The question of whether
Michael Hurley (aka Dock Snock) is a neglected national treasure or a mildly amusing pseudo-folky aberration is one that must be resolved in the ear of the individual listener. The fact that the question meets different answers in just about every quarter probably explains both
Hurley's legendary status among American roots musicians (he has played with everyone from
the Youngbloods to
Son Volt) and the fact that this album was released on a small German label more usually devoted to historical curiosities. On
Sweetkorn, the aging
Hurley evokes the sound of middle-period
Tom Waits, though he comes by his junkyard instrumentation and ugly voice more honestly than
Waits does. Same with the aggressively lo-fi production quality, which is a longstanding
Waits affectation and, one senses, simply a reflection of the way things are for
Hurley.
Hurley's "Ohio Blues" is spare and beautiful, as is his eerily lovely rendition of the pop classic "Mona Lisa"; he brings nothing particularly new or noteworthy to "Barbara Allen," but "The End of the Road" sounds like a sly undermining of "Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys," while "Negatory Romance" opens with this deathless couplet: "He's wantin' her more than he's wantin' his wife/Now buddy, that's a good way to screw up your life." Bard, sage, screwup, whatever --
Michael Hurley's generally worth hearing, and that's certainly the case on this weird but charming album. ~ Rick Anderson