Bushnells Turtle is Minneapolis musician Joe Faheys second solo release after 2006s well received solo debut Tote Bag. After a few listens it becomes apparent that while Joe Fahey is a talented singer songwriter with a sack full of great material, hes a little confused as to how to get it out.
Thats not to say that theres not some fantastic tunes on this CD its just that it doesnt gel together as a great album should. Heres a case in point: track two is Resolution, a lolloping, stroppy stroll of a song which wouldnt be out of place on a Violent Femmes B side. Next up is Half Full, which Fahey clearly pinched out of Peter Bucks notebook one afternoon (and which contains the killer line: I love you in the present, in the past and in the future tense.) Its a little too jumpy, a little too in awe of its influences to be original. At one point we even get to a kind of Ritchie Blackmore moment on the 80s rock influenced Mark of the Wolf. Nothing at all wrong with throwing the kitchen sink at a project but ultimately it needs to feel right. And this doesnt quite.
However, a fair amount of sharp humour is a real bonus with a number of the tracks being evidence of a rapier wit being honed. I Could Not Steal Her Heart (So I Stole Her Car) is, while being morally dubious and abhorrent to Daily Mail readers, a lovely laid back heartfelt strum while The Art of Happiness Blues (Even the Dalai Lama Wants to Kick Your Ass) has to be the best case of bracketing a title Ive ever come across.
One major flaw of the album is the editing process. At least three of the fifteen tracks here could have been ditched to make it a crisper, leaner effort, particularly the annoying pub rock of The Camel Watusi and the pleasant but pointless Breakfast With the Loudbeaks.
Somewhere within the fifteen tracks on this CD, a fantastic album is trying to get out. Joe Fahey certainly has the licks and the talent, he just needs to pull it all together as a cohesive whole and he could really make waves.