Melissa Etheridge - The Medicine Show

I was dragged to the mall so my wife could do some returns. What she says is, "I bought a bunch of stuff and am taking it back." What she means is, "Everything that fit is still upstairs in the closet."

Oh well.

Our mall has one of those money laundering stores that sells posters and music. I have no idea how these places keep the lights on. With the resurgence of vinyl they actually have a decent selection, but boy howdy I am not paying thirty to sixty dollars for a new record that I paid ten for back in the day. However, the last couple of times I've been in there's a little section of clearance items, and lately clearance means 75% off. Which means this is more often than not a lot cheaper than buying a decent used record.

The last couple of times I've actually taken chances on newish stuff, and the other day guess what was staring up at me? Why it was Melissa Etheridge of all people. Not that long ago I'd spent quite a while revisiting her debut album and it was way more memorable than I remembered. The Medicine Show looked intriguing, and the back cover featured her holding onto what I assumed was the '74 Fender (Stratocaster) mentioned on the front. Not a 12 string, looks like she's rocking out.

There's been a whole career of water under the bridge over the last three decades or so since I bought one of her albums. A dozen albums I don't know anything about. I'm just going to pick up where I left off and see how it goes.

The album kicks off with the title track, and it's big, bombastic and a bit of a red herring. The chorus borrows from "Old MacDonald" with the "E-I-E-I-O" that is delivered absolutely straight without a hint of sarcasm. It's the musical equivalent of a carnival barker try to entice the audience to come on in and hear the greatest show on earth ... except it almost had the opposite effect.

Thankfully Melissa didn't miss a beat and launches into "Wild and Lonely" a song that almost immediately erased the decades between releases for me. This was so good and just felt right. She was in fine voice, and although there were a few times on some of the songs where her enunciation carried more of that weird "ssch" lisp some of this generations singers think is a cool affectation, it just reminds me of old people without dentures trying to sing. I know Melissa isn't a kid anymore ... neither am I but dang it she's still able to muster enough piss and vinegar to yell at the kids to get off her lawn, and you know she means it and will kick your ass if you don't move fast enough.

The band here is so good, and the production is crisp and the songs seem to be sitting right up front in the mix. The bottom end is really thick without being muddy. The kick feels like someone hitting you in the gut and it reverberates around the chest cavity. The album was produced by John Shanks who also provided a lot of the guitar work on the album. The rhythm section of Victor Indrizzo on drums and Chris Chaney on bass is locked tighter than the lid on a jar of pickles. Max Hart plays keyboards on many of the tracks and provides that little extra to flesh things out.

While most of the songs here are mid tempo rockers there are a couple of really cool moments that stood out. "I Know You" is really just a paint by numbers piano ballad, but it just resonates. Melissa is not a subtle singer and her delivery here feels like she's tearing a band-aid off an open wound. The other song that caught my ear was the strangely infectious "The Human Chain" that hearkened back to mid '70s disco infused R&B, a genre I normally don't really care for. However, the groove that Chris lays down is so good. The song may be rooted in '70s sensibilities but it's so good. I also know that a whole album of songs like this wouldn't have worked for me.

The Medicine Show isn't pretending to be something it's not. This is not about keeping up with the kids, this is about showing the kids how it's done. I read a review that more or less dismissed the album as merely a collection of songs aimed at her audience. She may write for herself but it's the audience who listens.

Is that NOT THE POINT OF MAKING AN ALBUM?

No one is forcing anyone to hear this. However, if you're feeling up to it The Medicine Show will deliver a nice dose of Melissa Etheridge. The album felt like an old friend, or a warm cardigan. This is what I had hoped for, and this is what was delivered. Melissa writes like Melissa, and if there was an expectation that she was chasing trends and the latest thing - this is not the album you're looking for (bonus points if you just thought of Alec Guinness delivering that last line).