By JAY ROBERTS

The Cassette Chronicles is a continuing series of mini reviews and reflections on albums from the 1980’s and 1990’s. The aim of this series is to highlight both known and underappreciated albums from rock, pop and metal genres from this time period through the cassette editions of their releases. Some of the albums I have known about and loved for years, while others are new to me and were music I’ve always wanted to hear. There will be some review analysis and my own personal stories about my connection with various albums. These opinions are strictly my own and do not reflect the views of anyone else at Limelight Magazine.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE – BRAVE AND CRAZY (1989)

My first memories of hearing the music of Melissa Etheridge came from hearing two songs from her self-titled first album on the local radio station. I can’t remember if I heard them on the stations regular programming or if it was through a specialty radio show broadcast they aired, but I know that when I heard the songs “Similar Features” and “Bring Me Some Water”, I was pretty damn intrigued.

Right from the start, her material was rocking and those early comparisons to Springsteen were at least in the ballpark of being accurate. But the funny thing is that I never got around to buying the first album until after I had picked up the Brave and Crazy album, which is her second studio release. I don’t know what the reason might have been for me not picking up that first album but considering I own the album on cassette and a 2 disc deluxe edition CD edition as well, I’d say I more than made up for that oversight.

But for me, the fandom for Etheridge’s music really got kicked into high gear with this album. And by fandom, I mean going to six concerts (including one that saw Aerosmith’s Joe Perry come out during the encore cover of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”), spending a year in a fantasy football league made up entirely of her fans, buying a ton of concert CDs and rare demos and more. What can I say? I just really was digging the music she was putting out for a while there. Plus, since I really like singer-songwriters who have an uncanny ability to tell a story, are handy with a turn of phrase and still manage to rock out, how could I not become a fan?

As for the Brave and Crazy album itself, the album kicked off with the song “No Souvenirs”. It was the first of two singles released from the album and while neither one made a dent in the singles chart back then, the song still resonates strongly tonight.

The track kicks off with Etheridge singing the first line a capella before the music kicks in and then it’s a solidly uptempo rocker that has great lyrics and a catchy hook.

The other single released from the album is the song “You Can Sleep While I Drive” and this song amply demonstrates Etheridge’s ability to tell a story. It’s got a fantastic set of lyrics that help convey the listener on the journey the song takes with the two people that feature in the song. It remains a personal favorite for me even now.

The song “The Angels” has a rising / falling pace to it. The main lyrical passages are a bit slower but when the chorus kicks in, the tempo picks up as does the power level in the vocal performance. You can kind of say similar things about the song “You Used To Love To Dance”, but I do like that song more thanks to a killer lyrical chorus.

The first time I ever heard the album’s title track, I have to say that I wasn’t quite into it. But over the ensuing decades, I’ve come to love the “Brave and Crazy” song a lot. There’s more of a funky vibe to the music overall. It’s still got a lively pacing but the bass line from Kevin McCormick gives the song a whole different vibe. I love the way Etheridge’s vocals came out on this track. You’ve got a mix of a playful tone to the delivery but as the pace increases over the song’s run time, you also get more of a rock yelp mixed in at times too.

One of the reasons that Brave and Crazy has remained a personal favorite for me besides the amalgation of great songs is that the album has one of my all-time favorite Melissa Etheridge songs on it.

In fact, it is that song “Testify” that opens up the second side of the album. I’ve never bothered to look online to find out what the story is behind the song (the one song on the album that Melissa Etheridge didn’t write solo. McCormick has a co-write credit for it) but I’m sure what I took out of it was entirely opposite of its real meaning. Still, the way this song hit me back then and still remains able to do that when I hear it in the here and now is something that amazes me.

The song ranges in pace from mid-to-uptempo and the lyrics made me sit up and take notice for some reason when I first heard it. I love the opening line “Mornings hard/coffee’s cold/pretending that the days mean more than getting old”. I know it doesn’t seem like much on its own but in the context of the full set of lyrics, it was one of many great lines that caught my attention.

At the start of “Let Me Go”, Etheridge’s vocals have a huskier tone while the song is getting warmed up. As the tempo increases to more of a rocking and gritty vibe, the vocals become more clear cut and declarative. The song’s bass line is more upfront in the mix giving the track a different feel too.

The song “My Back Door” sees Etheridge mining the past for a set of reflective lyrics. The music right at the start is more measured, albeit still upbeat. As the song hits its chorus, the pace increases again to turn the song into more of a rocker. I would venture to say the song “Skin Deep” is constructed in a similar kind of way. The vocals here are great as they are seemingly fitted to the message/tone of the lyrics in a nice bit of symmetry.

The album closing “Royal Station 4/16” is another “story” song. I remember either hearing or reading interviews back when the album came out about how the song was written when Melissa Etheridge was in London and looking out over a train yard or something like that. I’m not sure if that’s completely accurate as the memory fades, but what I liked about this song is the way the pace seems to mirror the way a train would start off on its journey. A bit slow at the start with kind of a shuffle or hesitation as it gets underway before it hits the stride and is fully off and running. It is also quite fitting that a train song would take the listener on a journey, especially with this track’s extended outro. As the last song on the album, I found the last line in the main lyrics being “I say goodbye” to be a perfect way to finish things off.

For me, the first five Melissa Etheridge albums are stone cold classic releases that still thrill me whenever I put them on. And Brave and Crazy is a big part of that thrill. It remains a great reminder of just how much I have loved Etheridge’s music over the years. She turned out some damn fine rock and roll over the first five albums and they still manage to keep me entertained all these years later. I can’t think of a better recommendation than that.

NOTES OF INTEREST: According to the album’s Wikipedia page, the Brave and Crazy album has achieved platinum status in the U.S., Canada and Australia. It has gone gold in New Zealand.

U2’s Bono plays harmonica on the album’s closing song “Royal Station 4/16”.

Country artist Trisha Yearwood included a cover of “You Can Sleep While I Drive” on her album Thinkin’ About You in 1995. She had more success on the country charts with the song (it reached #23) than Etheridge did on the mainstream chart.