Discography Deep Dive/Review: Jeffery Lewis (Pt. I)
Jeffrey Lewis could beat Bob Dylan in a street fight and it wouldn't be close
You should be Listening to Jeffrey Lewis
If you know me (and let’s face it, yer reading this gobbledygook so ya probably do) then you’ve no doubt heard me mention the name Jeffrey Lewis at least a dozen and a half times
So why not once more for posterity’s sake?
He’s a singer, he’s a songwriter, he’s a comic book illustrator and author and he makes some of the best darn tootin art yer eyes ever did see
And I’m gonna talk about it damnit
And I’m gonna do it for a bit, so this thing’s gonna have to be in two parts
Anyhoo, to get some basics out of the way: Jeffrey’s from NYC and is a part of the Underground Indie and Anti-Folk scene
He’s a punk and folk music appreciator and historian who pulls inspiration from across and off the map towards realms uncharted by common folk
His words come and come and come at you in his songs until its the next song already and his words are going now
He’s effortlessly witty, funny, melancholic and politically charged
He writes-a good song, capiche?
Anyhoo Pt. II: I’m here today to rank and revel in every one of his 10 full length releases in order of least to most preferred
Preferred by whom?
Well, by me of course
As was previously stated, this is only Pt. I, so this entry will cover only the first and bottom 5 LPs
And which LPs are those, you ask?
Well-
Alright alright jeez
I was only having a little fun
No. 10 - Asides & B-Sides (2014-2018) (2023)
Jeffrey’s most recent release lands itself in last spot. Is it because I think it’s bad?
No
None of them are bad; I like them all
Which makes my job here pretty darn difficult
Some of the placements, as you’ll no doubt hear me talk about later, are within a hair’s width of each other
Some are even closer
Asides was a clear last place though
While it does contain some great songs that I love (notable standouts being “Wow and Flutter”, and “Nonsense” as well as “Guest List Song” which is this list’s first example of what I consider a pure “Jeffrey Lewis Song”—or JLS1, not to be confused with the Justice League of Superheroes) the album’s overall construction and flow are a bit ramshackle
Heyo
This is to be expected; it is a collection of A and B sides after all
Anyhoooooo, I like it, but not more than any of the other ones, mainly on account of its lack of identity and how some of the songs do feel a bit “half-baked”
It’s good though
Listen to it
Last thing before moving on: I have mixed feelings about the last track “(I Want It) Both Ways”. On one hand, I really like the story its telling, and I love ending an album with a poem. At odds with that positive opinion, the main notes I have are Jeffrey’s delivery—which is a shame, because I think he typically excels at believable song-acting. It feels a bit forced at times? Perhaps it’s the lack of music behind him, but he sounds a bit off his usual A-game. That being said I do like the song overall but the caveats are enough to bring it down
Also I’m really not a huge fan of “All the Birds in the Woods”
The Short of It:
A fine album, its lack of cohesion and the strength of its competition lands this otherwise solid entry at the bottom of the list
Favorite Track(s): “Nonsense”, “Wow and Flutter”, “Guest List Song”
Weakest Track(s): “All the Birds in the Woods”
No. 9 - The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane (2001)
Blasphemy, I know
But hear me out
Jeffrey’s first full length release, The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane sits above Asides (and it’s not particularly close) but then falls prey to the same foil what felled its younger companion:
The competition is simply too strong
Which isn’t to say Acid is a weak album
far from it
It puts what makes Jeffrey an endearing songwriter on full display, with tracks like “Seattle” giving us a lovely open-hearted introspection, and songs like the titular “The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane” showing off his humor alongside inventive arrangements
I love the album for its “rawness” but it also loses points for me on a few songs that feel more like demo’s than tracks on an album (e.g. “Amanda is a Scalape” and “The Man With the Golden Arm”)
I don’t think these are bad songs by any stretch, nor do I think they’re bad productions
They just feel a bit out of place on the album
They also pale in comparison to many of his other songs, both on and off this album
The whole thing feels a little under-baked when compared to the rest of his discography, but as a first attempt, it is absolutely a triumph and an incredible album in its own right
He’s just got a lot more better ones.
