
Harp: Songs Pointed & Pointless
In their Jan/Feb 2008 issue, Harp Magazine reviews Harry's CD Songs Pointed & Pointless.
This isn't the Harry Shearer of wry mustache/mirthful metal/Spinal Tap fame. This isn't one of the cranky voices from his stay on The Simpsons.
This is the poison-penned Shearer, with the deliciously sharp commentary of his insightful weekly Le Show on KCRW-FM. Applied to genre-iffic songs, character-driven and not, Shearer sings Pet Sounds clomping gems filled with high harmonies dedicated to torture ("Waterboardin', USA") and space mistakes ("American Guys on Mars")-funny, melodically rich, and produced by Brian Wilson’s music director. There's plodding Bush impersonations like "Addicted to Oil," that's not. (Groucho said it: "They can't all be funny.") Shearer's subtlest stabs at laughs and elegantly finessed musical moments come when wife Judith Owen takes the mic to brassily impersonate Shirley Bassey on a 007 mission in "Connect the Dots." Beyond any and all biting, it's nice hearing Shearer's own squeaky voice through the Nashvillian pop of "The Losin' Kind." Sweet, really.
Standout tracks: "Let the Flag Burners Fry," "Waterboardin', USA"
Review By A. D. Amorosi
