STEW
The Naked Dutch Painter (Smile)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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This keeps getting harder. This is the fourth album in five years featuring Mark "Stew" Stewart, either as a solo or the leader of The Negro Problem, and I'm running out of superlatives. Stew himself insists that "genius" is an unnecessary word to describe him or his work, a distraction that is better applied to greater minds in other fields. Fine. But the fact remains, in a world populated by uncounted songwriters and peformers, Stew is a singular talent. He writes songs about people you've always known but never met, and people you hope you never meet but somehow want to know more about. Songs about situations you remember fondly without experiencing them and about situations you seem to have lived through without noticing until he describes them back to you. He writes amazing songs.

And he sings them in a fashion that draws you in, creates a new space around you wherever you may be and then sets you back into a world that's somehow changed. He does that with a vocal precision that won't allow you to miss the point. He's an amazing singer.

And in order to get it all done, he surrounds himself with a rotating crew of musicians who seem so tuned in to what he's up to that no matter how weird the going gets, they always provide just the right sound with just the right touch. His principle co-conspirator, Heidi Rodewald, plays a significant role in that process, but the bottom line is, he's an amazing leader.

And he says he's not a genius. Amazing.

All I know is that when I get around to considering the best albums of 2002, there's already a space reserved.

Track List:

Single Woman Sitting * Giselle * Reeling * The Drug Suite * Love Is Coming Through The Door * Cold Parade * North Bronx French Marie * The Smile * The Naked Dutch Painter

© 2002 - Shaun Dale