Music Review - A Couple of Albums by a Man Called E

Back in the early 1990s, a couple of albums came out that ended up having a pretty huge effect on me. At the time, I was in a 3-piece band and the other members and I would turn each other on to new musical discoveries. This one came from the guitarist of said band, and since there was some inner-group tension and his time in the band was to end within the year, I wasn't really open to anything he brought along. In this case, having closed ears was a mistake, but one that was rectified when the second album came along, at which point I fully embraced the first one.

I am referring, of course, to E. Later to become the leader of Eels (which was really just E and whatever musicians he felt like using at any given time), and even later finally giving in to his own real name, Mark Oliver Everett, his first two albums were simply credited to E. The albums stirred up very little dust in the music world, and the dust settled almost immediately. And that was that. His label backing gone, those were to be his only two albums. It was only by watching some late-night TV show that I discovered Eels, when, as they took the stage and started playing, it struck me that the guy looked a lot like the guy pictured on E's albums, and he had a similar voice. Unfortunately, I didn't care at all for what I was hearing, but I went out and bought the album anyway and sure enough it was him. Some of the album grew on me, but even the songs I liked only made me miss what could have been had he stayed with the approach of his previous solo stuff.

A Man Called E (1992)

There is so much to love about this record. It's one of very few I've heard in my lifetime that I can say is almost THE perfect album. It's everything it needs to be, without trying too hard. Borrowing from some 1970s musical influences occasionally but totally unique. Great musicianship without any flashiness. Crystal clear production. A singing voice that's gravelly and unique yet warm and inviting, with amazing vocal harmonies everywhere. And every song is quirky in its way, and almost insanely catchy. This is an album I've just let play repeatedly because every time a song plays I want to hear it again, but I want to hear the next song too, and so I just let it go to the end and then start over.

There was a tiny bit of buzz generated by the debut single, "Hello Cruel World". It's a great song that sets the tone for the album nicely:

 

One of the quirks of the whole album is that the songs are generally happy-go-lucky in their musical style, but the lyrics often aren't. You get the impression that this guy has been dealt some shitty blows in life, but there's a cautious hopefulness that is sadly (if understandably) lacking in the later Eels music. "I've Been Kicked Around" would be a prime example:

 

Parthenon Huxley co-produced A Man Called E, and he also co-wrote a couple of the songs. The two of them play most of the instruments, with E playing the bulk of them. There are a few other musicians that guest here and there, but this is very much an E effort with Parthenon adding a lot of support. The songs were written by E soon after he had left his home (not long after the death of a father he barely knew, despite living with him) to move across the country to California. Stuck in a crappy little apartment he began writing and searching desperately for someone in the music biz to listen.

He was extremely depressed. Leaving what was then unknown-to-the-public personal life tragedy behind, and becoming isolated in a new world, trying to form relationships that didn't work... it wouldn't be surprising if his songs were dark enough to make you want to kill yourself listening to them. But somehow they weren't. He ultimately managed to grab the attention and support of an exec at Polydor Records and set about recording his debut. "Nowheresville" I think perfectly shows his unending hopefulness at this stage of his life:

 

The thing that impresses me the most about this album is how incredibly well-crafted it is. Even having major label backing the budget had to be fairly small. Yet the songs are filled with interesting creative touches at every turn. The entire album is worlds beyond the typical guitars-bass-drums music of the time. I wish I could share every song here, but you'll have to seek them out for yourself. It's well worth the effort. Before I leave this record and move on to the next I'll add this last example, "Mockingbird Franklin". Kind of sad, it expresses similar things I've felt about similar women I've known:

 

Broken Toy Shop (1993)

Broken Toy Shop had more of an initial impact for me, as explained in the introductory paragraph. Overall I think the first album is better, though this is a really good album as well.  I think that Parthenon Huxley's more limited role and the bringing in of outside musicians and co-writers hurts things a bit.  There are still many great songs that are well produced and well performed.  A little of the quirkiness is gone though, and some of the sadness is invading the music too.  So, it's an enjoyable listen, but you may well find yourself wanting to listen to the first album again when this one ends.

It begins in much the same way as the first, with the Huxley co-penned "Shine It All On".  Though darker, it has its similarities with "Hello Cruel World":



There are a couple very upbeat songs (for E anyway) on this collection, proportionately in contrast with their lyrics. "The Only Thing I Cared About Got Away" would be one, and the title pretty much gives the theme away.  The other is "Tomorrow I'll Be Nine" - a happy song about being an unwanted child:



I think the constant need to express his sadness gets to be a bit much at times on this album.  Yet there's still some hope in everything that saves it.  These songs are very autobiographical, if not always in exact detail, and E had obviously spiraled a little more with a recently ended relationship and further isolation from his family and the world around him.  If memory serves correct, I believe this was also the period when Parthenon's wife was sick (and ultimately passed away).  E had grown quite close to the couple and surely it's reflected in the songs as well as Huxley's limited contributions.

I will say that he relies maybe too heavily on cheap rhymes here and there.  I suspect it's to try to keep things at least a little lighthearted.  Some more happy sadness, without Huxley, in "L.A. River":



And on to a song where he finally stops pretending and lets the music reflect the feeling of the lyrics. "Permanent Broken Heart" works well and it's something of a relief to hear a sad song that's... sad.



There are other really good songs in both the happy/sad and sad/sad veins on the rest of the album.  Again, I'd put them all up here if I could but it's up to you to seek them out.  And it's still well worth the effort.  This album may lack some of the quirkiness of the first, but it has an added maturity without losing the creative crafting that made the first one so good.  And it ends with the wonderful "Eight Lives Left", a sweet song that's possibly the most hopeful lyrically of all his songs so far:



So, two great albums that hinted at more great things to come.  But...  At this point, the label exec behind his success so far was booted from the label and the new management had no use for E.  So there would be no more E albums.  E himself didn't give up, but he reinvented himself for Eels as a dark, bitter artist willing to beat you over the head with his personal tragedies.  And there were tragedies aplenty, as his sister committed suicide and his mother died, and he got married and divorced.  All very sad, yes, but the transition into the "my life sucks, let me tell you all about it, over and over" thing made it all the more sad to me that what made his first two albums so great would never happen again.  Every so often, in live settings, he'll dig up one of these early songs to perform in his new style.  And they're just not the same.  Sigh.