The apocryphal story about the Ramones is that their 1977 tour of England left a wake of new bands, with hundreds, if not thousands, of English kids seeing the pride of Queens, New York and thinking ‘I could and should do that.’ Tom Petty’s legacy is similar. At first glance, he made it seem like anyone could be a rock and roll star. He was an average looking guy with a decent voice but it was only upon trying to do what Petty did that lots of aspiring artists realized he was also a brilliant songwriter and dynamic performer who only made it look easy. But like the Ramones, he inspired tons of artists to put their music into the world, and one of those more successful disciples, Mark Erelli, captures the spirit of Petty at his best, on Blindsided.
Which isn’t to say Erelli, a Boston-born singer-songwriter, is a Petty clone, in that same way Petty wasn’t a Byrds or Bob Dylan one. But the Petty influence on Blindsided is there and palpable. But rather than recreate Petty’s sound, Erelli takes it someplace slightly different, exploring strings and a rich production that actually brings the album’s sound, at times, all the way back to Phil Spector.
The Petty comparisons come from Erelli’s voice, which has a bit of a nasal quality, but, perhaps even more like Petty, a smirk you can actually hear. Erelli is a serious, talented artist, but he also understands his role as a storyteller and entertainer. So on the title track, when he sings about being blindsided by love, it’s not sad or emotional, so much as it feels bemusedly truthful. And even the pretty orchestral break within the song doesn’t ramp up the drama, so much as it provides an interesting bridge that’s surprisingly down-home, considering all of the strings. Also, while I’ve made a lot of the Petty influence, it’s worth noting that the song has a fantastic piano riff in the chorus that’s pure Cat Stevens. So Erelli pulls from lots of places and makes things his own.
“A Little Kindness” has a modern groove, feeling almost electronic. It’s reminiscent of the similarly Petty-influenced War on Drugs in the amount of air that Erelli fits within the song. He also manages to change up the energy of what feels like an inevitable beat, almost running the song into itself to lament “I’ve been looking for a little kindness but it’s hard to find.”Â
The album is full of moments like this, where it sounds like Erelli is following a familiar blueprint right up until he puts his own twist on the track. “Doubt My Love” similarly surprises, starting with a Dylan-inspired vocal performance that eventually gives way to prominent guitars and, after that, more strings. The sound brings to mind the Wall of Sound because Spector also seamlessly integrated orchestral sounds into pop and rock songs. But where Spector was looking to flood the tune with texture and chaos, forcing his artists to fight their way out, Erelli keeps his orchestral flourishes more intimate, making the song feel more like a classy outdoor wedding than a night at the opera.
Artists are almost always products of their influences. Erelli’s very upfront about the importance of Petty; “A Little Kindness” was inspired by Petty’s death. But like so many of the bands who picked up instruments after seeing the Ramones, Erelli has taken the best of Petty—vivid songwriting that comes from the perspective of an empathetic observer—and added his own touches to create an original album that pays tribute to his influences but isn’t defined by them.
