This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
As Spinal Tap so eloquently taught us, there’s a very fine line between stupid and clever. I’m still trying to figure out which side Dale Morningstar belongs on.
The former Dinner is Ruined singer-guitarist takes a walk on the weird side on his first solo CD, wandering aimlessly through a bizarre home-recorded wilderness of casually strummed guitars, sloppy drumming, distorto vocals, four-track hiss, inexplicable production, random tape edits, goofball lyrics and half-formed tunes like Last Night I Dreamt I Was Citizen Kane and If Mr. President Had A Brain. Sometimes he sounds like he’s knockin’ on Bob Dylan’s door (Kite Fly High). Sometimes he’s pulling on Tom Waits’ coattails (Doin’ Life Hard). Here and there he bites on the Moldy Peaches (C.J. the Cat). And sometimes he even sounds a bit like David Bowie on bad drugs (Monday Morning Foe). But most the time he sounds like Beck circa One Foot In The Grave. Which means he’s either a genius or a lunatic — or perhaps a bit of both.
