The Badger Herald

ARTSETC.

Baby Dee steps ‘outside’ box, herself on latest

Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.

Also by Steve Lampiris:

Death Angel certainly 'Kills' its music (February 26, 2008)
Band builds 'City' upon great beats (February 19, 2008)
Forest Art 'leaves' viewers thinking (February 19, 2008)
Rockers' latest album 'Feasts' on listeners' senses (February 7, 2008)
Band eulogizes Grateful Dead in concert (February 6, 2008)

by Steve Lampiris

Monday, January 21, 2008

Potential fans beware: This disc will cause you to raise an eyebrow, undoubtedly more than once.

That said, Safe Inside is a very neat twist on the piano singer-songwriter cliché. Trying to pinpoint Baby Dee’s sound by genre is difficult, as her influences seem to jump from Billy Joel to Sarah McLachlan to Tori Amos to… polka? Certainly, her sound can be called singer-songwriter, but the term does not absolutely define what Dee does with her voice. This, of course, simply adds that much more to her appeal as an artist with original talent.

Safe Inside plays as if Baby Dee wanted to say to the listener, “I dare you to come see me play this live.” Songs on the album, including “Fresh Out of Candles,” sound like Dee did three shots of Jack and then told her producers (Matt Sweeney and Bonnie “Prince” Billy) to hit “record.” Either that, or Dee has a great many voices in her head clamoring to get out. The album has a level of spontaneity that has not been seen in many years, and it is quite refreshing.

The album’s allure is not so much its lyrics and music — which do keep you guessing, and perhaps even scratching your head — but instead it is Dee’s voice, which constantly migrates from Vegas show tune (“The Earlie King”) to lounge (“The Only Bones That Show”) to Bob Dylan talk-singing (“The Dance Of Diminishing Possiblities”). Sometimes Dee combines all these styles and more in a single song. This is perhaps best displayed in the title track, which opens the record and is the longest song in this set. The song is six minutes of little more than Baby Dee, her piano and some sparse orchestration in the background. “Safe Inside” opens with the rather thoughtful lyric, “As songs that go forgotten/ Are found, remembered, loved and sung again/ The father of all kindness/ The lover of souls/ Will come to find us.”

Another reason to love this record is the guests. The aforementioned Matt Sweeney (of Zwan and Chavez fame) guests on seven of the 11 songs here. His guitar adds flourishes here and there that really bring out underlayers of texture to Dee’s already multifaceted compositions.

Also of note is Andrew W.K., who guests on eight songs, playing either bass or drums. His minimalist approach to drumming on the track “A Compass of the Light” highlights the jump between Dee and her piano and the full band. In short, the song shows a microcosm of the greatness that is this oddball record. Furthermore, Andrew’s bass on “The Only Bones” gurgles and belches like an upset stomach on what is easily the best song here. It also contains what will be one of the best lines of 2008 thus far: “Sometimes you’ve just got to wait/ Cold years of hooks and bait.”

It is a damn shame that this disc will not have support of popular media outside of blogs, because Safe Inside truly deserves to go platinum. Oh well. This only means her superb music can be closer to her fans.

4.5 out of 5

Add a comment

We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.