The Josh Joplin Group have released a very interesting CD with "Useful Music" (Artemis Records, 2000). Arguably one of the more thoughtful and clever lyricists these days, Josh created a record that generated a healthy buzz among critics but sadly failed to be a big breakthrough. He did score a minor hit with the terrific single, "Camera One," which some of you may recognize from the TV show "Scrubs."
Josh is the vocal equivalent of a shapeshifter. Most of the time he sounds like a Michael Stipe clone (most notably on "Phil Ochs"), but then you hear some Ed Kowalczyk from Live (check out "I've Changed"), then some Peter Gabriel (on "Who's Afraid of Thomas Wolfe"), then - for the love of God - he even sounds like all 3 of the bloody Beastie Boys on "Superstar"!
There are some songs that just don't work, like when he takes to pseudo-rapping, but fortunately these are few and far between. He's also got several notable producers with very divergent styles (Shawn Mullins, Jerry Harrison, Peter Collins) that probably add to the schizophrenic nature of the CD as a whole. When the tracks do work, they REALLY work. I could listen to "Camera One" and "Human" all day. Definitely worth the penny you can get this CD for at Amazon.com.
"I've Changed" is on the CD in two different versions, but both are worth slapping on the iPOD for different reasons. I like the driving feel and slick production Peter Collins does on track 13, but the sparse and stunning acoustic-based version on track 6 (done by Shawn Mullins) is awesome too.
iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13
Josh Joplin Group: Official site.
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