Mr. Sad Clown

2010 release from the veteran Roots/Rock band led by Kurt Newumann and Sammy Llanas. In and industry where careers can be shorter than the duration of a song, the BoDeans ahve proven their longevity with Mr. Sad Clown. Nearly three decades ago, Neumann and Llanas formed the BoDeans in Wisconsin, combining passionate guitar riffs, intricate vocal harmonies and heartfelt lyrics that forged their signature sound.

While the BoDeans haven't been especially prolific since the mid-'90s, Mr. Sad Clown finds the band commendably stepping up their productivity -- it follows their previous release Still by a mere two years, impressive given that it's only their third studio album since 1996. Still was an understated affair that reunited Sam Llanas and Kurt Neumann with producer T-Bone Burnett (who worked with the group's on their masterful 1986 debut Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams), but Mr. Sad Clown finds the duo working on their own -- Neumann produced and recorded the sessions at his studio in Texas, and he and Llanas handled all the instrumental chores themselves except for horns and some keyboards. And while Still often sounded like an (only intermittently successful) attempt to reconnect with the fire of the BoDeans' best work, Mr. Sad Clown feels fresher and freer, with the duo taking more chances and mixing up their formula a bit while maintaining a firm grip on their essential strengths. Little if anything on Mr. Sad Clown feels like a radical departure from the BoDeans' body of work, but despite the muted tempos that reflect the members' pushing-fifty status, there's a lean and insistent energy to the best cuts that's a significant improvement from Still, and though Llanas' voice doesn't soar to the same heights it did in the '80s, he sounds more committed on this material than he has in quite some time. The BoDeans are also willing to indulge their quirks a bit on these sessions, and they sound like they're having fun with numbers like "Cheesecake Pan" and "Headed for the End of the World" that throw some different textures into their mix. Mr. Sad Clown still doesn't return the BoDeans to the glories of their best work, but it reveals an imagination and commitment that's been largely missing from their music, and it steers them into a direction that takes them somewhere they've needed to go for a while. Hopefully, it's the first step towards a second wind for the band. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Performer	BoDeans
Music genre	Pop Rock, Pop
Music subgenre	CD - ROCK
Music release type	Release
Media format	CD
Original release date	2010
Edition	Standard
Language	English
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Bodeans - Mr. Sad Clown [CD]
Track listing	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Record label	UNIVERSAL
Track name	Stay, Shine, If..., Say Goodbye, Don't Fall Down, Cheesecake Pan, Easy Love, Today, Headed For The End Of The World, Let It Ride, All The Blues, Feel Lil' Love, Almost Ready, Back Then, Gone X3
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N