Bill Bachmann has been rubbing elbows with some of this country’s best songwriters and holding his own. He’s opened for Dave Van Ronk and the incredible talents of Steve Goodman, both gone too soon from this earth, and shredded his share as lead guitarist with George Gerdes and His all-Male Vegetarian Orchestra, the Rod MacDonald Band, Paul Siebel (“Louise” that’s been recorded by everybody including Bonnie Raitt), Klezmer clarinetist/newgrass mandolinist Andy Statman, and David Massengill (“On the Road to Fairfax County,” recorded by the Roches and Joan Baez).

However, it is Bachmann’s wit with a lyric that has caused more of a stir than his undeniable skills at guitar. His clever song, “Vacation,” has been recorded by Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplanski, Christine Lavin, and others and was included in a Smithsonian Folkways Recordings CD called “Fast Folk,” along with material from folk legend Dave Van Ronk.

That song also is included in Bachmann’s debut solo CD, Big World Out There, which showcases this songwriter’s way with words. The album is a mix of some very clever and extremely funny tunes mixed with only one or two more sensitive songs. There are great vocals by Bachmann and Alyssa Bachmann who sings on five songs, including “Vacation.” And, of course, there is a large helping of Bachmann’s signature, extremely tight guitar work.

The album begins with the title track, a tune about music that’s almost a prelude to the CD or maybe an intro to one of his live shows.  Then, it moves into what could be a real downer, “Just Shoot Me I Hate My Life I Wish I’d Never Been Born Blues,” but is saved from angst by a terrific slide guitar and some pretty absurd blues images that are heavy on hyperbole, serving up blues that is bigger than life, but with a twist. 

Still on a somber note, Bachmann serves up “Bad Blood,” a waltz tune about tortured relationships, as he sings: “Bad blood never runs down the drain/It just circles around/leaving rings that can stain you with love.”

What follows this are a series of songs, moving between the upbeat and absurd to the thoughtful. Among the funny tunes is “Closet Closet,” another blues parody, but very light and stuffed full of puns about a closet. “Vacation”is one of these lighter tunes. It starts out as a spelling song where each letter of the word Vacation is highlighted, then it moved into an alphabet song. The whole thing is done up jug band fashion with a kazoo.

“This Band Was Your Band” relies heavily on the Woody Guthrie tune, “This Land Is Your Land,” to carry the lyrics that are about the Beatles. The introduction, though very nice, doesn’t have much connection with Woody’s melody so I wondered why it was even added. It could have been made into an entirely different song. 

Another absurd song is “Giant Can of Paint,” a fun, bluegrass song that must have been taken from the Sherwin-Williams paint logo of a giant can of paint pouring over the world.  In this one, the singer talks about now his grass has turned blue and that has all sorts of other connotations.

Two other novelty songs are “So Much Time, So Little To Do,” a clever look at laziness with a jug band feel, and “This Song Is Called This Song Is Called,”a bluegrass tongue-twister, rife with puns, with Bachmann on mandolin and Alyssa offering up lively backup vocals.

And then there is “Reds That Cincinnati Came to See,” that has slick guitar fingerwork and is a study on the word Red.  The tune is based on “Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me,”

Bachmann does know how to handle more serious subjects.  “A More Perfect Union” is a love song to America with harmonica and a synthesizer that sounds at times like a chorus and like a piano at other times.  “The Ballad of Townes Van Crier and Pasqualina” is a country talking blues with a lot of  song  references embedded into the lyrics, and “One Great Date” is again a clever look at a relationship.

While “It Won’t Be Long” offers an apocalyptic tune, it unfortunately isn’t as well delivered vocally as his other work on the album. But it is “Upstate Towns” that seems to be a real diversion from the other material on this album. It is a very moody, sometimes almost Spanish, theatrical piece, that is so different it is glaring in its uniqueness. 

I really appreciated Bill Bachmann’s guitar work and his skill as a songwriter in Big World Out There. I did feel, though that some of the work may have been overproduced slightly and some of the songs may have been overwritten. I’ve always felt that the best songwriters are those who can bridge the chasm between novelty and seriousness. For example, Jimmy Buffet and Brent Burns, who both have made their living playing to live crowds who come to have a good time and not to have to think, have been able to step back from that and produce a song that doesn’t need lyrical gimmicks such as “Come Monday” (Buffet) or “Build Them a House” or “No Cane, No Pain” (both by Burns).

My guess is Bachmann does his best work naked with few bells and whistles in what you would see in a live show.

Reviewed By Janie Franz

Janie Franz, Reviews Big World Out There, Bill Bachmann