23rd & Stout [CD]

Chuck E. Weiss' new album 23rd and Stout seems to defies description. Until you look at the cover art. The words "Deranged Detective Mysteries" are prominently featured along with the title. Weiss can be seen in the corner smoking under a street sign. The scene is smoky, noirish, and a little bizarre. Strangely, it also encompasses the vibe of Weiss' fourth album.

In the liner notes, Weiss refers to his music as "discom-bop-ulated jive," a phrase that does much to summarize a group of songs that avoid definition. Anyone familiar with bebop music from the 1940s will recognize its influence here. Weiss' nod to bop artists like Thelonious Monk is particularly obvious in his first track, "Prince Minsky's Lament" with a jazzy sound similar to Monk's instrumental "Round Midnight." The songs feature soft instrumentals with twangy vocals akin to those found in folk or country songs.

As a rule, the tracks move slowly. In most of the album, Weiss does not sing. Instead he talks melodiously along with the music, which often takes center stage for significant parts of the songs.

Part of the appeal of this eclectic album is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Several tracks feature vocalists scat singing (jazz singing with random syllables instead of words) in time with the music. Some of the songs can't be called anything but truly random fillers, such as "Man Tan," the lyrics of which repeat the line "oh brother man tan" until the song ends. There doesn't' seem to be any other purpose to the track.

"Piccolo Pete" is a particularly amusing track, explaining that Pete has gone to Jesus. "I asked the neighbor what happened. She told she was not aware. I asked another where was he. He told me and this I do swear: `Piccolo Pete's gone to Jesus . . . they say he's in antique heaven." The song goes on to say that Jesus is wearing a sharkskin to further illustrate the album's irreverent mood.

Despite the silliness, some songs shine through as more than "rock-and-roll schlock" (another term Weiss ascribes to his music). "Primrose Lane" uses its minimalist lyrics, such as "I wanna walk with you my whole life through," to tell a love story in a classic crooner style.

"23rd and Stout," the song from which the album got its name, is similarly evocative. It retells a real incident when Weiss was accosted by a hustler in Denver asking for fifty cents. With its strange lyric choices, this song is reminiscent of Jimmy Buffett's "Why Don't We Get Drunk (and screw)," another oddball song. Weiss and the hustler have a conversation, the song moves into instrumentals, and then Weiss gives him the change. As they part ways, the hustler tells Weiss to tell people on 23rd and Stout that Pork Chop sent him in order to travel the streets without difficulty. His parting words are "You know something you got a bald head of hair." The song then fades out with a series of scat singing.

Clearly, there is a lot going on in this album and it might not be something where you'll love every song. Weiss writes, that his reason for recording this album was "because it was the wrong thing to do" but really it was more the unexpected thing to do. 23rd and Stout brings together a wide variety of influences in a mixed bag of songs ranging from crooning to jazz to its swinging final song "Goodbye, So Long" for truly unique listening experience.