April 2009"Yeah,
that felt like music," Jim Boggia calls to the recording engineer after the
instruments fade on "Johnnies Going Down," the track that opens Misadventures
in Stereo. I cranked my headphones to catch the response (sorry, couldnt get it)
and heard the reassuring sound of tape hiss. Misadventures is about lots of good
old things, such as analog sound, real drums, romance, and the glories of melody. Boggia
seems to have absorbed the sounds of great pop records from the last 50 years, and he
borrows shamelessly and brilliantly from them. "To and Fro" includes a
low-rumble Duane Eddy-style guitar line, and the trumpet line in "Johnnies
Going Down" could have come from a Burt Bacharach arrangement. Boggias talent
is to take his musical inspirations and transform them into his own literate and unique
rocknroll songs.
Perhaps it was Boggias reverence for the past that
led him to release a mono LP of Misadventures in Stereo. Whatever the reason, it
provides an enjoyable contrast to the stereo CD. The bass is a bit more focused and
prominent on the LP, while Boggias multitracked backup vocals play a more supporting
role in mono than in stereo, where they are often placed on either side of him. The music
feels the slightest bit more energetic and organic on vinyl. Kudos to Bluhammock Music for
releasing this music on LP and to John Baker for doing a fine mastering job.
Boggia has such ease with melody that its easy to
miss how subtle and deep his songs are. Misadventures in Stereo is a beautifully
crafted pop album that gets better with each listen. Buy it in both formats.
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