Johnny Dowd. WTF?

[dafduc]

So, I went on this buy-a-bunch-of-CDs-I've-never-heard binge at Border's this weekend. They're having a 75% off sale on some of their obscure shit.

I went all over the map, stylewise, cos I'm just that kind of guy , and am mostly happy with what I got, so far (haven't heard all of it, yet). All y'all jazzheads absolutely need to hear Yaya3 - Joshua Redman in an organ trio setting - mmmm!!!

But there's this one CD. I never heard of the guy, but it was a 10-best-of-1997 choice for a writer from Billboard, writeups talked about gritty singer-songwriter stuff, it was marked down to $3 or $4, I figgered I'd take a chance.

WHAT A CROCK OF SHIT. I'm expecting Delbert McClinton, I get fucking Wild Man Fischer instead. Geez.

The guy's name is Johnny Dowd, album's called "Wrong Side of Memphis". He can't sing or play to save his life, his lyrics are mostly crap, production is awful - I coulda sworn he was using a Vocal Blaster to mixdown.

There were moments, snippets of songs, where he let a good lyric fly, or did a creative production thing. It kinda reminded me of the John Waters movie "Pecker", where this kid fishes a camera out of a dumpster and starts shooting photos, and all the artsy-fartsy poseurs in New York decide that he's the next Ansel Adams. Except that I liked Pecker's photos (especially the one of the lesbian dancer's cooter), and Dowd's lamoid excuses for songs just suck.

Am I missing something? Does anyone know who this guy is? Is there gold in them thar turds? Or did this guy just pull a fast one on the press, and eventually, on me?