Patti Rothberg Album Review

 The quiet thud 'n' twang of the subdued Flicker virtually oozes coffee-table appeal, and lyrics like "I survived your deadly potion/and only you can feel the loss" are nape-chillingly reminiscent of Ms Over-exposed Morrissette herself. And face it, every A&R man in America is searching piles of demo tapes to find the next multi-million selling rawk chick...a bit tortured, a bit shat-on, a bit geeee-orgeous. But the female solo singer is as old as time so cynicism has to be left at the door. And when the breezy pop of the near-hit Inside and This One's Mine sweep out, this becomes a very hard album to dislike.

Rothberg's delivery is sweet and grainy, sounding often like a hard-bitten Susannah Hoffs. As she croons "I could be so jealous of someone like me" on Treat Me Like Dirt (a kind of Folk-Nirvana) or provides beautiful high harmonies on the bittersweet Looking For A Girl, its deceptively easy to see Between The 1 and The 9 as a lightweight pleasure.

If there is a low point here, its the cliched country-rock of Forgive Me, the kind of music that UK record buyers have been resolutely ignoring for years. It doesn't fit, a jarring relationship song "I'll do whatever you want baby/to get you right back here where you belong". Handily, it’s followed by the punk metal of the superb Up Against The Wall, her voice a strident instrument against the quicksilver riffs and surf guitar. Patti breathes "As you turn the key to your door/You're turning me on/And my mind spins high above the world" then launches into a full-blooded "That's the way I feeeeeeel." It's a high-point typical of this album that there's always something new to find.

The Bangles-esque Perfect Stranger is quickly replaced by the edgy blues of Out Of My Mind, as Rothberg demonstrates a remarkable variation of styles (all songs written and mostly performed by her).

Change Your Ways is another, entirely better slab of country-rock, clocking in at 2.28 it underlines another of the album's bonuses, no song hangs around too long. At a time when overblown 5 minute epics are becoming the norm, a grasp of the 3 minute pop song is vital. In any case, the addition of organ adds to the feather-light blend, "Dreamed I was a butterfly/No end to the rainbow in the clear blue sky" sounds faintly daft written down but fits perfectly what's going on around it.

The best track is doubtless Remembering Tonight. With her gift to twist words into melody, Rothberg could probably sing the phone book and make it seem like a great emotion unloading. Here she doesn't have to, "Horizon burning red in your mind - it's a sign of yet another goodbye."

After the gentle cello-spattered closer, It's Alright, there's a bonus (title) track, Between The 1 and The 9, a bluesy salute to Patti's days as a busker (the 1 and the 9 being streets, presumably). It's a rousing closer and typically accomplished.

Whether Patti will achieve a place on the coffee tables of five million M-People devouring yuppies is debatable. But there's no doubting her talent. Go get, pop kids.

By John Allison

source: ShEP Album Reviews

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