A Few Small Nosehairs

Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10

...I'd say Shawn Colvin did a major repair. And that major repair was that she quit doing bloody stupid covers and started writing real music! And, after listening to this album (which just might as well be considered Colvin's masterpiece), it was well worth suffering though Cover Girl. And whatever the heck she did wrong when she recorded that hugely lackadaisical Fat City is totally cured here! THESE ARE GOOD SONGS!! THESE ARE BETTER THAN STEADY ON ... even if a principle reason for that is A Few Small Repairs has a more timeless aura about it whereas everyone and their mothers can tell that Steady On was released in 1989.

Well, this album starts out as strongly as anyone with a name like Shawn Colvin, who is a female, you would ever imagine. "Sunny Came Home" is pretty much on top of the game as far as adult-alternative crap from the mid-90s goes. Excellent, excellent melody and it was produced to utter perfection. The earthly quality of that song is so well developed that I just fall in complete love with it, and I want to have baby Sunny Came Homes with it. The track after that, however, immediately makes me want to have an affair. The song, still keeping the quaint earthly aura, is more upbeat and (dudes) even danceable. I love both of these songs equally.

The following songs after that, fortunately for my soul, I don't love quite as much. But I flirted, much to the dismay of my wife, quite strongly with most of them by giving them either 9s or 9.5s. Only four of these songs were relatively non-exciting, but still totally strong that I'd well-consider going out with them if I weren't so utterly, mind-numbingly sexy that I could manage to convince a 10-scoring song to marry me and have babies and keep a 10-scoring danceable mistress on the side.

Oh, what a wonderful world we live in. And Shawn Colvin no longer sucks. She is the Irish cutie she was cracked up to be. Everyone who was ever interested in adult-alternative or adult-contemporary, or whatever the crap this is should strongly consider purchasing (or downloading illegally) this album. But if I catch you dissing the first two tracks, you'll lose an artery.

Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10 (Finally, Colvin convinces us why we should listen to another one of these new-fangled-type female singer-songwriters. She beats out Sarah McLachlan's best with this release ... in my opinion.)

Average Song Score: 9.0 (She finally got her bloody act together and came out with a bunch of *solid* tunes.)

Album Tilt: 9.0 (She does a fine job of creating a singular mood, kicked off with the first stellar two tracks and keeps the momentum going until the end.)

Artist Rating: 9.0 (She's one of those introspective type singer songwriters. I might not always sympathize with what she sings ... but I do at least enjoy that she seems to. Nicely developed songs! Some of the melodies are excellent, but the ones that aren't were still done nicely.)

Track Reviews

Sunny Came Home 10/10

YES!!! YES!!!!! FINALLY!!!! THIS IS JUST A SOLLLLLLLLLID SONG!! PERFECT!!!! PARFAIT!!!! *MUAH, MUAH, MUAH* Okay, enough of that. But ... I'm like ... DUDES. I've been listening to this Shawn Colvin lady for a couple albums now, and I had no idea what she thinks she was doing ... until now. 1996. The time of dreams. She comes up with a perfectly good (if typical) song with a super adult-alternative melody and flawless arrangements. NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT HERE! IT'S PERFECT!! I might just forgive you for that dang stupid covers album now.

Get Out of This House 10/10

WHAT???!??!???!?? She is able to keep it up???! What's more this song is upbeat! The last one had a more homely, folksy feel. This one's danceable! $#*#(!!! And the harmonica is perfect! ... I knew this female named Shawn had something to her! I wasn't coughing up furballs, you know. ... Well, I could have been ... but you'd never would have known that. I am clever, after all. Bwah hah!

The Facts About Jimmy 9/10

More mellow (read: slow and not as much fun) this time, but it's still all good! The song still has that wonderful homely quality about it, and it's difficult for me not to love it. And the melody is great!! ... This is as if the great songwriter lurking inside Shawn Colvin was finally able to EMERRRRRGEEEEEEE ... or something.

You and the Mona Lisa 9.5/10

ANOTHER ONE!!! ... I really like the chorus on this one. It might be the best chorus of the album. (I'm not going go through all these songs and intricately evaluate the CHORUSES.) A sort of murky piece of instrumentation that sounds like a harmonica had a baby with a trumpet is a bit annoying, but ... other than that, this song is MONEY. This even has a nice, guitar solo bit in the middle. ... Excellente.

Trouble 8.5/10

This song could have been really boring and bleak. The melody is certainly the weakest that we've seen so far in the album ... and the chorus doesn't exactly take one of their feet. It's that galloping rhythm and the moody atmosphere that totally saves this one and makes it interesting! Oh yeah ... she's on a roll, baby!

I Want it Back 9/10

Yet, another song that is great! A good melody, a great rhythm section ... a very strong, easily lovable mid-tempoed song that makes me wonder ... DUDES??? Why hasn't she been able to write an album this dang consistent from the beginning? She must have not visited the Blarney stone enough (whatever that is).

If I Were Brave 8.5/10

Kind of bleak, but that's probably a purposeful thing. The melody is nice and the atmosphere works rather well. But ... as you can imagine ... this doesn't "kick ass" like many of these other tracks. But it's thoughtful. Very thoughtful. Indeed, few artists are ever able to seem this genuine. BUT IT'S STILL BLEAK!!!!!

Wichita Skyline 9/10

...Isn't that fantastic. Believe me. (What the crap is she doing writing songs about the stupid place where I live? It doesn't deserve such songs.) Anyway, this is another very nice song. It's given a sort of "country feel," but I don't find that aspect detestable in the least, even though I do credit myself as an adamant hater of country music. This song very much has that nice homely quality that ... this entire freaking album has.

84,000 Different Delusions 8/10

The atmosphere is nice enough, but so far this is the most dreary song of the album. It doesn't ever seem to catch fire (even though it decidedly has a nice chorus). This is still a fairly good song, but it's just disappointingly dull.

Suicide Alley 9/10

This song title sounds like the song ought to be more depressed and dreary than the previous one. But it's not really. It has a nice, electronic beat (while still mostly keeping with the general mood of the album).

New Thing Now 8/10

Old folksey and homey, but not as goody. Oh welley. It's not a bad song, but ... apparently she can't keep the magic up that consistently.

Nothin on Me 9/10

The last song of the album, and it's pretty good! This one is based on a fairly simple riff but the melody is nice, and Colvin sounds like she's convicted of whatever she sings. That's always a good quality. I've got nothin on her. Yeah. Okay. Goodbye. I'm going to go have more babies with "Sunny Came Home." Come to papaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Comment your soul here!