Having parted ways with Koch Records after three studio albums and an anthology, Amy Rigby returns with a live solo CD available through her website. Recorded between 1999 and 2002, I’ve Got The World On A Broken String contains sixteen Rigby originals plus covers of Mo Tucker’s “Spam Again” and Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding”.
Older songs such as “Balls” and the newer “I Have Every Bone In Her Body” deal with the frustrations of romance and gain a playfulness from Rigby’s interaction with the audience. “Give The Drummer Some”, a love/hate song about percussionists, includes a spoken interlude of drummer jokes. (“How can you tell when the drum riser is level? The drool comes out equally on both sides of Tommy Lee’s mouth.”)
But Rigby’s songwriting goes beyond one-liners. A single mother in her mid-40s, she tackles such issues as aging (“Invisible”) and making ends meet in a thrift shop (“As Is”) that set her apart from her contemporaries.
She tempers her cynicism and despair on “Don’t Ever Change”, another new song, in which she confesses, “I’m holding on to everything that’s good in this world.” If there’s any justice, she should be holding on to a new record deal soon.
