Dan Bern doesn’t qualify to float in the seemingly endless stream of new Dylans. He’s more like a Dylan impersonator. If the original folksters of the ’60s start making pilgrimages to tacky bars in Vegas to see stage shows, Bern will have quite a career ahead of him.
But before totally dismissing him, it’s worth listening to “Jerusalem”, one of the songs on this six-song debut EP. It showcases Bern’s most redeeming quality: a wickedly funny sense of humor. The narrator has decided to “come out” and admit that he’s the Messiah, which was an ironic twist when Bern opened several shows for Ani DiFranco last fall. “I know how I hate to wait, like even for a bus or something,” Bern sings of why he decided to reveal himself at this particular moment. He then goes on to explain the relief of having gotten it off his chest. “Dr. Nusbaum was right, he’s my therapist/He said get it out in the open.”
All the songs here feature simply voice and acoustic guitar. Of the other five besides “Jerusalem”, the only one worth honorable mention is “Talkin’ Alien Abduction Blues”, the amusing story of a close encounter. Another, “Kurt”, features the chorus, “Kennedy and Jesse James and Joan of Arc and Kurt Cobain.” I’m sure it was meant as a tongue-in-cheek parody, but it comes off sounding cheesy, as does a serious song with the Oklahoma City bombing as its motif.
Bern’s first full-length release, due out in March, hopefully will include one of the songs he performed at the DiFranco show in Seattle. It pondered whether Marilyn Monroe would still be alive if, instead of falling in love with Arthur Miller, she’d hooked up with Henry Miller, who would have taken her to Paris and eaten meals off her naked body.
