What's in the Bag?

Performer: Marshall Crenshaw
Artist: Bill Ware
Engineer: Joe Clueless; Gene Holder; Greg Duffin; Tim Hatfield
Producer: Eric Ambel; Marshall Crenshaw
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Marshall Crenshaw (vocals, guitar, Mellotron, bass, drums, percussion); Chris Cunningham (acoustic & electric guitars, bass); Andy York (guitar, bass); Tony Teely (guitar); Greg Leisz (steel guitar); Jason Crigler (slide guitar, pedal steel guitar); Dred Scott (organ); Tony Beckham, Bill Ware (vibraphone); Eric Ambel, Graham Maby (bass); Diego Voglino (drums). Principally recorded at Jolly Roger Studios, Hoboken, New Jersey. Personnel: Marshall Crenshaw (guitar, Mellotron, bass guitar, drums, finger cymbals, percussion); Andy York (guitar, bass guitar, hand claps); Chris Cunningham (guitar, 6-string bass); Tom Teeley (guitar); Jason Crigler (slide guitar); Greg Leisz (steel guitar); Dred Scott (Farfisa); Bill Ware (vibraphone); Eric Ambel (bass guitar); Diego Voglino (drums). Recording information: ClaustroPhonic Recording, Woodstock, NY; Cowboy Technical Services, Brooklyn, NY; Jolly Roger Recording, Hoboken, NJ; Rollercoaster Recording, Los Angeles, CA. If you had to pick the single most dominant lyrical theme in the history of postwar pop music, it would probably be love, and on his first few albums Marshall Crenshaw wrote better songs about girls -- longing for them, and trying to win them over -- than anyone of his generation. Two decades on from his instant classic debut, Crenshaw still has plenty to say about love, but 2003's What's in the Bag? finds an older and more world-weary Crenshaw singing about men and women, not boys and girls, and contemplating a world where relationships are often hard work without the promise of a happy ending. What's in the Bag? begins with "Will We Ever?," in which Crenshaw takes the voice of a man on the road late at night, wondering when or if he'll ever see his wife again, and the melancholy beauty of the lyric is matched by Greg Leisz's steel guitar and the vibes of Bill Ware. It's a powerful and richly evocative performance, and it sets the stage for the rest of the set, in which Crenshaw's characters are haunted by the specters of failed romances, memories which are at once beautiful and heartbreaking, and the struggle to move on from life's disappointments. The mood is lightened on a pair of R&B covers, but the plaintive tone of "Take Me With You" and "I'd Rather Be With You" still feels consistent with the album's theme of men trying to make love work, under difficult circumstances. In short, if you're looking for a shot of pure pop heaven to bring you a smile, What's in the Bag? is not the album for you. However, anyone who admires the craft of Crenshaw's songwriting (and his increasingly potent guitar work) will want to hear this set -- this is beautiful, affecting, and emotionally powerful music, and makes it clear Crenshaw still has plenty of surprising things left to say after all these years. ~ Mark Deming

Mojo (Publisher) (9/03, p.107) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Crenshaw's cutting, crystalline voice remains intact....A mixed BAG, but an interesting one nonetheless..."

It is entirely fitting that Marshall Crenshaw made his first big splash playing John Lennon in BEATLEMANIA. Although the affable singer-songwriter resembles Buddy Holly more than Lennon, his music harks back to the glory years of rock & roll, when all that rock required was good hooks and a beat you could dance to. His debut record in 1982 teemed with great melodies and simple-yet-sharp lyrics, and spawned "Someday Someway," a big hit for Robert Gordon. Since then, Crenshaw has seen his songs covered by a wide range of artists, from the Nitty Gritty Dirt band to Bette Midler, and he has continued to make high-quality records on his own terms.

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