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At the end of the "Thanks" list
in the liner notes to "Ginger," "Alexi Lalas"
acknowledges "...everyone who takes the time to hear past
the ball." While somewhat cynical, it's probably accurate.
The first wave of people who bought this album probably did so
because of their appreciation of his skills as a soccer player,
and curiosity about his music.
However, properly marketed, Lalas' first
widely released album could probably attract a decent amount
of attention and sales. While mostly a collection of generic-sounding
pop songs, the set doesn't fare badly at all when compared to
music on radio stations today. While there's a good bit of Hootie-ness
in Lalas' music, it's positively tainted with harsher edges.
Although a bit of punk influence breaks through the veneer of
a well-updated 80's pop sound occasionally, a number of the songs
on "Ginger" wouldn't sound too out of place if played
during a "flashback lunch" or on a station dedicated
to the music of previous decades.
While Lex Lianos handles all the percussion
on the album, Lalas does most of the rest of the work himself.
Other than "additional guitar" parts done by Martin
Crotty on three songs, Lalas is responsible for all guitar, vocal
and, apparently, bass work on "Ginger," in addition
to having written all the songs and lyrics.
For the most part, Lalas has done pretty
good work. With the exception of a couple of duds ("Vacancy"
comes to mind), "Ginger" is a collection of decent,
reasonably catchy pop songs, helped along by a well-mixed production
job courtesy of Gregg Archilla. Alexi's guitar work is suitably
up front, without ever overwhelming the supporting instruments.
A few individual songs stand out, for various
reasons. "Pop School" is a musically low-key, lyrically
funny/pathetic tale about a fictional trip to rock and roll school,
in which the protagonist "went to pop school to learn to
be a Rock 'n Roll star," but ended up a pop school nerd,
"failing Image 101." "Sonic Lullaby" shows
off the aforementioned punk edge nicely, while "Pretty Mess"
deals with the aftermath of wasted opportunity - "You made
a break and slammed the door/And you never looked back again/Hey,
hey, hey, just another cliche/ Too much too fast then it slips
away."
The best song, however, is "Drive-By
Serenade." Beginning with the great imagery-producing title,
to the lyrics telling about the cynicism that sets in after the
disintegration of a relationship. "Trusts betrayed and wreaths
are laid/ It's just another drive-by serenade/ But it don't move
me anymore." This song succeeds on all levels.
Overall, "Ginger" isn't a bad
label debut from one of the most recognizable athletes in the
world. If some of the acts currently on the radio can succeed
in the business, I'd say "Alexi Lalas" has something
to fall back on after his soccer playing days come to an end. |
