Todd Snider, the East Nashville antihero, can always be counted on to deliver a brilliant spitball of humor and satire, shot across a classroom devoted to John Prine, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, and the Rolling Stones. Here, on one of his most instantly accessible albums, he balances troubadourish recounts of personal experience and mythmaking (the getting-mugged-in-Memphis tale of "The Highland Street Incident"), the chronicling of not-so-famous-moments in history (Bob Dylan's ass-whipping of Phil Ochs in "Thin Wild Mercury"), and songs of romantic surrender. "All That Matters," a declaration of marital love with a nearly prayerful electric guitar solo from the great Will Kimbrough, shows how profound Snider can be in his simplicity. But his genius is best captured in the deceptively smart "Just Like Old Times," particularly in an exchange with a cop about a high school photo, carried in a wallet since 1982. Here, on his half-drunk vocals, Snider makes clear what he really is: A professional smart-ass whose bravado masks a wounded heart. --Alanna Nash
Album Description
Keith Richards said humor was rock and roll's greatest weapon, Bob Dylan proved it and Snider takes it to heart. For twelve years, Snider has been a satirist, class cutup and the rare artist who understands and celebrates the connections between the Stones, Dylan, Bill Hicks, John Prine, Mitch Hedberg, Kris Kristofferson, Hunter S. Thompson and Randy Newman. Snider's records are fun even when they aren't being funny, funny even when they're sad, and no less truthful for the laughs. Which brings us to The Devil You Know, a sparkling, smiling, snarling portrait of the doomed.Eric McConnell's as-yet-unnamed studio -- the same place where Loretta Lynn recorded her Grammy-winning Van Lear Rose -- was the setting for Snider's new album. It's the same structure where Snider made his critically acclaimed 2004 album East Nashville Skyline, and the musicians used the whole place.
With The Devil You Know, Snider has assembled a bag of songs that speak to the politics of the day without ever speaking politics, that talk to the wars being fought away from cameras or reporters and that balance truth, beauty and humor.
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