Audio CD review:
Christine Lavin - Getting in Touch With My Inner Bitch

Christine Lavin - Getting in Touch With My Inner Bitch

Band: Christine Lavin Title: Getting in Touch With My Inner Bitch Rating: Release Date: 2000-01-01 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Choice words from Dave Palmater 2: Single Voice 3: I venture into the crowd with a spelunking lamp on my head 4: You Look Pretty Good For Your Age 5: Don't make me be naughty 6: What Was I Thinking In 1999? 7: What Monica L. and Cameron D. have in common 8: It's dangerous to confide in a songwriter 9: Another New York Afternoon 10: A late-night IM turns into... 11: Plateau 12: Gene Shay adds his voice to the low fat/no fat debate 13: Happy Birthday Maureen 14: Harrison Ford 15: The Polka Dancing Bus Driver And The 40-Year-Old Mystery 16: The Piper 17: Getting In Touch With My Inner Bitch 18: Megon McDonough, one of our great singers, inspires an idea 19: Adjust Your Dreams/Shining My Flashlight 20: Piranha Women Of The Avocado Jungle Of Death

Naughty Christine... The title cut is classic Lavin, irreverent, witty, and on the mark. I love the naughty Christine displayed in some of these songs. "Piranha Women in the Avacado Jungle of Death," a film I have actually seen--I'm hesitant to admit--inspired one of the best songs of the album. I also found "The Piper" a poignant commentary on our culture. Most of the rest I have either on other Lavin albums or they are not terribly memorable. I'm a fan, and I gave this CD four stars only because I really enjoy the few offerings I mention here. Love it, but not very smooth However, and this is a personal preference, there is a little too much of what another reviewer called "patter" - I don't mind hearing it once, but after listening to the CD a zillion times, I just want the music and the talking makes for long intervals in between. I love Christine Lavin's work to death, and I do feel that this captures a lot of the essence of the "live" Christine, compared to my experience seeing her perform in Philly a couple of years back. I have to keep hitting the "next track" button to skip to what I really want to hear, Christine's beautiful music. Getting in touch with her audience Her humor goes over much better that way. Chris Lavin is the one artist from whom I prefer live recordings. Sure, you lose some of the professional mix, but what shines with Chris is her sponteniety and interaction with her audience. The between-song patter gets old on live albums, but Chris wisely puts it on separate tracks which you can easily skip. I wish others would follow her lead. That said, this is not her best live album - One Wild Night probably is. Here, she's uses a machine that allows her to harmonize with herself, but really overdoes it. It's a novelty at first and works when she keeps it short, but she goes on too long with it on Harrison Ford, Shining my Flashlight, and Single Voice (an otherwise terrific song), so that you just wish the song would end. Her update on What Was I Thinking was funny when it was topical, but it's old news and doesn't age well. On the plus side, Piranha Women is up to Chris' high standards of humor and Happy Birthday, Maureen is a nice alternative to the traditional version. CD has technical failings, OR just what's wrong with live... I even enjoy this CD. Christine Lavin will always be one of my favorite songwriters. One comment though: the mixers did a horrible job. The CD is live, but the skips between songs are so abrupt that they sound like the CD is damaged. It's not, but the irritation takes away from the total listening experience. Now, if you're new to Christine Lavin, do yourself a favor and warm up to her with one of her other offerings. This CD's technical failings may turn you off her, which wouldn't be fair. What was she thinking? But this album is a dog. I love Christine Lavin--I'm a fan. Her patter just isn't funny. The songs aren't funny. Do you really want to hear Christine trash Monica Lewinsky? Me neither. Versions of "Harrison Ford" and "What was I thinking" are better on other albums. And the touching songs just struck me as corny and preachy. I still sniffle every time I hear "The Dakota," from an album of yore. This isn't in the same league. I hope this is an aberration and Christine isn't losing her touch. You can see a complete list of all Christine Lavin discography, or go back to the Christine Lavin tabs