The Edsel Auctioneer

The Good Time Music of… (Alias)
by Sheril Stanford

Heavily promoted with quarter page ads in the big glossies, The Edsel Auctioneer is poised to ride the wave currently crested by the ever-so-popular-right-now band Live. Not a bad wave for a band to catch. Before Live came along, a similar approach worked rather well for U2. Stirring vocal harmonies, uplifting guitar melodies and hooks galore strung throughout. Earnest, thoughtful lyrics about change and futility. There are a lot worse things you can think of to say about a band. So what if it’s been done before – what hasn’t? And the phenomenal success enjoyed by bands that have tread similar paths indicates that something in this approach touches the collective unconscious of a whole cross section of the music buying public. The CD’s opener, “Summer Hit,” is short, sweet, hummable and radio friendly, and it wouldn’t be hard to imagine it living up to its name.

Unfortunately, the bridges and intros on some of the selections, while pretty, tend to go on a bit too long. And on a number of cuts, the lyrics seem to get lost in the mix. But you just know that, if you could hear them, they’d be meaningful and honest.