Quirky, but well-matched

From the Autumn 2002 issue.

Stan Ridgway has come a long way from the days of the hit song "Mexican Radio" as the front man for Wall of Voodoo, yet his distinctive voice and quirky lyrics are still prevalent in everything he does. Few know it, but Stan enjoyed a vast musical life after Wall of Voodoo, including 7 solo albums, and a few side-project bands, like Drywall.

"Holiday in Dirt" is a compilation of songs that did not make it on an album for one reason or another. In the liner notes, Ridgway states that these songs were left off of albums usually because they did not fit with the overall feeling or concept of an album, not that there was anything wrong with them. Strangely enough, all of the songs fit quite well together on this album, so maybe they were just destined to be together.

The liner notes are quite fabulous, giving a bit of insight to the concept and origin behind each song rather than just a couple lyrics.

Every song on the album stands on its own feet and is quite unique from the others.

"Bing Can't Walk� is a quirky song written for the soundtrack to "Slamdance," but the inspiration for the song came from TV outtake footage where Bing Crosby tripped in the orchestra pit and broke his legs. Each play through the song gets more entertaining.

"After The Storm" displays wonderfully distorted keyboard parts with drum machine based percussion in true stereophonic fashion.

"Holiday in Dirt" shows the great range of styles and tastes that Stan Ridgway is capable of, from the intimate "Amnesia" to the eerily accurate rendition of the Charlie Rich classic "Behind Closed Doors."

This album is definitely a must-have for fans of strange and interesting music, and works quite well as headphone candy.

Review by Keith Rice. Keith is a programmer and drummer living in Vista, Calif.