Search - Thompson, Newberger, Mazzy :: Men They Will Become

Newberger, Mazzy, and Thompson delight

Carole E. Nowicke | Bloomington, IN USA | 07/16/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you've driven an hour to hear Ed Goldstein and Buddy Wachter, suffered through an interminable opening act to hear Jonathan Dorn and Leon Redbone, lamented that you've worn out the grooves your Howard Johnson and Taj Mahal "Real Thing" album, and purchased all of the recordings of Sam Pilafian and Frank Vignola, why, then, this is your genre. It's just plain fun--it makes you want to go make friends with a banjo player. The next best thing to having Eli Newberger, Butch Thompson and Jimmy Mazzy on your porch this summer would be to sit out there yourself with your boom box, your old rocking chair, a glass of iced tea, and this CD. The title of this recording is the same as that of a book by Newberger on the development of male character (Perseus, 1999). In the liner notes, Newberger cites a previous concert series "Themes of Intimacy and Aggression," as using much of the same material as this recording, but one could simply characterize the men providing inspiration for these selections as "bad guys and good guys," from "Big Bad Bill," to being "Wild About Harry." I can almost believe Jimmy Mazzy when he sings that he "Ain't Misbehavin'.""