Wheeler Avenue
Rich Ingle
Ringle Records
1999
14 tracks
In his promotional materials and in his liner notes, Rich Ingle makes it a point to let us know that Wheeler Avenue is a home-made production, recorded on a four-track recorder with Ingle playing and singing all parts. This was done, he says, "with no previous studio or production experience." Is this artist so insecure in his own abilities that he feels a need to explain any perceived flaws before the listener discovers them? Or is it a sort of false modesty? Based on the overall quality of this recording plus the fact that Ingle has been performing for three decades, I suspect the latter.
In all respects, Rich Ingle is competent at what he does. Ingle has a comfortable, folksy, storytelling singing style. While a bit rough at times, his guitar work passes muster and suits his vocal style. I didn't have his lyrics available to read, but they seem uneven, with some being much better written than others. His melodies, for the most part, don't seem to have much melody to them [not an unusual occurrance among contemporary independent folk-song writers].
Ingle has a comfortable style that should make him popular among local fans who know his work. If his writing and performance remain at this level, he may not achieve national recognition, but could be a popular act on a local or regional level. His promotional materials suggest that he has long been a presence "on the fringe of the Chicago folk music scene." In the tough Chicago market, that in itself is quite an accomplishment.
While these songs are reasonably well written and performed, they tend to sound much like what is being produced by hundreds of other regional folk singers across North America. In fact, several of the songs have the familiar feel of having been heard before. It's not so much that they feel borrowed from other artists as that the melodies and sometimes the words are just that commonplace. Only a few songs have that certain something that allows them to stand out from the rest.
In a well-written lyric, as in a well-written poem, it is not the writing that should stand out but the content the writing is meant to express. In my opinion, the best song lyrics are about story and the listener is left not with the words but with the story they tell. For the most part, Ingle seems to tell his stories with a certain facility. However, at times his words stand out like the proverbial sore thumb. Because I don't have the lyrics to read, it's hard to tell if this is because Ingle is trying too hard to be literary or, on the other hand, is not spending enough time in the revision process. I'll give a couple of examples to illustrate what I mean. "Couch Potato" includes some awful rhymes, including rhyming "couch potato" with "Zubin Mehta" and "TBS" with "apocalypse" among others. "Grandma Debbie" includes what clearly sounds like "Cahill Gubran" but probably refers to the Lebanese (later American) artist and poet Khalil Gibran. Such rough spots distract from what are otherwise good songs.
"The Jesus Tree" is arguably the best song on this release. The lyric is strong and tightly written. Both the words and the music are reminiscent of songs such as Leonard Cohen's "The Stranger Song." The instrumentation also has very much the sound of Cohen's work some thirty years ago. Does this reflect one of Ingles' influences? It's hard to tell, but if it is then it's one he might do well to pursue. Ingle also seems to put more of himself into this song, breaking out of the emotional flatness that characterizes many of his songs.
When I was a young poet, I wrote a verse using closing time at a bar as a metaphor for larger, metaphysical issues. Leonard Cohen released a song that was actually named "Closing Time" and had much the same metaphorical sense. It seems that every poet and songwriter must at some time approach this metaphor of the Last Call. "Another Closing Time" seems to cover much the same territory but is weakened by an uncertain lyric. At some points, it seems the song may be about the eternal questions of life and death. At others, it sounds more like an obtuse reprise of "There Stands the Glass." This song would benefit from revision to make the point more clear.
Notwithstanding my concern that the lyricist get the names of the poets right, "Grandma Debbie" is an interesting and at times funny song that should go over well in a bar full of aging folkies. This is hippy nostalgia with a sense of humour. And to think that at one time we thought we'd never grow old.
"Memories of Rogers Park" is mostly a pretty ordinary song. What adds interest is the chorus, which features a sort of call and response between Ingles' vocal and the guitar line. This simple effect adds beauty and interest to a song that might otherwise tend to fade into the background.
"Couch Potato" is just plain fun. The lyric is, over all, quite funny. Parts of the song sound very much like Dr. Hook's performance of Shel Silverstein's "The Cover of the Rolling Stone." However, the words and music have a less polished down-home feel than Dr. Hook, more like an American version of Stompin' Tom Connors. Most listeners should be able to relate to the humour of this song.
An interesting if unpolished writer and performer, Rich Ingle is definitely worth a listen. Whether he will gain an audience outside Chicago, where he can be seen performing live, is a question that remains to be answered. If he doesn't, then he should still continue to be a popular local and regional artist. That's not all bad.
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