Search - Pal Shazar :: Woman Under the Influence

Best Kept Secret Of The 90's

Mike B. | 06/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Attention, fans of Patti Smith and Ani DiFranco. Have I got a girl for you! Pal Shazar has released 6 great albums since 1991, yet few people know about her.



In 1981 her new wave band Slow Children issued 2 albums for the RCA label. I can't account for her next 10 years, but know she married fellow singer/songwriter Jules Shear during that time. Together they co-produced her excellent solo debut "Cowbeat Of My Heart" (1991), the follow-up disc "There's A Wild Thing In The House" (1995), and her most recent release "The Morning After".



Wild Thing was a flat-out masterpiece and should've made her a star. I regard it as the equal of Patti Smith's "Horses", Kate Bush's "The Kick Inside", or Dory Previn's "Mythical Kings And Iguanas". Just perfect. I'd go as far as to say it was the best album by any female artist of the 90's. Like her first CD, it was acoustic folk-rock of the highest caliber. Her specialty is world weariness with a punk attitude. Her intelligent lyrics are conveyed with varying degrees of sarcasm and cynicism, acceptance and resignation. It's not depressing, however. She comes off as insightful, charming - and very smart.



"Woman Under The Influence" (1997) exchanged folk-rock for rock. She co-produced with occasional co-writer and band member Danielle Faye. Pal sounds even more like Patti or Ani on this one. It's my second-favorite of her CD's (hard to follow a masterpiece). Another keeper, and well worth having. Since this, she's released "Safe" (1999), "Shazar No. 5" (2002), and "The Morning After" (2006). All of these are very good, if not quite up to the same level as Wild Thing and Woman. She's remained an intriguing songwriter and I still enjoy them.



It's hard to understand why success has eluded her. Her solo work has only been on small indie labels and poorly promoted, which is possibly part of the problem. Another is that she doesn't tour, but seems content to limit her appearances to small clubs in New York City.



Her CD's are increasingly hard to find. It's nearly impossible to get "Cowbeat Of My Heart", which is long-since out of print. There's still a few copies floating around of "There's A Wild Thing In The House" (including here on Amazon), but I'd recommend moving fast to secure one. Same goes for "Woman Under The Influence", which has the added benefit of being available on this site for MP3 downloading. "Safe" and "The Morning After" are also downloadable here.



If they truly become scarce, try her official website. If you're curious about her husband, check out "Horse Of A Different Color: The Jules Shear Collection", a terrific overview of the first half of his career. He wrote "All Through The Night" for Cyndi Lauper and "If She Knew What She Wants" for the Bangles.



But whatever you do, don't miss out on Pal Shazar. If enough of us buy her, her much-deserved stardom may happen yet.





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