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Naked Movie Star

Naked Movie Star is the second album by the American musician Cindy Lee Berryhill, released in 1989.[2][1] Like her debut, it was released by Rhino Records.[3] Berryhill supported the album with a North American tour that included shows with Sarah McLachlan, and later, Kevn Kinney and Peter Buck.[4][5]

Production

Recorded in New York City, the album was produced by Lenny Kaye, who also played guitar on the album, credited as "Jones Beach".[6][7][8] Kaye helped Berryhill move beyond the acoustic trio sound of her first album by using jazz musicians; Berryhill was interested in working with him more for his work with Patti Smith rather than his subsequent production credits.[9][10][8] Berryhill played guitar and harmonica on Naked Movie Star.[11]

"Yipee" is a 13-minute beat poetry-inspired track.[12] "Trump" is about Donald Trump's 1980s real estate tactics.[13] "12 Dollar Motel" describes the existence of a prostitute.[13] The narrator of "Baby (Should I Have the Baby?)" contemplates an abortion.[10] "Old Trombone Routine" is about a faded musical act.[14]

Critical reception

The Washington Post wrote that Berryhill is "the most audible alumna of New York's anti-folk movement, but there's also plenty of post-punk edge and neo-Beat humor on her new Rhino album."[17] Trouser Press noted that "the first album's spirited quirkiness eventually re-emerges, complete with a new set of purposeful musical reference points."[9] The Chicago Tribune determined that "the musical diversity adds another dimension to Berryhill's terrific stories, which she tells in an arrestingly matter-of-fact voice."[12] The San Diego Union-Tribune concluded that, compared to the debut, Naked Movie Star "had a colder, more formal tone, the sound of a California kid who had strayed a long way from home."[10] LA Weekly called it "an impressive album by a distinctive artist."[18]

AllMusic wrote: "Just barely flirting with self-pity but never quite stepping over that line, thanks largely to a deflatingly self-mocking bridge that smartly punctures the overriding sense of 'woe is me,' 'What's Wrong With Me' also features the loveliest melody of Berryhill's career and a simple piano-based arrangement that makes it sound not unlike a Beach Boys ballad from the early '70s."[15]

Track listing

References

  1. ^ a b Kot, Greg (6 Apr 1989). "The folk revolt". Chicago Tribune. Tempo. p. 3.
  2. ^ "Cindy Lee Berryhill Biography by Mark Deming". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Cindy Lee Berryhill , Naked Movie Star". San Diego Magazine. Vol. 42. November 1989. p. 130.
  4. ^ Brown, Joe (14 July 1989). "'Star' Quality and a Light 'Touch'". The Washington Post. p. N22.
  5. ^ Brodeur, Scott (17 Feb 1990). "Folk Blues at the TLA by Kinney and Buck". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D6.
  6. ^ D'Agostino, John (8 Apr 1991). "Berryhill's Brand of Folk Stirs Up the Irish Music". Los Angeles Times. p. F1.
  7. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (5 Feb 1989). "Pop Eye". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 74.
  8. ^ a b Kemp, Mark (Jun 1989). "Beat Poetry". Spin. Vol. 5, no. 3. p. 16.
  9. ^ a b "Cindy Lee Berryhill". Trouser Press. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Peterson, Karla (18 Oct 1991). "Berryhill is digging her roots". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. E13.
  11. ^ Wynn, Ron (14 May 1989). "Variety Marks Distaff Musicians' Work". The Commercial Appeal. p. G3.
  12. ^ a b c Kot, Greg (1 June 1989). "Recordings". Chicago Tribune. p. 15D.
  13. ^ a b Arnold, Thomas K. (21 June 1989). "Pop Music". Entertainment Desk. Los Angeles Times. p. 2.
  14. ^ Milano, Brett (1 Jun 1989). "Cindy Lee Berryhill Naked Movie Star". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 8.
  15. ^ a b "Naked Movie Star Review by Stewart Mason". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  16. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 59.
  17. ^ Harrington, Richard (31 May 1989). "Odds and Ends". The Washington Post. p. D7.
  18. ^ Tsing Loh, Sandra (25 May 1989). "Naked Movie Star Cindy Lee Berryhill". LA Weekly. p. 100.