Salamander Pie

Salamander Pie Artist: Jay Leonhart
Label: Digital Music Prod
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Format: Enhanced
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 089672044222
EAN: 0089672044222
ASIN: B000003DCI


Release Date: 1990-10-25

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Tracks:

  1. Look Down Off A Bridge
  2. Robert Frost
  3. Drink No More
  4. Sometimes I Think
  5. Jujubes
  6. Caribbean Island
  7. Flight 861
  8. Salamander Pie
  9. Let The Flower Grow
  10. Beat My Dog
  11. Chantecler
  12. Giant Flies
  13. Kentucky Wild Flower
  14. Momma Don't You Think...
  15. Goodbye Miami
  16. Uncle Jim
  17. Doublecross

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Spare, Eccentric and Brilliant.......2000-06-16

This CD was recommended to me several years ago, and it's become one of my little-known treasures. Leonhart is a well-traveled jazz bassist who seems to have met his share of interesting characters over the years. He tells us about them and their often-quirky surroundings, in songs that are wildly clever, yet often poignant. While the album's musical component is downright sparse - Leonhart and his stand-up bass, and occasionally a pianist - the songs' wit and insight transcend the minimalist approach.

Some of Leonhart's melodies are memorable, but the lyrics are clearly king here. It may be a cliche these days, but Leonhart is a terrific storyteller. He's often the luckless schlub stuck in some strange hell-hole, staring at strippers or sitting at the bar with nothing better to do than watch flies mating on the wall. He bases an entire lovelorn poem on a buxom girl who walks by on an airplane (the hilarious "Flight 861") and introduces us to his deliciously dysfunctional family ("Momma Don't You Think" and "Uncle Jim"). Even his quick little ditties ("Jujubes," "Salamander Pie" and "Beat My Dog") are notable for their imagery and humor.

Leonhart is at his best when creating outlandish scenarios, as in "Goodbye Miami" and "Doublecross." The former tells the story of global warming gradually melting the Earth's ice caps and washing away Florida (when was the last time you heard a song about this?). It also contains one of the great opening lines of all time - "Carbon monoxide is spewing from cars." Still, for my money the best song on the album is "Doublecross," which creates a bizarre cloak-and-dagger tableau that features a marvelous refrain:

Change the color of your eyes

Pack up all your lies

Put on your disguise

And get the hell out of here

This album isn't for everyone or every occasion - sometimes you want more music with your music - but for well-written, often humorous songs, this CD is hard to beat.

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