When last seen Marshall Crenshaw had completed his four EP album in segments after being disappointed in Jaggedland’s brief shelf life and deciding he was better off doling out his songs in smaller doses.
The EPs included a live version of a catalogue track, a cover, and two new songs and included a couple of the most lustrous new songs in his career. But at City Winery last summer (here). Crenshaw wondered aloud about how his recording career would move forward and with the release yesterday of the Move Now EP appeared to answer the questions by releasing an album in the EP style he has been doing but announcing it as a taster for an upcoming album. Marshall explained the situation for us: “Just to clarify, the EP series is a series of 6, not 4; that was always the plan. “Move Now” is the 5th of 6, and not a teaser for an album. Actually, the EPs ARE the album: once the 6th one has run it’s course there’ll be an album containing the best stuff from the EP series, possibly a new song, definitely a couple remixes, etc. That’s the actual plan right now.“
On the title track he takes the lick from “You’re No Good” and welds it to a proto-Crenshaw blues groove, with a bridge (is that Crenshaw’s greatest gift? The bridge here is other worldly) for a piece of downbeat hot summer disappearing into the day. “Didn’t Want To Have To Do It” is John Sebastian downer off the 1966 Daydream album, “L.W.O. Karoake” an instrumental version of “Little Wild One” and “Never Gonna See you Again” one minute 44 of rockabilly with a Presleyish vocal.
Just back from his first gig in London in 19 years (anybody got the setlist??), Crenshaw has been playing a lot in 2014 and appears to have reached the zenith of his live shows, he has never been better. But we need a new album, so we can track him over 40 minutes! What the world needs now is less war and more Marshall Crenshaw songs.
Grade: A-
