Cartwheeling: Live in Memphis

Of the key figures on the Southern power pop scene of the 1970s, Van Duren was the one who seemed most likely to break through to mainstream success, and its hard to say why he didnt. Compared to peers like Big Star, Chris Bell, and the Scruffs, Duren was nearly as good at writing a memorable tune, and he was less given to the sonic eccentricities that made those other acts favorites with hipsters while puzzling the average radio listener. Problems with his record company prevented Van Durens 1978 debut Are You Serious? from reaching the audience it deserved (and kept its follow-up, Idiot Optimism, from being released until 1999), and in the 1980s he began working with a Memphis-based band called Good Question, whose approach was a good bit more polished and commercially minded than his early work. In January 1992, Van Duren and Good Question set up a concert with the specific intention of making a live recording that would show off their chops and Durens songwriting. Cartwheeling: Live in Memphis gives that recording a public release for the first time, and the performance walks a fine line between capturing the excitement of Van Durens music at his best and showing how much he was willing to sand down what few edges he had in order to be heard. Duren and his band are in superb form here, with guitarist James Lott, bassist Ray Sanders, and drummer Joel Williams sounding tight and fully supportive at all times, and guest keyboardist Rick Steff reveals impressive chops, though he emulates horns a bit more than is necessary. However, here "Is She Ever" plays like it was made to be played in a rom-com of the late 80s (and not in a good way), and "Her Name Comes Up" sounds like Duren was trying to write a song for Journey, not a good look for one of the great men of power pop. (The bid for slickness also seems a bit odd when one remembers Nirvanas Nevermind was ruling the charts the night this was put to tape.) But when Duren and the band get up a full head of steam on "A Man Would Be Crazy to Give Up All This," "Such a Secret," and "The Naked Eye of Love," they sound like a crack rock & roll combo delivering the goods, and "The One That I Love" is a sweet ballad made all the more inviting by Steffs accordion. Cartwheeling: Live in Memphis is a bit more uneven than one might hope, especially when Van Duren and his band are most eager to make nice, but there are moments here that show he was not just a power pop hero but a rocker with humor and muscle to spare, and it does invite the question -- how is it that a band this good and this versatile couldnt land a record deal? ~ Mark Deming