Paul K - Clippings - No Depression

NO DEPRESSION SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1998 Pages 99-100

PAUL K A Wilderness Of Mirrors Alias The "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" banner across the top of the cover is either a sardonic jab at the trend of best-selling faux-"soundtracks" (i.e., music "inspired" by, but not included in, said film), or a desperate attempt to sell the thing to the burgeoning caste of "collectors" who're so obsessed with gobbling up the aforementioned cash-grabs that, by the time word gets out that there ain't no movie, it'll be too late. A Wilderness Of Mirrors ain't no film, but (hang with me here) an entry into that hoariest of rock's subgenres: a rock opera. Based, uh, on the Biblical book of Job. And (gulp!) the infamous UFO "non-incident" at Roswell, NM in 1948. ARE YOU STILL HERE?!!	Good. 'Cuz this is cool, creepy/ beastly stuff -- and not only as a fabulous story for the conspiracy-prone, but as a great rock 'n' roll obstacle course over which Paul K (15 records in 15 years!) can display his formidable singing. songwriting and (eee-yikes!) guitar-avatar proclivities with sweeping, reckless abandon. From the acceptably-believable opening scenario (the protagonist is a New Mexico farmer whose National Guard tie-in plunges him into eternal hell) through an across-the-map search for his unhinged wife while his own story can't be told, K amply displays his total grasp of regional musical dialects as well as a shivering Biblical/punk ethos. Does Iggy Pop meet early Elton along the way? Sure. Does doo-wop bump into glam? Natch. Is R&B an easy lead-in to---HEY! --- who's the best psychedelic guitar player in this world? I think I know.	It is, after all, a Paul K record, so redemption is sketchy, at best. Still. it is somewhat amazing that K's goofiest premise yet has yielded his most accessible record to date. And if it were a film, I'd surely stand in that long line to see it. Of course, I think I just did... – JIM MUSSER (Alias, 2815 W. Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91505)