Bill Mallonee

Item: My Year in Review
Author: Brian A. Smith

My Year in Review

(2002)

Reviewed by Brian A. Smith

Discogs Bandcamp

Label Paste RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth2002

alternative country americana folk rock roots rock

My Year in Review is the "new and improved" version of a VOL fan club cassette that was distributed in 1995. It is a collection of unreleased tunes, alternative versions, and B-sides, much like "Dead Letter Office" by R.E.M.

Mallonee is at his best here -- the album serves to showcase many different facets of VOL. The acoustic version of "Tokyo Rose" leads off, followed by the mournful lament of "VET". Mallonee combines the best aspects of Neil Young's country/rock persona with T-Bone Burnett's ability to tell a story and produces an album that is both literary and literate.

There are some songs here that will be unfamiliar to newer fans. "My Year in Review", "Berlin in '53", "Postscript", and "All We Left Unsaid" do not appear on any other release. Rarities such as "Sing Angel Choirs" and the acoustic version of "Double Cure" (previously a hidden track on the VOL compilation) are included as well.

Musically, "Driving the Nails" is a Dylanesque tail of man's sin. "Berlin in '53" paints a picture of Mallonee's parents in postwar Germany. "Bolt Action" is a grim portrayal of Charles Whitman from the bell tower at the University of Texas. A haunting version of "Deep End" is here as well.

As prolific as Bill Mallonee is, often writing 40-60 new songs a month, one wonders how much material is lost. My Year in Review makes us glad some of that material was preserved for the ages.

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