Octo_Russ

Brenda Kahn [Outside The Beauty Salon]

Here's something a bit different, Brenda Kahn, a Rock chick, i bought this on Ebay for probably £2, it's my quest to delve into new Artists, and this looked good, and giving it a little sample on Amazon it sounded worth exploring, so this is my very first listen to this album all the way through, and the verdict is fairly average, certainly not poor, i think she's got something here, but it would take another couple of listens to really form an opinion, but i'm pleased with my veering off the beaten track, there's some interesting things off the commercial highway.

Brenda Kahn is an American Singer / Songwriter, now 44 years old, mainly delving into what i would call Soft Rock, a bit Blondie, a bit Eileen Rose, a bit a female version of Lou Reed, hard to pin down really, she's not that well known, she has a handful of albums, and she recorded this one in 1997, i bought it on the strength of the booklet / back cover [photography by Debra LaCoppola], which shows Brenda dressed in shiny colourful plastic, and in her bathroom, the back inlay shows her in the bath with her wellies on!, a really good concept, i like the visuals a lot.

As a first listen, this is always going to be a subdued experience, if you read the track listing on the back, you get an idea of titles and themes, and i find them rather inventive and clever, i liked track 8 'Lincoln Hotel', a strange song about... well, i'm not sure?, i suppose reading the lyrics again it's about someone that gives up their own identity, and just follows everyone else, and here's the idea of the title, rather than living in your very own home, you live out of someone else's Hotel, the last stanza is the most meaningful,

And tell me how you came

To your decision

To leave yourself behind, and live in

Someone else's illusion

nice jangly guitars in the mix, yes she does sound like Patti Smith, a certain sneer in her voice, a nice 1-2-3-4 countdown in the background from Brenda at the beginning, and then straight into the song, nice and strong, a lovely bubbly rocking rhythm, no chorus at all, just six verses, the whole thing only lasts 2:39, so it's two verses then a short instrumental interlude, then another two verses and the same again, and after the last two there's a final instrumental, very symmetrical and organized, i really need to listen to her more, even reviewing this album and giving the disc another glance, i feel i'm onto something substantial, there's an excitement that my musical search in the desert does pay off, under the sand i find buried treasure, all my efforts do get rewarded.

You can listen to some samples from the album on Amazon.