Record Reviews

Johnny Dowd

Pictures From Life's Other Side (Koch)

In 1996, Chicago's upstart alt.country label Checkered Past released Johnny Dowd's Wrong Side of Memphis. The 15 tales of beautiful terror and trying love -- far from easy listening -- became one of that year's best albums. In the three years since, Checkered Past has gone belly up, but the Texas-born, New York state resident has refined his twistedly realistic vision into 16 more snapshots from the edge, this time on New York's Koch label. Pictures From Life's Other Side not only picks up where Wrong Side... left off, it goes one step further in both songsmithing and instrumentation (think of a Hank Williams/Lou Reed side project). From the opening title track's oompah-propelled carnival ride/tightrope death march until the last secret track, Dowd's lyrics shock, entertain, and provoke: "Memories squawk like buzzards in my head, they won't fly away 'til they've been fed" ("Bad Memories"). On Pictures..., as well as on stage, Dowd's loose devilish drawl is answered by the angelic song of Kim Sherwood-Caso ("Worried Mind" and "God Created Woman"). Likewise, help from percussionist Brian Wilson and jack-of-all-trades musician (e.g., xylorimba) Mike Edmondson help paint Dowd's multi-hued vision of loss and lust. From the Lolita-inflected "Hope You Don't Mind," to the story of a botched suicide, "Ballad of Lonnie Wolf," and the opaque rustic hellbilly bent of "Butcher's Son," Dowd has done it again. Two up, two on base. Dowd is batting 1000.