bill - Birthday Suit Album Review

Oh, Doctor! Thank you very much for, "Birthday Suit." It is such a pleasure, such a treat, such a delightful, musical buffet. Each song carries its own audio identity, making this album one of the best $5 investments ever. Alotta bang, foot-tapping, and shower-singing for your bucks.

I never imagined I would describe an album as a mixture between The Police, Queen, The Beatles, Jack Johnson, Jamiroquai, Sublime, Weezer, Elton John, Norah Jones, Simon & Garfunkel, Van Morrison, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Sade during her Smooth Operator years…but I just did. And the stand up bass – I adore the sound of the stand up bass.

Out of all ten delightfully different, genre-busting songs, I narrowed it down to my two favorites: number 6, "Kiss the Stone," and number 8, "Panacea." I put these two songs on repeat for the past two days, and I had to get the back-story from the bill boys.

#6: When Jonathan was younger, he had an interesting, lyric-inspiring neighbor. As Jon reported, “I reference one of his more ridiculous stunts in this song. One summer we had a lemonade stand outside my house. In an attempt to get more customers he would literally lie down in the street so people would stop and buy lemonade.” Of course, the stone he’s kissing is Ireland’s famed Blarney Stone. I vow I will kiss it one day, too.

#8: A universal remedy. A cure for all ills. certainly lifts my spirits, but I think my optimism and the song’s sweet and happy vibe may have steered me away from its true meaning. Jonathan wrote this as a social commentary – introspectively and philosophically. “These days it seems that every problem is easily solvable. We all want someone or something else to take care of everything for us. I’m not necessarily knocking it. I’m just acknowledging that this exists on some level.”

Perhaps I have cracked the code and now understand why each track on Birthday Suit rings loud and true and, most importantly, unique. bill’s songs are taken simply and simply taken from life, which is never only rock n’ roll, never only smooth jazz, never only R & B. Life is eclectic. Life inspires introspection and dancing in your living room, sleeping in, taking the red eye, left turns, right turns, going to work, eating sandwiches, homesickness, wanderlust and so many beautiful, painful, exhilarating bits and scraps. It makes sense that a life-inspired album would defy categorization. I am certainly enjoying the afternoon.