I like the sound of Bob Frank. And I don't just mean his voice, which is pretty good - most of the time - in a warm and fuzzy kind of way. No, what I'm referring to is his sense of humour. Here's guy who doesn't take himself or his songs too seriously.
To see what I mean just click along to his website and immerse yourself in his self-deprecating wit. The first thing you are greeted with is an admonition that you've stumbled across "the website of one of the most obscure singer songwriters on the planet". If that wasn't bad enough, you're enveloped in confusion with the very next grandiose statement: "Here's a guy whose songs have passed into the American sub-culture without ever having been on the radio or TV. Actually, that's not true." Well is it or not? How can such an obscure guy have influenced the American nation so profoundly? How obscure is he, after all? Ah…the answer to that one lies a few paragraphs further down: "Bob's dad always told him, 'Whatever you do, son, do it better than anybody else.' So when Bob decided to do obscurity, he didn't fool around. He became so obscure, he couldn't find his own shoes. That's why the only pictures you ever see of him, he's always barefoot."
It might be nonsense, but it's funny nonsense and it certainly goes a long way to helping me understand Mr. Frank and his music. I think. I mean, the first time I heard 'Keep on Burning' (now, there's a funny title for a start!) I thought he was being serious. I thought the song 'Judas Iscariot' about Jesus Christ smoking dope and smuggling women out of the house was not short of blasphemous. The second time I heard it, I thought Bob guilty of being drunk in charge of a reel-to-reel machine (and well he may have been) and on the third hearing, I got the joke. And, it's a good one; if a little warped.
Another quality he has, is warmth. In buckets. Bob Frank comes across as a guy who loves life, even though it might not be always good to him. I mean, one girlfriend runs off to Arkansas ('When the Midway Came to Town') and another won't eat her dinner because she's about to dump him over the pasta ('Break My Heart Again'). But he sings of his heartbreak with a smile in his voice and some clever rhymes that made me smile right along with him.
This is a collection of home-spun songs that explore a wide range of themes and musical influences (I could swear I heard whispers of Frankie Lane, the Mavericks AND Cher in there, somewhere!). He sings of lost love, the American Civil War, the death of Jesus Christ, trucks and much more. The voice is not always as strong as it could be, and wavers now and then, but once Bob's got you under his spell, it barely matters.
That said, I do prefer to hear this CD as demo of songs from an obviously talented writer, rather than a virtuoso singer's outstanding performance. In my humble opinion (OK, not-so-humble), the aforementioned 'Break My Heart Again' has the potential to be a major commercial hit. It's a lovely ballad, with a very catchy hook. I think it needs a little work on one or two dodgy chord changes, and clumsy food lyrics, that were a bit 'hard to swallow' (sorry), but overall it's strong song. However, I do hope Bob Frank will understand when I say that if it does go to number one, he's unlikely to be singing it himself.
Bob Frank is an interesting and enjoyable songwriter with some things to say that are worth hearing. I hope, for his sake, that he finds a way of helping more people hear him. No matter how obscure this man wants to be...it's not what he deserves.
