Underdog Victorious

Once again, Jill Sobule has released a catchy--yet mature--album with Underdog Victorious.

There are some great upbeat tunes here, which highlight this collection, if ya ask me. They include the title song, an anthemic tribute to losers who become winners; Cinnamon Park, a bouncy winner reminiscent of Chicago's Saturday in the Park, and Joey, a paean to Joey Heatherton.

Jill's cleverness is on display with songs like Jetpack, Freshman and Under the Disco Ball. Tender Love, Last Line, Tel Aviv and Thank Misery are mature, sad reflections.

Throughout, the production by Brad Jones and Robin Eaton mingle nostalgic touches with modern beats and melodies.

If you've liked Jill's previous efforts, you'll find this one of her best. And if you haven't heard Ms. Sobule before, you'll find an artist that combines great music, tremendous humor and heartbreaking insights--sometimes in the same song.

Jill Sobule, blessed and cursed by the success of 1995's "I Kissed a Girl," is one of the most talented singer/songwriters and troubodours around today. Live, with just mic and her Vagabond travel guitar, she holds a room in the palm of her hand with her command of dynamics and winning personality.

It seems that each of her records have gotten better and better. Underdog Vicrorious features the wit and poignancy that fans have come to expect, but this time there is something new in the mix-- some outrageously happy songs. "Cinnamon Park," the single written around a loop of Chicago's "Saturday in he Park," is a winning song that it is simply impossible to dislike. "Jet Pack," her love song to New York City, is wistful and gorgeous; it is about living in Brooklyn and seeing the big city (Manhattan) across the river, so close yet, in practice, so far. "Last Line," about a disfunctional, co-dependent coke addict 70s couple, is one of her most accomplished pieces of song craft ever-- using the lines of cocaine as a metaphor for spoken lines, and how the last line is never as good as the first line. Beautiful songwriting. As is "Tel Aviv," written from the pespective of an Israeli hooker; as we learned with Woody Guthrie, the best political songs are about one person or family. This is an empathetic character study that speaks volumes.

"Freshman" is a fun opener and serves to set the mood for the album, funny and wistful at the same time. "Joey" is another in Jill's continuing series of songs about messed up women; here that would be Joey Heatherton. It is a gloriously fun song, and you'll want to pogo along at home.

There are several themes that weave throughout the album, lending it a cohesiveness and consistency that makes the whole greater than the sum of its (fine) parts. I think the primary theme is a nostalgia for the 60s and 70s, which Jill expresses both in the sound of the music ("Cinnamon Park"; the title track, which is essentially Jill's own "All the Young Dudes") and in the lyrics (the touching "Strawberry Gloss," a song about being in junior high in the 70s and having your best friend drop you.) As usual, her guitar playing is outstanding-- often with singer/songwriters, great guitar work is overlooked in the focus placed on the song, but in Jill's case it should not be-- and the production is deft, adding embelishments but staying out of the way of Jill's natural assets (voice, guitar, song, wit, warmth.)

Ordinarily it might be good advice to start with an older release when exploring a new artist, but in Jill's case, I wholeheartedly recommend this as your first stop; then work your way back. She is one of the many great, unsung talents on the American music scene today, because she isn't really part of any one scene (and because there isn't a record comapny putting half a million bucks behind her singles). Oh-- and by all means, do yourself a favor and see her live if you can. You will not be disappointed, and you might just fall in love.

Also recommended: The Folk Years, which I think is just available directly from Jill via website and at gigs. If only for the cover of "Survivor," and the hilarious "War Correspondent in Love."

Jill Sobule is an obscure artist. Though she's labored for over a decade now, she's only gotten a tiny taste of commercial success. This is a crying shame. Maybe people shy away thinking she's going to be another precious folk-singing, Lillith Fair refugee? Maybe she's too smart for the general public, who miss the irony of her songs? Could be. Her one hit, "I Kissed A Girl" was a tongue-in-cheek commentary on Lesbian Chic but it unfairly branded her as a Gay performer, which she is not (not, to quote "Seinfeld," that there's anything wrong with that). Likewise, her other minor hit, from the soundtrack of the film "Clueless," was "Supermodel," a song about shallow young girls with shallow aspirations which was taken by many as an endorsement of such empty dreams. Really, I view her more as a wry, Randy Newman sensibility with a Cyndi Lauper-esque voice. Her music is very poppy, in a classic '60s & '70s way (Carole King, the Kinks, early Bowie), [...]. She has a knack for taking on serious and/or dark subject matter in a very light, hilarious manner (Prozac users on "Happy Town" from the album of the same name, extra-marital affairs on "Girl in the Affair" from her self-titled CD). And she shines a light on desperate outsiders with compassion (i.e., "Mary Kay," her ode to Ms. Latorneau on "Pink Pearl"). Here, on "Underdog," it is the central theme of all the songs. From washed-up showbiz personality Joey Heartherton ("Joey"), to chubby young queers in the making ("Underdog Victorious"), from a cokehead couple ("Last Line") to Israeli prostitutes ("Tel Aviv"), Jill presents them all in a delicate balacing act of tenderness and back-handed comedy. Think of her as the Christopher Guest of pop. The music here is as buoyant and tuneful as any you'll encounter. All in all, this collection may just be her best yet... and that's high praise, indeed. You should really check this unjustly neglected artist out - she smart, funny, and writes fantastic pop songs. And, if you're still skeptical, consider that this review comes from a guy who also counts Zappa, Little Feat, and Tom Waits as favorite artists.