I may have missed out on grabbing the original limited edition metal box by PIL but I am the proud possessor of D.B. Rielly's freshly canned 'Love Potions And Snake Oil' that he prepared for a largely uncaring world in 2010.
Following this elaborately packaged debut release, the NYC-based singer songwriter's reputation and sales increased not one jot but he's a philosophical man more accustomed to apathy than adulation. Eight years later he's still alive and kicking against the pricks as evidenced by this highly enjoyable concert recording.
The ten track live album was recorded before an appreciative audience in Connecticut . It shows he's perfectly capable of composing poignant love songs (try A Home Like This) but mostly gets more of a buzz out of writing smart and genuinely funny songs. He finds the richest source of comedy in the universal quest for true romance.
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For example, Your Stupid Face is a barbed anti-love song ("I get peace when I meditate on you being run over by a bus"). Or we have I'm Your Man which is assuredly not the salaciously seductive Leonard Cohen song. Instead, it's a checklist of all too recognizable male traits that will only appeal to women who aren't too choosy e.g. "I can play with the dog and drink too much".
Don't Think Too Much, "try to laugh instead" is his message in the closing track and Rielly's self deprecating wit will help greatly in bringing on the laughter part - the thinking bit is down to you.
D.B. Rielly's website
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