Dennis Brennan – Engagement

Dennis Brennan has the voice of a thousand bar gigs. And even though he comes from Red Sox country, he has a Joe DiMaggio-like work ethic, always trying his hardest in case some kid in the audience is watching him play for the first time. The thing is, most of those folks in the audience are from the greater Boston area, because Brennan doesn’t travel much; his weekly show at the Lizard Lounge is something the natives can set their calendar by. He’s a local hero, maybe even a local legend.

Thus, Engagement — with its half-studio, half-live format and songs old, new, original, and borrowed — feels designed for optimum exposure. Both halves showcase Brennan’s staggering versatility and undeniable passion for making music. In the studio portion, Brennan hits, and maintains, his stride after the initial misstep of starting with the least involving song, “After The Ball”. He moves from the Peter Case-like blues/folk-rock hybrid of “Everybody’s Running Away” and the Beantown honky-tonk of “Personal Assistant” (a twisty tale of unrequited love) to the unabashed Sam Cooke homage “It Ain’t What You Think It Is” and the hard-rocking, riffy “Sugar Falls”.

The live portion, mostly recorded at the Lizard Lounge, also gains momentum as it goes deeper. “Brokenhearted I Will Wander”, a propulsive chunk of Southside Johnny-ish soul-rock from Brennan’s 1995 release Jack-in-the-Pulpit, kicks things into the highest gear. Covers of Merle Haggard’s “You Don’t Have Very Far To Go”, Woody Guthrie’s “Hard Traveling”, and especially Charlie Rich’s “Feel Like Going Home” bring it, well, home.