Marshall Crenshaw 12: What’s In The Bag?

Even with the support of such an artist-centric label as Razor & Tie, Marshall Crenshaw wasn’t exactly prolific in the 21st century. The wonderfully titled acoustic live album I’ve Suffered For My Art… Now It’s Your Turn appeared in 2001, and another two years went by before he emerged with What’s In The Bag?

It’s off to a slow start with the lonesome waltz of “Will We Ever?”, followed by the subtle post-9/11 pondering in “Where Home Used To Be”. A straight cover of Prince’s “Take Me With U” features help from Mary Lee’s Corvette and picks up the pace, continued on the mildly galloping “From Now Until Then”. “Despite The Sun” is an elaborate one-man-band instrumental with a mildly cinematic swagger and some surprisingly screaming guitar. And despite its relatively low-key approach, “The Spell Is Broken” is classic Crenshaw.

He also plays most of “A Few Thousand Days Ago”, and he’s gotten either hold of a decent drum machine or just better at playing the real thing. “Long And Complicated” is only half-accurate, alternating between darker verses and sunnier choruses. The album’s other cover is Bootsy Collins’ oft-sampled “I’d Rather Be With You”, and he manages to pull it off, particularly when followed by the seduction of “Alone In A Room”. And “AKA A Big Heavy Hot Dog” is another snappy one-man instrumental with a melody we wish we could place that just ends.

There’s not a lot of jangle on What’s In The Bag?, and while it would be obvious to say he’d gotten older, that shouldn’t suggest he’d slowed down at all. He’s got excellent support from a rotating pool of musicians throughout—especially Greg Leisz on pedal steel—and it’s just as pleasant as anything else he’s done.

Marshall Crenshaw What’s In The Bag? (2003)—3