JOE MANNIX
A Town By the Sea
Fall & Winter 2006

The Hype says "Phil Ochs backed by the Band in another time, another place," and of course that's absurdly lofty. Still, it's undeniable that New York singer/songwriter Joe Mannix is mining a particularly pure vein of folk/rock, derived from '60s Greenwich Village with a little '70s California sound thrown in. A Town By the Sea is Mannix's fourth album, and with its steady blend of Calais electrified folk melodies, electric and acoustic guitars, piano, and organ, it's a record that picks up where the likes of early Jackson Browne, Warner Bros.-era Gordon Lightfoot, and quiet-side Neil Young leaves off. Its song cycle begins and ends with the title cut, a rolling reminiscence that bemoans the march of 'progress', while evoking a strong birthright. My fave might be "Another Shade of Blue," with its reference to "Warren Zevon on the jukebox," though the whole record flows with chiseled lyrical observations and enough musical invention to repay repeated auditions. -- Luke Torn