The first six tracks on The Bellevue Years were originally released on a six-song vinyl EP called Husbands & Wives from Palindrome Records in 1983. One song was added in 1987 ("If I Could Be Sonja Henie") when Rounder Records reissued the album as Another Woman's Man. Now, it is a full-length CD, with live performances from interviews taped during the same time period as the original recordings. The new title refers to the fact that Lavin worked at Bellevue Hospital during that time.

Lavin's CD's fall under the category of both live performance or studio recording. As a Christine Lavin aficionado, I much prefer her live performances, since that seems to be the method that best captures her energy. She's not just a poet and musician -- her remarkable talent lies in being wonderful at improvisation, music, sentiment and comedy while her soul resonates with her audience. This CD, however, is a combination of studio recordings, live recordings and interviews. And most of these tunes are not on any other CD.

The interviews are an interesting touch, although I could have done without the track "Music/Sport Notes, 1984." "Let's Get Out of Here, Jody" however, is typical of what you'd expect of Lavin Live.

The songs in this collection are also the typical mix of silliness and melancholy, all commentaries on the lives we live today. Of course, in this case, it's back in the '80s. And yet, while some of the songs are dated, such as her request of President Reagan, "I Want To Be The First Folk Singer on the Space Shuttle," lots are timeless. I wish I'd heard "If You Want Space, Go to Utah" 25 years ago. That line would have been perfect for all the non-committal men I've met in my lifetime. It's too bad it hasn't evolved over the years, like "What Was I Thinking?" She could have added hundreds of verses to that song.

The first time I listened to the CD, I was driving in the car and obviously not reading the liner notes. It wasn't till the second time through I realized that the words to one of the tracks were "Isn't This Just Like Empty-Vee?" But, there's more. Since Lavin's original tunes are often based on real-life adventures -- OK, well, maybe not adventures, just the same sort of casual disasters that befall us all -- it's fascinating to see the updates in the liner notes for this re-released CD. For instance, the two people in "If You Want Space, Go to Utah" got married; the couple in "Tidal Wave," who were deliriously happy at the time the song was recorded, fell out of their respective love affairs.

Lavin is joined on this recording by Larry Jacoby (electric bass), Larry Robbins (piano on "Tidal Wave"), Marshal Rosenberg (percussion), Marty Laster (viola on "Sonja Henie") and the Atavistics (Gregory Fleeman, Brenna McDonough, Megon McDonough, David Roth and Josh Joffen).

[ by Alanna Berger ]
Rambles: 7 June 2002