Copyright 1999 Times Mirror Company
Los Angeles Times
October 15, 1999, Friday, Home Edition
SECTION: Calendar; Part F; Page 23; Entertainment Desk
LENGTH: 270 words
HEADLINE: POP MUSIC REVIEW;
MANN PUTS EMPHASIS ON THE SONGS
BYLINE: NATALIE NICHOLS
BODY:
"We're winging it tonight, but
I shouldn't tell you that," confided singer-songwriter Aimee
Mann during one of several brief personnel-shuffling pauses in
her Tuesday performance at Largo. "Maybe we'll pull it off, and you
won't even know."
In a relaxed yet focused presentation that put the spotlight on her impeccable
song craft, the L.A. resident and several musician pals offered new tunes
from her forthcoming, self-released album, "Bachelor No. 2," as
well as earlier material. The erstwhile 'Til Tuesday front-woman amply proved
that she is an enduring talent who should never have had to suffer the kind
of record-company nonsense she has endured throughout her solo career. Most
recently, she got lost in the mega-merger shuffle when her former label,
Geffen, was absorbed by Interscope.
Now happily independent, Mann is continuing her weekly residency at Largo
this month, and she performed Tuesday both solo acoustic and in various
combinations with her friends. Such new songs as "How Am I Different"
and "Red Vines" fit perfectly with the older tunes, reflecting
Mann's ability to turn bitter or sweet depending on the emotional moment
she's capturing.
Although her sensibilities closely echoed those of Elvis Costello, Mann
never stood in the English artist's shadow, even when closing the show with
his wistful "The Other End (of the Telescope)." Not only did she
infuse her own meaning into the tune, but, most remarkably, she also didn't
diminish her own work with its presence.
* Aimee Mann performs Tuesday and Oct. 26 at Largo, 432 N. Fairfax Ave.,
9 p.m. $ 10. (323) 852-1073.