October 5, 2001
Nelson Finds Road to Success Isn't Straight
By Peter Bell, eventure!

When he first emerged from the Austin music scene in the early '90s, it was assumed that success would be more like an elevator ride for Beaver Nelson than the circular staircase it has turned out to be.

He knows that it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, and his music reflects that earned knowledge.

Beaver Nelson plays the Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, Thursday.

Dropping out of college to purse a musical career 10 years ago, Nelson's debut album, ironically titled The Last Hurrah, didn't appear until 1998. Twice he watched his label deals crumble without a record to show for it.

When The Last Hurrah finally did come out, it signaled a rebirth of Nelson's music. Two more albums, last year's Little Brother and this year's Undisturbed followed.

Listeners have compared Nelson to Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, but those who remember Marshall Crenshaw's self-titled release 20 years ago may call it a closer cousin to Nelson's music. Songs like "Eleven Again" and "Mad River" are full of the same roots-rock flavor that brought Crenshaw success in the early 80s.

That's not to say that Beaver Nelson's music is a renaissance of an earlier era. Though his influences are traditional, his lyrical sense is more modern than his predecessors'.

While Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen both focused on a narrative, storytelling style, Nelson's songwriting is less linear. For instance, the opening track on Undisturbed compares a lover with a waterway. Each verse in the song does so independently, essentially making the comparison several times but with enough subtlety to keep the track refreshing.

Consequently, Nelson's songs depend more on the unity of images they create rather than point A to point B lyricism.

So is Beaver Nelson some sort of postmodern roots-rocker? Maybe. He was a one-time literature student. But after dropping out of college at age 19 to pursue a musical career, 11 years later Beaver's prematurely grizzled appearance and his sad songs reveal he hasn't been enjoying the ivory tower lifestyle.

That doesn't mean Beaver Nelson is content to dwell on the past. His tunes are morose, but are filled with hope for the future. Now that he's gotten his career on track, looking ahead has become a recurrent theme. Lyrics like "the past as worthless as an empty mine," and "adventures only real when you don't know what's in store" emphasize the value Nelson places on that which is yet to come, as well as the de-emphasis he places on the past.

This lyric perhaps best summarizes Nelson's record deal troubles and his current career outlook: "Always looking backward makes it hard to dodge their fire, I was just left hoping one day not to be so tired."

At 30, he might be a little wise before his time, but as his recent success shows, Beaver's day may have finally come.