Umm ... Drop

MUSIC

Jim Boggia

By Doug Wallen

Add Comment | Comments: 5 | Posted Jul. 30, 2008

photo by michael persico

Lots of songwriters are happy to wear their influences on their sleeves. Jim Boggia does that and then some, casually recruiting music legends to play on his albums. The habit may blur the line between pals, peers and heroes, but it's hard to complain when Aimee Mann stops by. She guested on 2005's Safe in Sound, a high-profile follow-up to 2001's Fidelity Is the Enemy. So did Emitt Rhodes, Jill Sobule, the MC5's Wayne Kramer and Pete Thomas, who drummed for years with Elvis Costello & the Attractions.

On Boggia's new headphone-popping platter Misadventures in Stereo he co-wrote "Chalk One up for Albert's Side" with Tony Asher, known to Beach Boys fanatics as the lyricist of that Holy Grail of lush '60s pop Pet Sounds. Boggia's ringing, stinging pop also relies on immaculate structure and relatable melancholy, and he's such a record nerd that the self- released Misadventures includes a vinyl edition in mono (title be damned). Other guests include NRBQ's Big Al Anderson--on, appropriately, "Listening to NRBQ"--and songwriter/producer David Poe, who co-wrote the breathy, pensive "On Your Birthday."

Wed., Aug. 6, 7:30pm.
$16. With Ben Arnold.
World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.
215.222.1400.
www.worldcafelive.com

There's more to Boggia than a '60s fixation and talented friends. He caps Misadventures with the emotionally raw "Three Weeks Shy," a nearly seven-minute portrait of a fallen Iraq War soldier that finds Boggia roughing up his studied vocals as horns swell and piano twinkles in the backdrop. He's roaring by the middle but then steps back to make room for the gradually deflating instrumentation and a clip of deceased soldiers' names being read at a press conference.

Whether solo or with Philly's defunct singer/ songwriter team-up 4 Way Street, Boggia has always been admired for his lively, funny, off-the-cuff live shows. Armed with this latest batch of smart, mature tunes, he should be more dynamite than ever.