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Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead (2003)
Lookout Records

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Contributed by: Scott
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Published on October 11th 2003

The motherfucking man, Ted Leo, returns to the 'Org with a new 9-song EP entitled Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead, one of the more overlooked tracks off Leo's last full-length, Hearts Of Oak. It's the only of the 9 tracks to have been previously released, as well as the only track to have a full band.

The rest of the EP, while performed solo, still keeps up the rock, as it were. A solo version of Hearts Of Oak standout "The High Party" is also a standout on this EP, as well. The other 6 songs [and 1 interlude] are split between new material and covers, the strongest of which coming at the end of the CD. "Six Months In A Leaky Boat" show that Leo's pipes are back to normal after his vocal chords scare earlier this year, and "Loyal To My Sorrowful Country" is just a nice way to round out the disc, allowing Leo to voice his political discontent via someone else's words.

The rest of the EP, while entertaining to listen to, doesn't have as much snap as Leo's past 2 full-lengths have. I chalk up a good chunk of that to the exclusion of the Pharmacists. Seeing Ted live solo has never been an exciting experience for me, but with full band, the man really opens up and lets loose. A lot of these songs sound more like demos for a full band to flesh out than complete songs, and that's where the main problem lies.

Still, Ted Leo is one of the more potent and consistent songwriters in indie music currently, and this, while not his best work, is still miles ahead of most.

MP3
The Sword In The Stone

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Anonymous (October 13, 2003)

Ted ROCKS harder then the NUGE!

maverick (October 12, 2003)

Yeah, he's been playing "Dancing In The Dark" for a while now, but Lookout! wouldn't pay to get the rights to it, so it wasn't on this EP.

-Scott

Anonymous (October 11, 2003)

oh, and i forgot to mention, that when he played solo live he wrapped up with a chisel song (which when he's with the band he will refuse to do) and a cover of springsteen's "dancing in the dark"

cobra again

Anonymous (October 11, 2003)

I was blown away by the energy this guy had live by himself. My girlfriend thought it was funny how much he was "rocking out". This EP isn't too well recorded, but the great songwriting shines through nicely. I love "Sword in the Stone" and the "Dirty Old Town" cover.

punky (October 11, 2003)

wtf

annonymous (October 11, 2003)

I know I am about to be crucified for my comment below, but it is a true ...and in my defense I was going in with bad expectations for Koufax because of this site

annonymous (October 11, 2003)

I saw them live with Piebald and Koufax...... Koufax shit on the other acts.. but Piebald was still much better than these guys.....the recorded stuff isn't too bad though

maverick (October 11, 2003)

I wouldn't pay any more than 7 or 8 bucks maximum for it. If you can find it for that cheap or cheaper, then I'd say yes.

-Scott

Anonymous (October 11, 2003)

Straight up, is this worth buying tomorrow? I'm strapped for cash and I love Ted Leo but I just don't know about a solo EP...

boba_fett (October 10, 2003)

this is pretty funky. definitely reminds me of the 70's stuff.

Anonymous (October 10, 2003)

Dude, Ted solo at the Knitting Factory on 9/11 was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Part of it was the crowd's energy, but I really think his solo performances give his songs a real neat raw feel. Either way, I'm picking this up today. Should be the fatty-bom-batty, biatch!!!

Anonymous (October 10, 2003)

seeing ted leo's solo act live was absolutely amazing, i may need to pick this one up

-duped

Anonymous (October 10, 2003)

second

Anonymous (October 10, 2003)

definitely not as much fun as the full lengths, but really, what is?