Caught in the Carousel

Julia Fordham & Paul Reiser

Unusual Suspects
Muttley Boses

Julia Fordham and Paul Reiser

Over the past twenty years, almost completely under the radar, Julia Fordham had released as good an album as any of her ilk. One part softer than Joni Mitchell, one part edgier than Janis Ian. But unlike both those women, Fordham possesses a voice that seems to know no bounds (those who've seen her live can attest to being awestruck by her performance of Minnie Riperton's "Loving You"). The only problem is that this album of which I speak exists only as a career patchwork on my iTunes because for the most part-except for her masterpiece Porcelain—all eight of her studio albums are oddly schizophrenic. Half of the tracks are melodic, introspective essays on love with a touch of politics thrown in. The other half of the tracks too often fall deep into a muck of schmaltz narrated by the codependent woman. Nowhere is that more clear than lyrics like: "Take me back/I'll make you king/Take me back/I'll treat you like a precious thing" from 1999s "Fat Lady." And from another track, "You'll be you and I'll try not to be me."

Her last release, China Blue, saw Fordham really at sea. Jazzy remakes that seemed perfect for her voice felt incomprehensibly flat. And now, three years later, seemingly out of nowhere, we get an album with Paul Reiser on piano. Yes, that Paul Reiser. The surprise is that he's quite good on the piano and that at times he brings out the best in Fordham. Tracks such as "Stolen Kiss," "Minefield," and especially the wonderfully constructed "Fine" are clear standouts. "Say Hey Kid" is a strange but successful song with odd baseball analogies that meander as the melody of the song does. It works, don't ask me how, it just does.

Apparently there's a push to make the track "UnSung Hero" an anthem of sorts. The unmistakable tribute to our soldiers at war make it clear to see why that is (if not why the "s" needs to be capitalized). The problem is that the song seems so focus-group scripted to follow the "I oppose the war not the soldiers" ideology that it's hard to sense the sincerity. And unfortunately this happens on a number of the tracks where children back-up singers come in just when you either expect they would, or fear they would.

At album's end, it's hard to figure out what this is. Is it a one-off project from two artists who ran into each other while taking their kids to a park in Beverly Hills? Or is it the start of a new partnership? A rekindling of a great talent? Who knows? This album just won't give up the answers.

—Thomas Cooney