[rating=4.50]
Many people know Shel Silverstein as the brilliant mind behind the poetry and art of books like A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Falling Up. A much smaller number of people know about Silverstein’s equally impressive composing skills, but the tribute album Twistable Turnable Man will surely change that. Since Silverstein is known less as a songwriter than as an artist and poet, the entire experience of listening to Twistable Turnable Man is colored by the listener’s perception. But no matter where Silverstein fits into your life, there’s plenty to love on this album, and it is guaranteed to stoke your appreciation for him.
Much like Silverstein’s gargantuan body of work, Twistable Turnable Man is a lot to take in at once. The artists featured are diverse, and their contributions range from hypnotic (Lucinda Williams’ "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan") to jubilant (Dr. Dog’s "The Unicorn Song") and melancholy (Sarah Jarosz’s "Queen of the Silver Dollar") to jaunty (Kris Kristofferson’s "The Winner"). But the dominant theme is country, and that’s appropriate given Silverstein’s affinity for the form. Perhaps no other style of music allows Silverstein’s words to shine as much, and this trait is evidenced by lyrically resonant tracks like Nanci Griffith’s "The Giving Tree" and My Morning Jacket’s "Lullabys, Legends, and Lies."
Of course, there are plenty of silly moments as well. Silverstein’s unique view on life is conveyed in "This Guitar Is for Sale," read with wry humor by John Prine, and the album-closing "26 Second Song," gleefully interpreted by My Morning Jacket. The bands don’t need to shoehorn the material into their existing vision, either. Dr. Dog ("The Unicorn Song"), Andrew Bird ("Twistable Turnable Man Returns"), and The Boxmasters ("Sylvia’s Mother") sound completely natural on their tracks, which could be mistaken for original songs if the listener didn’t know any better.
Not every song on the album works as well, but the missteps are rare. Frank Black’s droll reading of one of the album’s best known songs, "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," is palatable despite some regrettable vocal harmonies and a fairly lackluster instrumental performance. Bobby Bare’s take on "Daddy What If," probably as sweet a song that’s ever been written, is important to the project and had to be included. But sentimental value notwithstanding, it’s just a tough track to listen to more than once. The rest of the album is a joy, full of countryfied romps, bizarre stories, elegant tributes, and colorful characters. In short, it’s an album that Silverstein himself would have loved.
