Tony Scherr has had a career as one of New York's most sought-after
jazz bassists. He has played with
the Lounge Lizards,
Jesse Harris & the Ferdinandos,
Bill Frisell,
Sex Mob, and
Slowpoke, to name a few. But Come Around,
Scherr's solo debut, is something else entirely. With crunchy guitars,
Chris Brown's Hammond organ, and horn and string arrangements,
Scherr has crafted a warm album of
country-tinged rock songs that glances back at
the Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed in the same way that
Alejandro Escovedo's underappreciated A Man Under the Influence does. Sure,
Scherr's tunes tend to ramble and meander more, without the instant gratification of
the Stones or
Escovedo, but this gives them a quality like the
pop work of
Jim O'Rourke and even the dark, off-kilter,
David Lynch-worthy experimentation of "What Kind of Friend Are You" is incredibly rewarding. The title track, with its pure '70s
country-rock groove, is the real winner and is ready and waiting for a
Ryan Adams cover. Come Around manages to build an atmosphere that beautifully evokes the bittersweet lost American dreams and would-be soulful road trips of the Southwest and California, and what's all the more amazing is that
Tony Scherr recorded the album in his house. ~ Charles Spano, All Music Guide
