David Dondero Live At The Hemlock CD

Once upon a time, Bob Dylan was accused of writing depressing lyrics, and while he did occasionally express existential angst in his writing, his music always sounded uplifting. David Dondero's death-obsessed lyrics make Dylan's pessimism seem like a picnic in the park on a lovely spring afternoon. If the lyrics of "Living and the Dead" and "Ashes on the Highway" don't convince one that tomorrow will be even blacker than today, then Dondero and his band's musical accompaniment will. This isn't necessarily a criticism: Dondero obviously has heavy things on his mind and sees no reason to sugarcoat it. But swallowing his vision is a bitter pill. It's easy to gain the impression that the audience members present for the recording of Live at the Hemlock were being assaulted, not entertained. How else would someone, out on the town for a few drinks with friends, react to a song titled "Boulevard of Broken Hearts, Busted Dreams, Shattered Wills, Booze and Pills"? In the four minutes and 30 seconds it takes the band to deliver the piece, listeners will feel as though they've just finished reading a short story Flannery O'Connor wrote after dropping acid. When Dondero dives into politics on "Pre-Invasion Jitters," well, one is reminded of the political diatribes of the 1960s, the kind of stuff that tempts one to disagree just for the fun of it. Perhaps all of this sounds thoughtful and exciting to depressed college students, but others may want to stick with old Dylan albums. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.