Album Notes

"Something irresistible drew me to the Fighting McKenzies. It was the strains of a triumphantly bizarre voice singing "Lubricated Tip (-cated Tip, -cated Tip)". As I approached the bandstand, powerlessly captivated by what I heard, I could make out the silhouettes of six musicians, each with a strangely shaped appendage affixed to his head. I was hooked. I bought the band's latest album on the spot.
I Know This Lady is one of those albums that, the more you listen to it, the more you love it. This is due, in large part, to its ingenious lyrics. You can't help but smile, if not actually break down in hysterics, at the inspired songwriting on this album. There is a wide diversity of subject matter as well. While "No Man Is", a song about the need for human proximity, leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, "Cowgirl Gone Bad" is a humorous first-hand testimony on voluntary prostitution (although I suppose prostitution could make some people feel warm and fuzzy...). The first track, entitled "Song for Walter Raleigh", is an energetic opener, sung in Spanish and filled with the answers to such profound questions as "Where is that big other world?" ("Right here at home, in your little bathroom"). Inspired, really.
I actually got the opportunity to interview lead singer and principal songwriter Wayne Montecalvo via e-mail, and I had to ask him, "Where do you get your material?" (I've never heard such an eclectic mix of topics, from insane cab drivers to trailer park idylls.) He replied, "The lyrics are just the way life is. A lot of the stories are true or sort of true, but it's also a matter of which words go together as well as which words can be used to make a point." Works for me.
The Fighting McKenzies are completely different from anything I've ever heard. To conclude, I highly recommend I Know This Lady; it's one of the few albums I've bought recently that I absolutely love. Have fun with this one.
5 stars out of 5".
-Sarah Heady from the Rondout Reality

"The Fighting McKenzies can turn a Radio-City-Music-Rockette downtown beat into the spine supporting a canvas of harmony that recalls a wagon train or shoot-out at high noon."
-John Barry of the Poughkeepsie Journal

"The McKenzies are unchanged at their quirky core. Songs of debauched cowgirls, insane cab drivers, and childhood in a Jersey factory town, all set to catchy Irish and Spanish influenced tunes."
-Todd Paul from Chronogram Magazine

"No simple review is going to nail this one. There are no handy analogies to convey the stone-soup effect of this band's raucous, anti-orthodox sound."
-Gary Alexander from the Woodstock Times.

"It can be harder to characterize creative music than to nail a blob of mercury..."
-Todd Paul from the Hugenot Herald

"(The music) tells a story, I put words together that sound good".
-Tinker Twine from the Dailey Freeman.