Jules Shear – Sayin’ Hello To The Folks
Despite the fact that he’s created some truly wondrous records, the rap on Jules Shear is that he’s a conceptual and creative genius with a, well, problematic voice.
A pop classicist with a rare gift for crafting provocative, tongue-tripping lyrics, Shear has provided his share of ready-made hits for more conventional singers, yet folks who are put off by the admittedly brittle, adenoidal upper end of his range are missing out on some powerful stuff. In short, his voice ain’t much in and of itself, but this ol’ boy sure knows how to sell a song.
On Sayin’ Hello To The Folks, Shear applies his idiosyncratic pipes to a dozen eclectic covers, all but two of which (Woody Guthrie’s “1913 Massacre” and Dylan’s “In The Summertime”) came out during Jules’ schooldays. The arrangements are full, but never gaudy; Stewart Lerman’s production is transparent and in-the-room natural.
The singer is positively ebullient on the DC5’s “I’ve Got To Have A Reason” and the girl-group chestnut “Baby, Baby (I Still Love You)”. He pours his heart into Roger Miller’s “Husbands And Wives”, Procol Harum’s “Too Much Between Us”, and the Dusty In Memphis gem “Breakfast In Bed”.
If Joe Tex, Chris Kenner and James Brown seem well out of Shear’s bailiwick, he makes no attempt to cop a “black” sound, relying on un-self-conscious, good-natured spunk to move the grooves on their tunes. Todd Rundgren’s “Be Nice To Me” and the Brian Wilson chestnut “Guess I’m Dumb” are naturals; Shear dispatches them with the economy and authority of Barry Bonds unloading on hanging curves.
As an intimate, mini-glimpse at a teenage Shear’s record collection, he could’ve called this set In MY Room.