BILL RETOFF
Reanimation (Pop The Balloon)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Bill Retoff is a songwriter of considerable skill, gifted with the ability to hold a listener's attention for a full album despite occasional crummy production that does everything it can to ruin the moment. Who knows what prompted these little transgressions. Desire to avoid working with a drummer (leading to an unfortunately poorly programmed drum machine), perhaps. Been there. If you can just peel and toss that layer of the onion you'll find a special collection of songs by a guy who writes from one of those rare and very special inner-wells that the rest can only envy. Retoff is the real thing, and yet he's still mostly unknown. No surprise. Take the 100 finest song crafters in the world and, truth be known, most people won't have heard of over half of them. Let me take this moment to drive the point home, people: stop relying on your local radio stations and listen to indie music on the Internet and where ever else you can get your hands on it or you might miss masterpieces like Retoff's "When Myth Becomes Fact." And that's just scratching the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg. Lecture over. In the liner notes, Retoff begins by saying "1,000 thanks to God!" He's not the first to say this, but since he was stricken with both intestinal cancer and spinal meningitis in the mid '90s and wasn't expected to live - and beat them both - I'd say 1) he has more reason to put that in the liners than most, and 2) he's got more to do here. Keep an ear out. [Pop The Balloon - BP 7042, 69343 Lyon, CEDEX 07, France.]

© 2001 - DJ Johnson