MARK MALLMAN
The Red Bedroom (Guilt Ridden Pop)
Reviewed by Holly Day

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From everything I've read in press kits and local paper reviews, this is supposed to be some sort of thematic record, like a rock opera or something, but I'm too dense to really see it. By themselves, though, these songs are good and stand alone just as well as they could as a big whole Jesus-Christ-Superstar-thing - Mallman writes and sings big, dramatic, Queen-style orchestrations, full of fabulous sweeping guitar fills and jangly keyboards, all propelled on by his plaintive lyrics demanding justification for his faith in love, humanity, and the world in general. For longtime Mallman fans like myself, this new record takes some getting used to, but once you're sucked in, you're hooked.

© 2002 - Holly Day