Album Notes

"California — principally from Bakersfield and south - has long bred roots rockers who favor a lean, but muscular approach. It's a line that zig-zags from Richie Valens to Buck Owens to X to Dwight Yoakam. David Serby continues this fine tradition. In fact, his debut disc suggests what the Blasters might have liked if they favored country more than R&B. The toe-tapping twang-a-billy leadoff track Red Lipstick and French Perfume could easily fit in on a Blasters. Serby's vocals very strongly recall Phil Alvin's country croon, although his voice is a softer, gentler side. This quality increases the sense of vulnerability in his heartache-filled songs like the cheater's tale I Learned My Lesson and the gambler's saga Down To The Felt. His working man's ode Dirt Beneath My Nails might not be as gritty as a Dave Alvin effort but it holds a nice nostalgic feel. Similarly, the quietly wistful Cannonball Trail takes a fond look back at childhood. What separates Serby from the typical honky tonking roots rocker is his sharp songwriting skills. He displays a real talent for turning a phrase without turning it into country clichés. On the title track, he sings: "the California King's too big for one man all alone" to concisely yet vividly portray a man's loneliness and, in another song, he comes with the memorable metaphor: "It's time we cut this deck in two/'cause we've been playing Solitaire" to describe a crumbling marriage. His excellent lyric writing also is prominently showcased on the disc's closer The Day That We Moved In where he compares a couple's last day together in a house with the day that they moved in. Serby is well served here by producer/multi-instrumentalist Ed Tree and his veteran backing crew (including Skip Edwards and J.D. Maness but they mainly just stand back and let Serby shine brightly on his confident, impressive debut."
-- Michael Berick - AllMusic.com