Album Notes

This just in. The President is wearing no clothes. And with My Country II, Dan Bern sets out, in no uncertain terms, to reveal the stark naked emperor behind George W. Bush. Mission accomplished.

Dan has never been one to hold his tongue, particularly about vitally important current events, and lucky it is for an American public browbeaten and bullied by the Bush administration. Why mince words at this crucial historical juncture? Dan certainly hasn't on this trenchant EP, as empathetic as it is angry, and as comical as it is concerned for his country.

My Country II isn't your garden-variety Bush-bashing, fun as that sport tends to be. The record is pointedly direct yet amusing and musically on-target. Even fair-minded and clear-sighted Republicans will find things to admire on the album. Perhaps not the opening "President," a satirical alternate history that lampoons the Commander-in-Chief as clueless while setting out Bern's own version of what he'd do in his first 10 days in office. But all can appreciate the heartbreaking soldier's-eye-view of "After the Parade," moving sociology that looks more deeply than any newspaper headline or human-interest story ever could.

The record also connects to the storied tradition of musical dissent in an inspired fashion, as Dan sets Pete Seeger's poem "The Torn Flag" to music. And "Bush Must Be Defeated," goes the straightforward refrain of the rousing concert singalong that closes Dan's call-to-arms.

That pretty much says it all. Vote in November. It's your country, II.