Bob Schneider - Lonelyland

Hype is a hydra-a gigantic nine-headed monster with an immortal center head. Cut off one of the heads and two more grow in its place. One guy in an Austin club talks about Bob Schneider. His friends don't believe him. They cut his head off and then go see Schneider... and they're converted. Two new heads where there once was one.

Stories make their way east from Texas about this singer-songwriter who sounds like Pete Droge and sells out shows twice a week in Austin, where he is a local superstar. Those of us far away on the coast wonder how much of what filters back is hype and how much is truth because, as those of us back east are wont to be, we are cynical. We don't believe the hype.

So when we hear that this legend has an album coming out, we're prepared. Heracles discovered that the only way to kill the hydra was to burn its roots with firebrands and then cut off the immortal head. I cracked my knuckles and prepared to type, prepared to kill this vicious hype beast.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the chopping block. I listened to Lonelyland, Schneider's major label debut and suddenly, not only did I believe the hype, but I also got knocked flat on my ass by this amazing record.

From the languidly powerful "Metal and Steel" to the groove-alicious "Round and Round" (a song that might become the sleeper hit of the summer), this immensely talented singer-songwriter alternates alt-country with brooding rock and roll, while mixing in everything from reggae to Tejano influences along the way.

Schneider grooves, twangs, kicks out the honky-tonk jams, and then--just when you think you have him pegged--throws in a tune like "Moon Song" that could be as much at home in a ballroom as it could in a grungy rock club. Every track on this disc is a killer--each distinct enough that you never feel like you're listening to the same song twice. Yet, this album has a flow for which many musicians have searched for years.

This disc makes it abundantly clear that Schneider's live performances must truly be as legendary as they are rumored to be. Masterfully produced, this album perfectly balances raw energy with a heart-wrenching mix of confidence and longing that begs for repeated spins. In the haunting seven minute, 34 second "Madeline," Schneider begs the title character to "save me from myself." This plaintive request from a tortured soul solidifies this albums greatness.

Someday, around the same time that Schneider's girlfriend Sandra Bullock is nothing more than an answer to countless bad movie trivia questions, people will put this album in their CD players and think about the first time they heard the first great album of the new century and one of the best discs of 2001.

Lonelyland
$11.99 CD

Gun Shy
Motion Picture Soundtrack
$14.49 CD

Pete Droge
Necktie Second
$9.99 CD

Lonelyland (limited edition)
includes 3 bonus tracks!
$11.99 CD

Reviewed 06/04/01