Tommy Stinson - Village Gorilla Head

I’ve always thought it was a bit cruel to compare a musician’s solo work to the work that he/she did with their most famous affiliation, but come on folks, it would be irresponsible journalism for me to review Tommy Stinson’s solo album Village Gorilla Head without thinking of his time with The Replacements. And whether or not it’s cruel, it’s inevitable. Unfortunately, despite tight musicianship and some really intelligent lyrics, Stinson’s solo effort ends up tasting a bit like vanilla. It’s not bad at all, and in fact has a few really nice moments (good harmonies on “Without a View;” edgy enthusiasm on “Couldn’t Wait;”), but most of the record just doesn’t give me that feeling in the pit of my gut that I have come to expect from him. One exception to this might be the title track, which is an anomaly in terms of style on the record. Evoking an almost Portishead-like ambiance (“Wandering Star” to be precise), “Village Gorilla Head” is not the kind of song I would have expected one-time bassist of one of the most important rock bands of my youth to produce. But there it is in all its dark and sultry glory. On this record, it seems like Stinson tries on every musical style he can think of, from driving rock songs reminiscent of his old band to Dylanesque ballads to pseudo-ambient pop, in an attempt to find something that fits. It leaves me remembering the phrase “Jack of all trades; master of none.” There’s not much to really sink your teeth into on this record, which is a real shame because I was totally pulling for Stinson to pull it off. It’s listenable, but not inspiring in the way I had hoped it would be. Seems like despite some really thoughtful songwriting and talented musicianship on Village Gorilla Head, Stinson will ever be able to top what he did with The Replacements. And I guess that’s just the way it is. [www.tommystinson.com]