Beginning with her 1996 solo debut Diary Of A Mod Housewife, Amy Rigby has released five solo albums that examine the balance between romance and domesticity with sparkling wit and a kind of goofy charm. In the hands of a lesser artist, this methodology might have become a shtick by now, but Rigby’s talents are such that she’s never at a loss to see fresh nuances in her chosen themes.
On Little Fugitive, Rigby continues to frame her wry observations in the sort of pop-perfect melodies that once reigned on AM radio. On the opener “Like Rasputin”, a cheesy synthesizer figure, a marching beat and a sing-along chorus work together beautifully as Rigby likens her hard-knocks resilience to Rasputin’s legendary refusal to die. Similarly, “Dancing With Joey Ramone” weds a vintage girl-group arrangement to a Ramones-like three-chord bluster, and more than does justice to both styles.
Elsewhere Rigby moves gingerly into more adventurous territory. “So You Know Now”, the album’s most ambitious song, draws from the Beatles’ psychedelic period in much the same way Sam Phillips did on her 1994 album Martinis And Bikinis. And on “Needy Men”, Rigby tosses New Orleans street-corner jazz accents of banjo and clarinet into a showtune-like pop ditty.
Still, Rigby’s primary strength remains her lyrical gift for piercing life’s everyday frustrations with little darts of poignancy and humor. That’s never clearer than on “The Trouble With Jeanie”, a song that turns the cliché about disliking a spouse’s “ex” on its head. “I even tried to hate her like I thought I should,” Rigby sings, “But since we met she’s been nothing but good…How can I pick up where she left off?” Such generosity of spirit that lies at the heart of Rigby’s art.
