Dan Sartain - Lives (One Little Indian, 2010)

By Anita Papsmear

My first introduction to Dan Sartain (pronounced “Sar”: as in, “I have SARS,” and “tain”: as in, “I am not sane”) was hearing the song “Ruby Carroll” on the local college station. I immediately googled, then iTunes’d “Lives,” his third commercial release. I wasn’t disappointed – the rest of the disc was great. Instantly familiar, it’s a stripped-down, indie-rockabilly gem with a clash of uber-cool influences coming together to form one of the best releases of 2010. At times, reminiscent of Chris Isaak’s early work, of which, Dan gives a nod to Isaak with a fab cover of Chris’s “Voodoo.” It’s organic with nothing over-produced, sometimes wandering into a muddier Stooges’s flavor that instantly feels like home. This CD may get overlooked, but it truly should be sought out. Dan is a multi-talented musician – do not be too fooled by his thin, full-lipped good looks. His lyrics are direct and smart and he sits on the fence between ‘street cool cred’ and ‘should be huge.’ Check out “Ruby Carroll” (track 7) first. Then, go to track one and press ‘play.’ Short, catchy, well manicured pop-a-billy hits. The disc also contains some remixes, which are well worth it.

“Lives” is a 15 song (including remixes) extravaganza that would be a perfect soundtrack to your graphic novel.

Some fav track notes:

#2. A Gary Glitter inspired drum beat – catchy as anything – without the Glitter child porn to go with it.
“Don’t mess around, I’ll call the whole gang”

#3. Originally produced and released by Jack White thru Third Man Records. Pure pop perfection.

#4. A light-hearted jangle possessing a definite rock-a-billy heart, tinged with a bit of Siouxsie/Cure charm; it lures you into its musical web.

#5. With a flair toward Ennio Morricone – this one’s pretty great.
“Well I found out, what it meant
To really earn a dollar, and to scream instead of holler
And to lead instead of follow
And I found out, they were right
The man who'll rob your eyes to see
And it's all in front of me
And the truth won't set you free
Well I found out, what it meant
To walk among the cobras and, to really be alone
Well I found out, what it's worth
For a girl to say 'I love you' and 'God bless the stars above you'”

#6. Just try to google the lyrics to this song; every site I could find has the lyrics for “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” by Steely Dan, circa 1974. Weird…

#7. It’s a masterpiece!

#8. Instant hit!! A bit of a guitar snake charmer that looks at god, the devil and other options – great.
“We die, I know
and we all must go…
but to heaven, or hell
don’t you speak about god at my funeral
c’mon to my atheist funeral”

#14. Mix of track 6, muddy and great.

On another note – check out Dan Sartain’s myspace page – there’s a great :58 second tune called, “Fuck Friday, Fuck Saturday, Fuck Sunday (Fuck You)”.


5 out of 5 smears! Faithfully submitted by Anita Papsmear