DEAN FRIEDMAN

DEAN FRIEDMAN – http://www.deanfriedman.com
(SELF-TITLED)
LIFESONG RECORDS – 1977

This album surfaced MINT in two different thrift stores and looked too damn cool to pass up. I had no clue who Dean Friedman was until a buddy of mine saw it on my kitchen counter along with Dean’s second album (Well Well Said The Rocking Chair) and demanded it be played IMMEDIATELY. I complied and was blown away; The song my buddy flipped over is side one track two, but we’ll get to that later. Opening with the dreamy “Company”, it is immediately clear that this is NOT standard singer-songwriter fare. Dean has SERIOUS chops but plenty of taste and restraint as well. “Beans in the bucket and love in the sheets” is one great line accompanied by Dean’s acoustic guitar and atmosphere galore. Track Two is a world unto itself, I’ll explain in a bit. Hang in there! “Solitaire” solemnly illuminates the horrible days waiting for a relationship to end, fulfilling obligations knowing full well it is a waste of time but honoring commitments nonetheless. “Woman Of Mine” is a beautiful acoustic ballad offset by desperation and despair, an interior monologue verbalized in two minutes of sheer panic.”Song For My Mother” hits so hard and close and often it never ceases to shock me even after all these years of hearing it. I have to steel myself for “Song For My Mother” or be reduced to waterworks afterward.

Side One, Track Two you ask? That would be “Ariel”, Dean’s unabashed love song to a Jewish pot-smoking vegetarian WBAI supporter in a peasant blouse (with nothing underneath!). The only way I can describe “Ariel” is that it is the direct opposite of the song “Chevy Van” by Sammy Johns. The Chevy Van driver only wants one thing; Our subjects in “Ariel” end the evening with same activity as described in “Chevy Van” but partake in a whole slew of other activities first, much to the listener’s amusement. The radio single of “Ariel” was butchered by the record company due to some politically correct nonsense that blunted it’s impact but the LP version stayed intact, thank God. “Ariel” charted twice in the summer of 1977 and became Dean’s only stateside hit; He has since had many more in England and still tours and releases new music.

Side Two opens with “The Letter”, a lush ballad that should have found it’s way into a romantic movie soundtrack somewhere but sadly hasn’t (yet). “I May Be Young” refocuses the lens from love and loss onto the struggles of young people everywhere trying to convince the “old guard” they have what it takes to change the world on their own terms. “I may be young, but I’m not that young, and with all the years I’ve got, I may have time to kill, but if you will I’d rather not..” is one of the best lines I have ever heard that sums up the constant battle between young and old. “Humor Me” and “Funny Papers” lighten the mood considerably going into “Love Is Not Enough”, a welcome calm before the looming darkness.”Love Is Not Enough” closes the album in a resigned mood, as if all the back-and-forth of the previous hour has finally exhausted any possibility of reconciliation once and for all. A gorgeous track that doesn’t tug at heart strings as much as grab them whole and shake them for any sign of life, love, or hope.

Due to legal wrangling this album is only available as a used LP but can be had for only a few dollars. Pick it up if you can find it along with “Well Well Said The Rocking Chair”, then surf over to Dean’s website and buy the rest of his catalog. Money well spent, no joke!
WS