Todd Snider, The Excitement Plan

I don't know... maybe I was just in a sour mood when I started listening, but I had a moment of unease during the second song on Todd Snider's new album The Excitement Plan. I'm a Snider fan, but the record just wasn't starting out on a strong note for me. Then the third song started. "Great American Pastime" tells the likely-true story of baseball's Dock Ellis on the day he pitched a no-hitter for the Pittsburg Pirates against the San Diego Padres in 1970 while experiencing the effects of the LSD he'd taken earlier in the day. It's quite a story, and one I never thought I'd hear set to music.

Anyway, the album has grown on me considerably since I first listened to it. Snider has such a sly, personable delivery, and his songs are so entertaining and clever, even when they're thematically dark, that I find it impossible to dislike his records. Special added bonus on this album: Loretta Lynn sings with Snider on a bluesy little country song they wrote together called "Don't Tempt Me." It's one of the highlights on this great album. Don't give up on this one without repeated listenings.