Search - Jill Sobule :: Underdog Victorious

Underdog Victorious
Jill Sobule
Underdog Victorious
Genres: Folk, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (14) - Disc #1

Underdog Victorious is the kind of album that makes listeners feel smart. Catchy and upbeat, it connects instantly to spark a Friday-at-five vibe, but it also sinks in deep on several tracks. "Tel Aviv" takes on sex slaver...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Jill Sobule
Title: Underdog Victorious
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Artemis Records
Release Date: 9/7/2004
Genres: Folk, Pop, Rock
Styles: Singer-Songwriters, Adult Alternative
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 699675156329

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Underdog Victorious is the kind of album that makes listeners feel smart. Catchy and upbeat, it connects instantly to spark a Friday-at-five vibe, but it also sinks in deep on several tracks. "Tel Aviv" takes on sex slavery ("I think of my mother / I send her what I can / She thinks I'm a waitress / She's proud I'm a waitress") and the title track hopeless dorkiness, with its fat-kid protagonist, but even the heavy-subject numbers have a way of veering hard toward the lighhearted. Sobule borrows generously from Chicago for "Cinnamon Park," a throwback stoner anthem that should have been the hit of the summer, and her sleepyheaded schoolgirl voice wins us over in its lovable-kook way as it struggles to keep pace with the kicky "Joey," about a has-been teen queen. Where other "quirky" musicians stagnate or flame out, Sobule only gets stronger. Underdog Victorious is her triumph-tinged proof that in the gets-better-with-every-album race, she's the rare real deal. --Tammy La Gorce

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CD Reviews

Instant Convert
John Cullom | Washington, DC USA | 08/29/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Jill Sobule open for Billy Bragg and was immediately won over. In the front row, there was a girl 11-14yo that knew all the lyrics, and Jill brought her up on stage to sing a song (Cinnamon Park, I think), and it stole the whole show. Ms. Sobule played the event perfectly and I'm sure it made the girl's year and was a very warm moment for the whole audience.



Unfortunately, Billy Bragg had to follow this, and W.C. Fields is right, never follow dogs or children. The show was a disaster as he kept obsessing out loud about how he was going to top the event. His solution was, shall we say, less than spectacular and I'll leave it at that. My opinion of Billy Bragg has not recovered from that concert, and that's too bad; his songs and the recorded delivery of them are genius.



The event did highlight however what a great live performer Ms. Sobule is, I bought this album, and all the songs are great (I can't remember the last time I could say that). She's incredibly witty, funny, and has a real gift for a pop tune. She's also dark behind a completely smiling act, and that's deeply appealing. I would say, if you like Dan Bern, you'll like her and vice versa, but how many people is that going to help? Both artists will cure what ails ya."
So Freaked Out
James B. Wilkinson | New Orleans, LA, USA | 10/29/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this after I heard "Cinnamon Park" in the mall. It's nice to see this nerdy pseudo-folk singer proving that she can do the hell out of pop music.



Before I bought the album, I remember wondering if the whole thing sounded like "Cinnamon Park." I pretty much knew it couldn't. "Joey" is another up-tempo number that comes pretty close.



The rest of the album is pretty melancholy. Several songs, such as "Last Line," are as sad and poignant as they come. I guess the closest thing I can compare these songs to is Aimee Mann, but that's an imperfect comparison that doesn't do either woman justice.

"