Copyright 2000 The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
April 11, 2000, Tuesday
SECTION: ARTS; Pg. 10
LENGTH: 808 words
HEADLINE: Patti Smith's rejuvenation
BYLINE: David Brinn
HIGHLIGHT:
IN TUNE
BODY:
AIMEE MANN Magnolia Soundtrack (Hed Artzi)
YOU MAY remember Aimee Mann as the spiky blonde new- wave kid leading the
Boston base 'Til Tuesday in the 1980s and scoring endearing but minor hits
like "Voices Carry."
Well, over the years Mann has developed into a topnotch singer/songwriter,
and her songs appearing on the soundtrack to the film Magnolia are proof
positive. The latest Paul Thomas Anderson vehicle was developed hand in
hand with Mann's songs for the film. "Save Me," the song nominated
for an Oscar, and performed by Mann during the show last month, doesn't
even come close to topping the best-song list here.
Like a less countrified Lucinda Williams, Mann writes deceptively simple
songs that articulate human feelings. And the melodies to songs like "Driving
Sideways" and "Momentum" are burned into the memory like
a cowboy brand. You'll be humming them when you wake up, they're that good.
Husband, and no songwriting slouch himself, Michael Penn is among the luminaries
accompanying the acoustic-based pop- country folk fusion, but this is Mann's
show all the way.
A couple of needless add-on oldies by Supertramp disrupt the momentum, but
luckily they're placed at the end of the disc. Not since Elliot Smith jump-started
his career with the eerily original folk-pop music for Good Will Hunting,
has a musician used a soundtrack to seize the moment so grandly.