Jonathan Rundman

Recital

1. Only If
2. Janesville
3. Meeting Nixon
4. Recital
5. Worse for You
6. Rock & Roll Song for Banjo and Low Brass in C Major (Front Row at the Fashion Show)
7. Nothing Old Nothing New
8. The Princess Wants to Spend her Time with Me
9. Some Attention
10. (Caught Up in your) Snare
11. Whistler's Mother
12. Tape
13. Grace is Crying Her Eyes Out
14. When Rising From the Bed of Death
15. Tell me Where You Want to Go:
    Andante con moto
16. Passamezzo Ostinato
17. Da Capo Ca Mazda

BIO for the RECITAL album, Spring 1997

A recital, from an academic perspective, is a public, formal setting for a student to perform selections that represent his current stage of musical development. Jonathan Rundman, a longtime student of rock and roll, has prepared a new collection of songs for his most recent recording, appropriately titled Recital. Recital is Rundman's third solo album, and his first since moving to Chicago from the Pacific Northwest in the Fall of 1996. These 15 songs demonstrate Rundman's increasing versatility as a composer, a progression that began with his rollicking lo-fi 1992 debut 28 Days in the Yellow Room. His musical growth continued with 1994's Wherever, the geography-themed heartland rock album that brought Jonathan Rundman national press and radio attention, likening him to other Midwest-native singer/songwriters such as Paul Westerberg and Freedy Johnston.

Recital was self-produced by Rundman and recorded at This Here Studio in a remote corner of rural Iowa. The album features guitarist Dag Juhlin of the Chicago-based bands Poi Dog Pondering and The Slugs, and drummer Pat Tomek of Kansas City's The Rainmakers. Returning is the core group of musicians from Rundman's Wherever recording. Rundman himself adds various instruments to Recital, including guitar, acoustic piano, banjo, trombone, violin, and accordion. Rundman's trademark acoustic-rock sound is present on Recital, but the album also explores charged-up power pop, alternative country, classical and sacred music structures, new wave, Eurythmics-esque synth pop, and experimental instrumentation that defies categorization. Even with all these influences, Recital is first and foremost a rock and roll record, its songs unified by Jonathan Rundman's smart and refreshing approach to lyrics and melody.