WARREN ZANES
Memory Girls (Dualtone Records)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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A song about sidewalk sales?

Warren Zanes is an interesting character, but his music decidedly is not. He holds not one, but two Masters Degrees and is a music industry veteran since 1983, when he joined the Del Fuegos. I'd love to sit down and talk to Warren, perhaps covering a topic like Visual and Cultural Arts in depth, but his album leaves me wanting something much, much more.

The music on Memory Girls is clean country rock with nary a spot of grit in its gears. He seems to want to be world weary, but his songs are to darn polished and seemingly always framed through the "when things were better" lens that when used too liberally, can be a death nail.

Let's put it this way, Memory Girls is another Wallflowers album, except that maybe Jakob Dylan never sang about sidewalk sales.

© 2003 - Erick Mertz