Review - Toy Matinee

As part of my Best Albums Of All Time review series (I know you're on the edge of your seat) I was going to review the outstanding Toy Matinee album. But then I found that I had already reviewed this album and had posted the review on an almost-forgotten web site. So here it is. I might write another review in my current writing style/format. Or I may wear a silly hat and dance around the May Pole. Although it sounds a bit dated now I still think this is one of the best dollars I ever spent.

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At the constant urging of a friend who annoyingly discovers music before me, I picked up the self-titled album by Toy Matinee back in 1991 in a cut-out bin for a mere $1 and found, without a doubt, one of the best albums I've ever heard. After a number of years being out of print, it is being re-released in Digital Surround, a format that may cost you upwards of $300 to upgrade your home audio system, but isn't this a small price to pay for what might be the best album of all time?

Centered around Patrick Leonard (who has produced and played keys for everyone from Madonna to Phil Keaggy to Michael Jackson) and then twenty-one Kevin Gilbert (who went on to co-write Cheryl Crows first album before his death in 1996), Toy Matinee is surely a work of collaborative genius. Each song is sheer perfection in songwriting, lyrics, arrangement, musicianship, and production. The album opens with "Last Plane Out" as Gilbert intones tongue-in-cheek "We've kept the good old vices/ And labored to invent a few" against a progressive pop groove in this anthem against the wasteland of modern Western culture. "Turn It On Salvador" honors the surrealist painter with a rubbery bass line, eerie keyboards, and a swanky, wobbly, raucous rhythm that fits in perfectly with this artists work. Taking a more acoustic turn, "Things She Said" explores the sad life of a woman stuck in indecision. Likewise, "Queen of Misery" is the sad tale of a woman who's "looking for someone to give the love that I denied" in the arms of strangers and "The Ballad of Jenny Ledge", the song that received local airplay on 103.9, is a true story of a woman who values financial security over love. The closing song, "We Always Come Home", is a heart-wrenching tribute to gritty life in a small blue-collar town with such succinct lines as "Father worked the lifts in the old Tobin mine/ He always loved the saxophone/ But he had to keep us all alive." As you may have surmised, most of the songs are stories dealing with innocence lost, chances not taken, and decisions not made.

Musically, there is outstanding keyboard, guitar, and bass parts ( I have to mention Guy Pratt who is always in the pocket on this CD) but these are arranged such that they never steal the spotlight and detract from the overall song. It's difficult to put this album into a single style although the entire album is quite cohesive in sound and up-tempo despite the often melancholy lyrical subject matter. Progressive keyboard pop/ guitar rock with a groove and great harmonies? How about just plain good! While it only enjoyed limited sales at its original release, I know of no one who has heard this album that doesn't rank it among their favorites. Make it one of your favorites... it's the best music you've never heard.