes little mention of his musical career).  I’ve seen him perform a few times and the last couple of performances included the very talented Brad Phillips as a sideman on fiddle and mandolin.  If you get the chance to see Mr. Daniels live, I highly encourage you to do so.  What made this night special was the fact that Brian Vander Ark did end up joining Jeff and Brad on stage for a couple of songs at the end.  Jeff also called his wife and her friends on stage to do the “Big Bay Shuffle” (an honor my wife begrudgingly accepted at the show we attended in December of 2010).  Fun, Fun, Fun, until the 9:45 curfew (9:45? Really?).

            On the ride home I popped in the CD entitled Magazine.  I played it initially at conversation level (you know, the level you play something when you’re not alone in the car) so it didn’t really sink in as much as it would when I played it while I was alone (aka LOUDER).  It hurts me to say I was actually disappointed overall with the end results.  It’s better than most albums I will hear this year (Brian’s songwriting, like Jeff’s guitar playing is highly underrated), but not up to par with his first three releases.  Oh, there are definitely some gems.  The Daniels co-write “My Little Town” is very well done with the band.  Other stand outs include “On The Day I Fell” (a love song for his wife), “Red Letter Days” and “Surrender” -all of which you will hear on the September 4^th edition of the Acoustic Brunch.  My disappointment lies in the near novelty sound of some of the other tracks.  “Facebook Friend” was probably fun to write, but it doesn’t compare to the genius of a song he wrote years earlier called “1229 Sheffield” with its wonderful lyrical twists.  The first single “Michigan Coast to Coast” is certainly a fun song that I can relate to. It too has its share of clever lines that I like, but I just don’t know if it will stand the test of time like so many earlier tunes will.  The album artwork also indicates were in for a less serious time (though the subject matter of “My Little Town” is as serious as a heart attack).  Brian, if you happen to be reading this, you’ve told me you appreciate my honesty.  Honestly, Magazine just isn’t as strong as any of his previous solo work I am sorry to say.  Could I write a song half as good as anything Brian’s ever written?  No way.  Am I happy to own this CD?  Certainly.  Should you own it?  Do yourself a favor and either check out the Acoustic Brunch on September 4or sample it on line first.  If you haven’t heard any of Brian’s previous work, this wouldn’t be the place I suggest you start.