Radio

Red House Records

I forced my boss – a confessed Woody Guthrie/Bob Dylan fan who knows every word to every verse of "Little Boxes" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" – to give this a listen and confirm that it's as good as I think it is. Now the cheap bastard is begging me to dub him a copy. This is a must-have for anyone who digs the Legacy new folk music collections, John Gorka or Bill Morrissey, as well as Dylan and Guthrie. Philadelphia-born Chuck Brodsky pours his heart and mind into every one of these poignant, touching acoustic coffee-shop song stories that capture a picture of a fading America, complete with its loneliness, bigotry and pride. "Moe Berg: The Song" recounts a ballplayer who slugged next to The Babe when he wasn't spying on the Germans. "Our Gods" hammers religion when it's used to justify atrocities, while the amusing but touching "On Christmas I Got Nothing" hits closer to the mark than Adam Sandler ever could. Throughout, Brodsky fills each song with warm acoustic melodies, backed sparingly by a handful of instruments, from dobro to banjo. Is he the troubadour for this generation? Only time will tell, but there's no question that on "Radio," Brodsky has emerged as one of the freshest songwriters to pick up a guitar in a long, long time.

-- Tim McMahan

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Copyright © 1998 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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