The Baseball Project

Since I'm saying good-bye to summer this week, how about a word or two about a great baseball-themed album? "Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails" is a wonderful CD that will delight any hardcore baseball fan with a taste for unpretentious jangly rock. Before I say a few more nice things about "The Baseball Project," let me tip my fitted Pirates cap to my buddy Mike, who not only wrote a great analysis of this CD a while back, but he actually loaned me the disc so I could enjoy it myself. I'm only adding to what he wrote when I say this is a fun effort with great lyrics that reward baseballers with a love of the rich history and lore of the game.

These songs are often clever, often humorous, sometimes angry, but all use either a specific real-life player or situation as the foundation for a few minutes of solid musical storytelling. Make no mistake, this is not a novelty album, though the presence of the Spanish-language tribute to ex-Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela might give you that idea. The track which features a list of all MLB pitchers credited with throwing an official perfect game seems a bit of a stretch, too, but it comes off as a sincere plea for official recognition for Harvey Haddix, who had the hard luck to take a perfecto into extra innings only to lose the game (Plus Harv was a Pirate at the time, so this song rules).

Even when the lyrics are so specific as to almost invite ridicule, they never veer into parody, and they are always grounded enough musically so as to remind listeners that they're enjoying an actual record, not a tossed-off ditty or two to be sung between innings at a rain delay, chuckled about, and then forgotten. While the words to songs about topics like the death of Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty and the legacy of pioneering challenger of the so-called "Reserve Clause" Curt Flood delighted and amused me with their rich detail, the melodies also stick in your head.

I was most surprised not by the fact that, for example, someone built a song around pitcher Jack McDowell flipping off the fans at Yankee Stadium, but by the fact that there are moments of real feeling and even poignancy on the album. In 2008, it's tough to say much that's new about how Jackie Robinson broke the color line in MLB, but the Project really moves me with the track "Jackie's Lament." It doesn't provide new details of the story, but it does offer a convincing attempt to capture the frustration Robinson must have felt at having to endure the abuse he received without public complaint. Here, and elsewhere on the album, the power of music gives new meaning to familiar sports lore.

I had two minor complaints with this CD on first listen, then subsequent playings alleviated or erased them. I thought at first the vocals often failed to do justice to the wonderful lyrics, with the emotional nuance of the songwriting not quite captured by the singing. I still believe this to some extent, but those vocals are growing on me.

Also, I briefly considered the idea that it's a shame that some of the tunes featured hardcore profanity (one is even titled "Ted F'n Williams," and I'm censoring one of those words) that might have prevented this from being a kid-friendly album that a father could listen to with his son, maybe with them discussing the stories told and doing a little more research together to learn more. Then I thought, why should baseball in pop culture have the burden of being kid friendly? This is an adult album, with mature themes, language, and subject matter, and I admire songwriters Scott McCaughey and Steve Wynn for exploring the dark side of the game. They prove you can love baseball and still be fascinated by some of its less savory aspects, such as drug use, racism, and even death.

Can a casual fan, someone who may not have known the origin of the phrase "Ted F'n Williams" before listening to this CD, still enjoy this music? Well, I refer you again to Mike's review. I recognized most of the sometimes-arcane references and ate it all up. I hope the "Volume 1" means more is forthcoming from the Baseball Project.