Search - Brian Dewan :: Operating Theatre

Does Dewan Dodge the Sophomore Slump?

03/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"(Okay, that was far too alliterative for comfort....) Happily, the answer is yes. Like its predecessor TELLS THE STORY, THE OPERATING THEATER is a mix of folk music, deadpan sick jokes, nostalgia, and celebrations of both the strange and the quotidian.Tracks like the sly "Where You Belong" and "Cadavers" (unburied bodies are "kicked aside and picked on by ordinary folks/Employed by student doctors in ungodly practical jokes") reinforce Brian's "Burl Ives meets Edward Gorey" image. The ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY reviewer who dubbed him a "gansta folkie" will be glad to hear "Loathsome Idols," in which Brian rocks out on his electric zither while describing some seriously antisocial behavior (and though he wrote the song years ago, thanks to recent events in Afghanistan it's topical).Lest I give Brian the wow-ain't-he-clever kiss of death, I hasten to add that many of the tunes are a hell of a lot of fun. "Rumpelstiltskin" often cracks up live audiences, while "Flexible Flyer" will become a winter holiday classic if there's any justice.Finally, I have to mention my favorite tracks, which happen to be the two quietest songs on the album. The dreamy "Sick Day" makes the idea of staying home "with my hot water bottle and the flu" alluring, and "Solomon Grundy," performed completely straight, is simply gorgeous."