Graham Parker—Don’t Tell Columbus

Graham Parker hasn’t been an Angry Young Man for a long time now.  Early on in his career he was lumped in with Elvis Costello.  They both had the hipster glasses, the short, spiky hair, and the penchant for creating petulant, supremely literate diatribes against anything and everything.  But sometime in the late ‘80s Graham Parker committed the unpardonable sin of all Angry Young Men: he got happy.  He got married, settled down to domestic bliss, and started writing songs about his kids chasing butterflies.

For those of you who may not have paid attention since, oh, 1979’s masterpiece Squeezing Out Sparks, here’s some news:  the guy writes great songs.  His new album Don’t Tell Columbus is the latest of three superb releases in a row on Bloodshot Records, and it gives the lie to the notion that middle-aged men, verging on their dotage, can’t kick up a nasty fuss.  Sounding more like Bob Dylan than ever, Parker snarls his verses against the backdrop of mid-tempo roots rock and roller rink organ.  This time his concerns take in a humorous but bittersweet remembrance of his early career (‘I Discovered America”), a warily hopeful assessment of the current state of the planet (“Hard Side of the Rain”), and the most biting, incisive commentary on the current presidential administration I’ve yet heard (“Stick to the Plan”).  Parker is in full smartass mode on these songs, the band is having a rambunctious good time, and Don’t Tell Columbus is a very early contender for Album of the Year. So check it out, and stand up and shake your bony fist along with this angry old man.