"Expando"

-by timothy b. schmit
2009
Very possibly the most intimate album ever released by any current or former member of the Eagles - so stylistically different from any of timothy's earlier work it's jarring at first, and may take a few listenings to appreciate. Slick production is gone, replaced by the simple sounds of a home studio, a dynamic reinforced by the number of instruments timothy plays himself, with a versatile virtuosity previously unsuspected. He plays armfuls of instruments, and on several tracks he's a one-man band. The lyrics are similarly homey, and show a heretofore untapped capacity for self-revelation. He's disarmingly candid about his failings, foibles, rich person's guilt, clinical depression, and the celebrity life that insulates him from the real world...but all that comes wrapped in the context of trying to make an entertaining song. It ranges from funny to heartfelt, and once you settle into the style, it's hard to not call this the best solo effort of his career. If i say that no single track achieves greatness, can you appreciate how hard it is to create an album in which nothing is less than very good?
He has a wonderful roster of drop-in musicians (and presumably good friends) who offer their talents: keb' mo', gary burton, jim keltner, benmont tench, garth hudson, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and others. The tracks range from good to very good. Here are the must-haves on any schmit anthology:
"Parachute"
- The "graham nash supporting vocal" has become almost an institutional sub-genre in and of itself, but his presence here is as perfect as any vocal he's done.
"White Boy from Pasadena"
- A hoot that name-checks schwarzenegger and pat boone, about growing up in the California suburbs.
"I Don't Mind"
- The best tuba-flavored pop tune since, um...weird al maybe?