Published on Feb 24, 1998
Every so often, an album comes out that is so quirky and poppy
that it instantly catches your ear and makes you want to hear more.
Liz Phair shocked us into that position a few years ago, Shawn
Colvin warmed her way into our hearts last year with
A Few Small Repairs. Now, make way for Mary Lou Lord, whose
debut
Got No Shadow takes the best parts of the two singers
previously mentioned and works them into her own style.
Presently best-known for performing in the Boston-area subways
(a situation which should soon change), Lord makes a powerful first
statement with these 13 songs. Her songwriting abilities are well
above average, and her voice is able to convey a whole gamut of
emotions without having to change volume.
Of course, having a few friends in high places doesn’t hurt
things; Colvin herself provides background vocals on “Subway,”
while Roger McGuinn – perhaps you’ve heard of him? – adds a little
12-string action in “Lights Are Changing,” a song which has “first
single” written all over it. And famed producer Tom Lord-Alge’s
mixing of “Some Jingle Jangle Morning” (to my ear, the best song on
the disc) takes an already great track to new heights. If this one
doesn’t have you turning your ear for a second listen, then I don’t
know what will.
But what really makes Lord stand out is her attention to detail
of the human condition – she uses the framework of a song like an
artist would use a new canvas. On “She Had You,” Lord takes a look
back at the area she grew up in… and broke out of: “I have
respect now – I always knew I would / ‘Cause I had a passport – out
of the neighborhood.” On “Throng Of Blowtown,” she takes an
outsider’s look at a typical night in the life of the city she
calls home, and touches on just a few of the million stories she
bears witness to. Even on “His Lamest Flame,” though Lord might be
singing about herself and a lover she pines for, she makes it feel
like that could be us she’s singing about.
Got No Shadow has everything going for it, yet I still am
disappointed that Lord is not credited with one guitar line on the
whole album, despite posing for several pictures holding guitars.
It’s not that performers like Elliott Smith or Nick Saloman are
bad, it’s just that for someone so touted as a performer, it would
have been nice to hear even one cut with the raw, unrehearsed sound
of just Lord, her voice and guitar… and maybe a passing subway
train in the background.
Got No Shadow is an album that proves the age of the
singer/songwriter is alive and well, and that Lord is poised to be
the next big name on your radio dial, given the right breaks. Trust
me – she’s earned ’em.