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Fall, 1998
Beaver Nelson—The Last Hurrah
Brian Baker, Music Reviews Quarterly
It might be a surprise that The Last Hurrah has finally
arrived, with Austin singer/songwriter Beaver Nelson's
bad luck with label deals. At the tender age of 20, he had
signed a contract with Columbia that ultimately came to
nothing. Forging ahead after that disappointment, Nelson
recorded an entire album (with bassist Tony Scalzo and
drummer Joey Shuffield, now with buzz bin
alternadarlings Fastball) that was slated for release
through Epic, which was shelved. It's been six years
since that last debacle, and no one could blame Nelson
for being bitter and cynical about the industry and his
career, but it doesn't seem to have much of an impact on
The Last Hurrah. With free rein at cool indie Freedom
Records, Nelson has chosen to populate his album with a
who's who of local talent and has produced an album of
wry and oddly upbeat songs.
It's no surprise that Nelson has co-written a track here
with Jules Shear, himself one of America's best (and
least known) songwriters. On Too Much Moonlight,
and elsewhere, Nelson sounds like an alt.country of
Shear fronting any combination of Wilco or the
Bottlerockets. His voice is thin and trebly and
emotionally perfect without being technically correct, and
completely appropriate for his weary tales of lost love
and hard knocks. With vocal and instrumental help from
Gurf Morlix, Champ Hood, Michael Fracasso, and Toni
Price, Nelson, along with producer/secret instrumental
weapon Scrappy Jud Newcomb, has crafted a delightfully
dry homage to the spirit of his songwriting hero, the late
Townes Van Zandt. The brittle irony of Strong As I
Look is balanced with the Stonesy testosterone growl of
Stray Dog, which is further triangulated with the
Band-like hope of Things Get Shaky 'Round
Midnight. Although Nelson works on several different
sonic canvases, the overall picture that he creates is
cohesive and consistent. Beaver Nelson has waited a
long time to push his debut out into the world. It would be
rude to ignore him at this point.
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