Hang In There With Me is the latest solo album by Amy Rigby recorded at her home studio in upstate New York that she shares with her husband Wreckless Eric who helped produce the album, earlier in her career Amy was in Last Roundup and The Shams.
The album opens with Hell-Oh Sixty about the joys or otherwise of growing older and seeing everything you hoped would be good turn to shit, the thought that you would be dead before you were thirty, yet somehow here you are just about to be Sixty, this rings rather true for this 59 year old reviewer, the swooning guitar helps make the iconic birthday seem more bearable, certainly than the alternative.
Too Old To Be So Crazy yeah still going for it, still out doing crazy stuff with a buzzing guitar, wondering why your still in thrall to the chase, in love with life and what it can bring, the sparing percussion and keyboards help things along.
Oh Anjali is a plaintive folk song for a friend whose dad died too soon in his fifties, you wonder why life is so hard, can you just hang in there with Amy.
Dylan In Dubuque is a real life tale of a Dylan gig that went horribly wrong in Iowa in the 90's, that lacked any real security, so was full of stage invaders and stage diving, some most un Dylan fan like behaviour, apparently Bobby just carried on like it was normal, he's ready for you and will just carry on singing regardless, just whatever you do don't tread on his boots, the guitars have a wonderfully cataclysmic ending.
Requiem is hoping by the time your race is run you will have achieved something, made some great art, or created something wonderful, life's mysteries explored with chiming guitars.
Bangs has Amy begging to have Bangs like the ones Julie Christie has in Shampoo given to her by Warren Beatty, this has a minor key folky feel until Marianne Faithful turns up in her leathers, the girl on that Motorbike and the guitar lets rip a bit. The last half minute or so of the outro is like they have gone all Crazy Horse on the song.
The Farewell Tour is something artists of a certain age start to believe is true of each and every tour they go on, a thought that rings far truer for Amy, she was playing with David Olney at his final gig, when he died mid song on stage in January 2020 in Sant Rosa Florida at the 30A Songwriters festival.
Bad In A Good Way is for all those people who aren't totally bad, just do a few bad things along the way, you know we can all be cads at one time or another, they might have put it about a bit more than normal, this is wistful for times gone by and the stuff we all got up too.
Bricks is a breakup song for someone won't take the hint, despite the restraining order, so let her build her own patio and get on with enjoying life.
Heart Is A Muscle is a driving urgent song for the joy that your heart is still pumping and you can enjoy some proper Ray Manzarek style organ still.
The album closes with Last Nights Rainbow a rather familiar sounding song dreaming about the rainbow you saw last night, with burnished vocals and ever so slightly down at heel guitars to leave you wanting to hear more.
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