Graham Parker and the Rumour – 鈥楾hree Chords Good鈥�
Over the holidays, I had the opportunity to catch the new Judd Apatow movie 鈥淭his Is 40.鈥�
I was pleasantly surprised to find that British rocker Graham Parker sported a role by playing himself. I was shocked to also see his longtime band joining him in the film since they parted ways after 鈥淭he Up Escalator.鈥�
鈥淭hree Chords Good鈥� is the first album featuring both Parker and the Rumour in 31 years. It鈥檚 the band鈥檚 sixth effort.
Immediately after watching the movie, I grabbed Parker鈥檚 latest release, curious to hear the musical fruit of the reunion. I first saw the band back in 1979 as the opening act for Journey.
It was my 14th birthday and a buddy of mine decided to treat me to the show at the Stanley Theater.
Parker was touring in support of the 鈥淪queezing Out Sparks鈥� album and played his angry young man persona to the letter. I was a huge fan of Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson at the time, so Parker proved to be a logical fit for my musical taste.
On 鈥淭hree Chords Good,鈥� Parker is still in fine voice while keyboardist Bob Andrews, guitarists Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont, bassist Andrew Brodner and drummer Steve Goulding show no signs of rust as they crank out a collection of songs that sound as fresh and relevant as the ones I heard as a teenager.
While Parker is no longer as angry and irritated as he was in his younger days, he still writes timely and emotional arrangements like 鈥淎rlington鈥檚 Busy,鈥� 鈥淐oathangers鈥� and 鈥淟ast Bookstore in Town.鈥�
Highlights include the title track, 鈥淪top Cryin鈥� About the Rain鈥� and the rousing 鈥淎 Lie Gets Halfway 鈥楻ound the World鈥︹��
Along with the new album, Parker also features two songs on the soundtrack of 鈥淭his Is 40.鈥�
Other artists such as Lindsey Buckingham, Norah Jones, Fiona Apple and Loudon Wainwright III also contribute new songs for the movie.
Rumor has it that a reunion tour is in the works. When Parker hits Pittsburgh this time around, I鈥檒l be in attendance just like 34 years earlier. Only difference being that I can now drive myself as opposed to having to take the bus. This is 48.