Also I’ve heard “The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song” too many times now and I’m pretty tired of it, which isn’t a knock against the song but definitely doesn’t earn the album any bunko points
The Short of It:
Jeffrey’s debut is a success in establishing his voice as an artist but lacks the oomph and consistency necessary to put it above its competitors
Favorite Track(s): “Seattle”, “The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane”, “The East River”, “Heavy Heart”, “Life”
Weakest Track(s): “Amanda is a Scalape”, “The Man With the Golden Arm”, “The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song”
No. 8 - It’s the Ones Who’ve Cracked That the Light Shines Through (2003)
From here on out it gets difficult
I’ve probably re-ordered entries 8-6 10 or 15 times at this point
And once I’ve published this I’m sure I’ll reorder them again, though I do think No. 6 will probably remain where it is
Which is to say: these are reallllly close
I love this album, and was honestly shocked to find it this low in my final ranking, but that just speaks to how strong I think the rest of the entries are (This is the last time I’ll say that I swear, just assume it’s the case for every album going forward)
Jeffrey’s sophomore release contains some of my favorite tracks… buuuutt also some of my most forgotten. It places above Acid at large part due to the noticeable improvement in production quality, while still retaining that lovely “raw” taste found in all his early albums
Inconsistency is the main reason why Cracked lands itself in 8th place; incredibly entries like “Texas” and “If You Shoot the Head You Kill the Ghoul” find themselves packed alongside less exciting fare like “Gold” and “I Saw a Hippie Girl on 8th Ave”
(Side note: I love love love the callback song “No LSD Tonight” where he complains that the popularity of his first album has garnered unwanted drug donations)
The Short of It:
Jeffrey improves on his debut, but fails to produce a consistently “great” album
Favorite Track(s): “Texas”, “If You Shoot the Head You Kill the Ghoul”, “Graveyard”, “No LSD Tonight”, “Back When I was 4”, “Arrow”
Weakest Track(s): “Gold”, “I Saw a Hippie Girl on 8th Ave”, “You Don’t Have to Be a Scientist to Do Experiments on Your Own Heart”
No. 7 - Works By Tuli Kupferberg (1923-2010)
Ah
my feelings here are still evolving; I could honestly see this album escaping the bottom 5 in no short time… but I could also say that about No. 6, so…
I think this album is consistent, creative and delivers fun and fresh takes on songs written by the late great Tuli Kupferberg2
And there lies my main point of contention:
They aren’t Jeffrey’s songs
The arrangements are incredible, the production is great but the album is lacking what can only be described as “Jeffrey Lewisness” at least when sampled alongside the others
It just… tastes different
And it doesn’t taste bad, it just doesn’t taste like a “Jeffrey Lewis Album”
Which sucks because there is maybe one weak song on the album; literally every other track slaps like nobody’s business, but I can’t—at time of recording—bring myself to put it any higher, no matter how hard I try
Without spoiling anything, there’s an album in Pt. II which is also a cover album but still tastes like Jeffrey to the point where I like it more than most of his original releases… but we’ll get there when we get there
Anyhooo, if there’s a step between 10, 9 and 8, and a scooch between 8 and 7, the space between 7 and 6 is almost nonexistent
uggghhh this is too hard
The Short of It:
A consistently funny, charming, and melancholic cover album full of songs that brim with character and love, unfortunately can’t compete with Jeffrey when he’s on his A-game
Favorite Track(s): “Life is Strange”, “Morning, Morning”, “This is a Hit Song”, “Carpe Diem”, “Love and Ashes”, “What Are You Going to Do After the Orgy?”, “I Want to Hold Your Foot”
Weakest Track(s): “Hypothalamus”
No. 6 - Manhattan
O
Manhattan holds a special place in my heart
I discovered Jeffrey via randomly hearing “Support Tours” on a Spotify binge late one evening during my sophomore year at college
I loved the song, but neglected to “like” it, and in the following months was consumed by a heated fervor as I searched and searched the annals of the interwebs for “indie song about going on tour” and “indie folk supporting tour song” and the like, but to no avail
Eventually I did find it, and for a good chunk of my time Manhattan was Jeffrey Lewis
I listened to it constantly, never willing to branch out towards potentially greener pastures for fear of his other works not being able to replicate the incredible unique flavor of joy and bittersweet melancholy that Manhattan routinely provided
Eventually did, obviously, it is only No. 6 on this list after all—though it is worth noting that the distance between No. 6 and No. 1 is a looooot smaller than the distance between No. 10 and No. 9
I love the blue
quality this album has about it in taste and texture; it’s songs cohere in such a way reminiscent of water drops on the the side window of a moving car, coming together to form a larger stronger current
More than anything, it feels like it really “knows where it’s meant to exist”
and there it sings
It is, more than any other album on this list, greater than the sum of its parts
(That said, “Thunderstorm” “Support Tours” and “Back to Manhattan” are still some of my favorite songs across any of these albums)
If I were to divide this list into two halves that weren’t predicated by having an even number of things either side, then Manhattan would belong in Pt. II
Alas
The Short of It:
A fully cohesive unit; Manhattan is consistent in its inconsistency and revels in Jeffrey’s classic formula of blue melancholy veiled thinly by wit and dry humor
Favorite Track(s): “Thunderstorm”, “Back to Manhattan”, “Support Tours”, “Avenue A, Shanghai, Hollywood”
Weakest Track(s): “Scowling Crackhead Ian”, “Outa Town”
And there we have it sports fans! Pt. I of this fun little dive into one of my favorite recording artists of all time!
Thanks for your patience with me, that little—MONTH LONG—hiatus was neither planned nor anticipated, but it was certainly called for; I was “the big overwhelmed” and needed a little less responsibility
But here we are! I hope to be back on track with these, and I’ll do my best to keep y’all posted with regards to any other schedule irregularity in the future
So anyhoo, look forward to Pt. II! I’m real excited to talk about the crème de la crème of Jeffrey’s releases (though markedly less excited to put them in a ranked order) and I hope y’all are just as excited to hear what I have to say
Thank you
I love you
Next Week?
For me—and he is for me, Jeffrey Lewis—the “Jeffrey Lewis Song” is a info-dumping diatribe into a topic on which Jeffrey has loads to say. JLSs are typified by long-form, stream-of-consciousness, essay style writing, wherein all of the choruses have variation and verses require a double-lungfull (at least) to get through. These songs also should not feel the weight of their lyrics, instead they should seem to float or barrel through with little regard for the mandiblation they necessitate. A perfect example—and indeed, the platonic ideal of JLSs—is Cult Boyfriend, which will appear in the second half of this review on an album which—no spoilers—sits a bit higher up in the ranking
Tuli Kupferberg was a founding member of The Fugs, a band who Jeffrey cites as a major influence and one of his favorites. They were also a pioneering voice in the early underground Punk and Anti-Folk scene in NYC. I’m a big fan of “Nothing” off of their First Album
Also the original version of “Life is Strange” is such a banger and is sooooo worth yer listening time