Brandon's Buzz

He’s not a marquee idol, he’ll probably never play for hundreds of thousands at Central Park, and he doesn’t win (or, outrageously, even get nominated for) any of the music awards. All he does is write and perform straight-ahead common folk country jams which you cannot eject from your head once they’ve been granted entry.

 

One of the most criminally underrated artists of his generation (and a dude who could totally take that discreetly fey doofus Kenny Chesney in a bar fight), the terrific Phil Vassar kicked around Nashville as a journeyman songwriter for most of the ’90s. His big break came in 1998 when, with his twin smashes “Bye Bye” and “I’m Alright” (tunes that garnered him ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year honors the following year), he wrote the blueprint for Jo Dee Messina’s bracing comeback.

 

Vassar struck out on his own at the turn of the century and now, after a remarkably consistent decade with Arista, he’s recording for Universal South Records and is back with his fifth album, Prayer of a Common Man. The signature Vassar sound, built around his thrilling skills as a pianist, remains untouched, although his attempts to branch out creatively (like “Baby Rocks,” the best song The Kentucky Headhunters never recorded, and “Why Don’t Ya,” a frisky collaboration with Los Lonely Boys) are a lot more fun than you might expect.

 

I already know A’s gonna ask more about Mr. Vassar, even though he’s tagged along on no fewer than two excursions to purchase Phil’s music, so to that end, a playlist full of Vassar brilliance:

 

1. “Carlene” (from Phil Vassar) — — one of the great debut singles (and sing-alongs) EVER. If you’re not tappin’ your toes by the end of the first verse, you’re either comatose, dead, or an idiot.

2. “Rose Bouquet” (from Phil Vassar) — — yes, it’s annoying the way he says “BOW-kay.” But get past that. A wrenching story song (a sensational cover of which Gladys Knight cut for her most recent album) about a great love gone sour.

3. “That’s When I Love You” (from Phil Vassar) — — the fifth (!) single off his debut album, a fun piano-propelled showcase for Vassar’s voice.

4. “This is God” (from American Child) — — A’s gonna freak when he sees the title of this one, I guarantee it, but let’s all urge him to listen closer: after a cross-country plane ride inspired him, Vassar picked up his pen and composed a quietly stern rebuke against hatred, against ignorance, and against religion. A must-hear.

5. “In a Real Love” (from Shaken Not Stirred) — — if you’re still curious as to why Vassar’s known for his insanely catchy choruses, look no further than this one.

6. “Last Day of My Life” (from Greatest Hits) — — inspired by a close friend’s tragic death, a moving anthem about taking nothing for granted.

 

names dropped with reckless abandon: A, Jo Dee Messina, Kenny Chesney, Phil Vassar

9 responses to “i write songs, you probably didn’t know”

1. the buzz from A.:
   June 3rd, 2008 at 7:40 pm

   I am two playlists behind?! Yikes!

2. the buzz from brandon:
   June 3rd, 2008 at 7:57 pm

   Time stops for no Calla-forny-uns, babe. 🙂

3. the buzz from Chip:
   June 7th, 2008 at 12:08 am

   Nice call. I interviewed him on the phone several years ago when he came to Amarillo opening for, as you put it so perfectly, “that discreetly fey doofus Kenny Chesney.” I left the show after his set and hoped to meet him backstage, but it wasn’t meant to be.

4. the buzz from brandon:
   June 8th, 2008 at 2:07 am

   Too bad. You and Phil’d make a hot couple, methinks.

5. the buzz from Chip:
   June 9th, 2008 at 9:47 am

   That’s what I told the girl I was with that night. In fact, we made a pact to tell everyone that we did, indeed, get on the bus. But hell, I would have rather hung out in a corridor than watch Kenny Chesney on stage.

6. the buzz from brandon:
   June 9th, 2008 at 10:25 am

   Preach it, brother.

7. the buzz from A.:
   June 12th, 2008 at 12:20 am

   Well, this is definitely country! Since less than 10% of my iTunes collection is classified as country (though the actual fraction is probably larger as about 30% of the collection is not assigned a genre), it’s rare that a country song comes up on shuffle, and consequently, it’s sometimes easy to forget about this genre.

   So, it was a nice change of pace to listen to a few “typically country” country songs in a row. Phil Vassar is pretty great, and indeed, I wonder why I have not heard of him, and, even if I have, why I have not retained his name in my memory!

   Here are my picks from the Phil Vassar playlist:

   “Carlene” – A song that mentions mathematics and a PhD! Of course, that’s going home with me.

   “That’s When I Love You” – As sweet as this song is, it speaks to me in a lovely, easy-going way.

   “This is God” – With a title like that, I was expecting something à la Psalm 19, Verse 1 in Haydn’s Creation (“The heavens are telling the Glory of God / The wonder of his works displays the firmament”); fortunately, as much as I love classical oratorios, this is not what Phil Vassar had in mind. Indeed, a great song with a great message, well worth a listen, more than once.

   Finally, as all of you know, I am fond of asking questions, so how do y’all feel about Vassar’s “Love Is A Beautiful Thing”? Stereotypically country with “dopey lyrics” (thank you, Brandon!), a simple melody, and a great refrain, it’s just plainly fun!

8. the buzz from Mike T:
   June 12th, 2008 at 12:34 am

   A asked me what I thought about ‘Love is a Beautiful Thing’ and then prodded me into posting, so here goes, with the caveat of course that I’m not a big country fan in general:

   To me the song seemed just averagely country. But what entertains me about it is that the song doesn’t seem to be aware of how ironic it is. The song purports to be about ‘two people in love’, and how that is a beautiful thing. But, for the most part, the song isn’t actually talking about two people in love; it is rather talking about the social construct of marriage in america in the 20th century, and the traditions that go with that. Sure, at times, the two go hand in hand, but, at least in my experience, neither necessitates the other.

   Ok, perhaps that’ll satisfy A for the time being at least. 😉

9. the buzz from brandon:
   June 16th, 2008 at 1:10 am

   Is this not twenty-four carat proof that A falls for the damnedest pieces of music? Gotta love that man!