(Bar/None)

www.bar-none.com

If Marshall Crenshaw and Elvis Costello decided to pool their talents and take on part time jobs at the helm of America - the band, not the country that is - then the end result would probably sound a lot like Freedy Johnston.  The tragedy is that after untold albums over the past couple of decades, Freedy's still relegated to simply being a cult favorite whose overall popularity hasn't ever come close to that claimed by his peers.  Once again ensconced on Bar/None, the label that launched him prior to his major label fling with Elektra, he's back with his first album of new material in eight years, offering any and all who are unawares an opportunity to make up for lost time and correct the injustice that the guy never got his due.

Of course, the proof's in the music and Rain On The City is one of those records where there's no let-up in terms of quality or consistency.  As is his habit, Johnston imbues his richly textured melodies with more than a hint of heartbreak, evoking a feeling of wistful melancholia in "Lonely Penny," "Don't Fall In Love With A Lonely Girl," "Central Station" and the title track. What's more, he adds a lithe touch in his tempos, conveying a cocksure swagger with "Livin; Too Close To The Rio Grande" ("Between my wife, my ex and the government/I've never met a dollar that wasn't spent..."), a soft sway with "The Devil Raises Her Own" and even a semblance of a samba via the immeasurably endearing "The Kind of Love We're In." 

Subtly embellished with a lonely trumpet here, a hint of pedal steel there, these are the kind of songs that reflect a keen sense of pop perception with a most assured execution.

Standout tracks: "The Kind of Love We're In," "Central Station," "Don't Fall In Love With A Lonely Girl" LEE ZIMMERMAN

Check out a track from the album, "Don't Fall In Love With A Lonely Girl" - you'll dig it, sez Uncle Blurt!