CD REVIEW: Billy Mitchell – “What’s So Bad About Feelin’ Good”
 

By Stacey Board  

The title of the CD pretty much sums it up best. These are songs heavily laden with humor and a philosophy of life somewhat like ‘que sera, sera’.

There are positive and humorous songs about everyday frustrations as in “Get Off That Cellphone”. The only tinge of sadness is on “She’s Going Away” which he quickly turns on its ear to make us laugh. He definitely has his own world view and songwriting voice.

The instrumentation is acoustic guitar with somewhat folk or country style arrangements. There is harmonica, banjo, but also some horns and synthesizer.

Parrotheads listen up! You will love Billy Mitchell’s humor and his outlook on life. There’s far fewer songs about alcohol than on a Jimmy Buffett CD, but the same fun loving spirit is on each song.

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CD Review – Billy Mitchell: What’s So Bad About Feelin’ Good?

 Mary Ann Rossoni for the Rhode Island Songwriter’s Association Newsletter

Fun, fun and more fun – that is what I have to say about Billy Mitchell’s debut CD,

What’s So Bad About Feelin’ Good?  What started out on a vacation with some friends in Redington Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast, ended up as an inspirational songwriting journey. 

Westerly born and raised, singer/songwriter Billy Mitchell has a humorous outlook on the worst and best of what life has to offer.  What’s So Bad About Feelin’ Good is a fine collection of tunes that are sure to

Make you chuckle. Billy has been inspired by Jimmy Buffett with a hint of John Prine and Leon Redbone. He has songs about recovery after a late night of drinking in “Hangin’ Around Till This Hangover’s Over.” “Week 41” is a great song about the perils of purchasing a time share unit. He sums up everyone’s annoyance of cell phone users in “Get Off of That Cell Phone.” He has a clever little ditty aboutwhat it would be like to live in a town of clones in “Clonetown.” 

All of the songs on this 12 song CD are well crafted with memorable choruses that have you singing long after the CD stops spinning.  If you are looking for anything that might be taken too seriously about life, love and loss, this may not be the CD for you. His overall message is “Lighten up – life is just too silly!” 

Billy has been writing and performing for 30 years and was previously a tenor with the a cappella group The Hudsons. Currently, he fronts the local Classic Rock band New York Minute.

 The 12 song CD was recorded at Ark Studios in Fairhaven, Mass. The production is light with tasteful arrangements that include trombone, cornet, flute and sax in addition to the usual acoustic and electric guitars and backing vocals. 

So if you’re looking to turn your doldrums into drolldrums, be sure to pick up a copy of What’s So Bad About Feelin’ Good? ~ MR 

Marry Ann Rossoni 

Mary Ann Rossoni is an accomplished singer songwriter. Recording since 1991, she received Best Female Vocalist Honors in the 1998 Phoenix Best Music Poll. And Best Local Folk Act in the 2004 Phoenix Best Music Poll. Her latest release,”Downcity”, is the first of a multi album contract with Wall Street Records and debuted at number 20 on CMJ New Music Report’s Top 200 Adds Chart. For more about Marry Ann,

visit www. rossoni.com 

Indie-Music.com is a premier independent music website attracting over 25,000 visitors a month with 2 million hits. 

Reviews: Billy Mitchell ~ What's So Bad About Feelin' Good?
 

Quote: "I find all of this to be absolutely hilarious."

By Robert Nase

This is a great album. Don’t care for the title much though. It’s just the title of the first track off of the album. I would have preferred one of his many great lyrics. How about Clonetown Population Nine? I think that one’s good. My favorite though is Blah Blah Blah, Yackity Yack, Yada Yada Look at Me. The full lyric goes like this.

Blah, Blah, Blah, Yackity, Yack, Yada, Yada, Look at Me
Hands Waving in the Air, Like Someone’s Really There
Just Sounding Off So Everyone Can See- "Get Off of That Cell Phone"

This is a chorus, mind you. Mitchell doesn’t care too much for cell phones. The song is filled with evidence of this, like this one: “Shut it off and just shut up!” Sounds like a bumper sticker to me. Mitchell uses cell phone rings to open the song and to bleep an expletive toward the end. This my friends, is high comedy.

And the whole album is like this. On “She’s Going Away,” Mitchell vows to “stuff his face with egg rolls and really get unglued”. He does this because his wife has gone away, for what he suspects is shopping. So it’s a night of egg rolls, and as he says, “then I’ll watch the cable, and play with my remote." I find all of this to be absolutely hilarious. At the end of the song he wakes the next morning in a pile of trash and has to clean it all up in two seconds, as his wife is pulling the car onto the front lawn. It doesn’t work, she finds a huge mess, but I love the touch of having the car parked on the front lawn. A classic redneck flourish that lesser artists only dream of making. In other words, Foxworthy would be damn proud.

“Gettin’ Old Ain’t for Sissies” lists off a dozen reasons why being old is hard. He claims “you ain’t seen mean until you’ve come face to face with an exercise machine." Now this isn’t funny. I would wager that half of all five year olds have come face to face with an exercise machine. What does this half to do with getting old? Come on Mitchell, the least you can do is stay on topic – after all you’re the one that picked the topic to begin with. “Hangin’ Around ‘Till This Hangover’s Over” has similar problems. For instance there’s the following line:

I’ve got the perfect cure for over-fermentation.All you need is a little moderation.

What are we, the DD? What the hell is this doing in a song about hangovers? I thought we were getting drunk here, not sipping on O’Doul’s while having a tête-à-tête about Wittgenstein. Mitchell, you disappoint. Plus his recommendation for curing hangovers is lame. Instead of some creative trick that snaps you out of it fast, he recommends you just put on some funky clothes and wait for a long period of time. Instead, why not write a song about drinking black coffee while taking a cold shower and wearing nipple clamps? I mean, that’s how you cure a hangover! And you’d have a better title for your song. Oh well, I guess we have to make due with what we have. That funky clothes line was pretty creative. Didn’t see that one coming, and I suppose it might be fun to put some crazy crap on when you’re wasted.

To his credit, he does redeem himself with the classic track “Clonetown." “Clonetown” is about Mitchell driving along on a foggy night looking for a place to stay. And of all the places, he finds one called Clonetown. Most of it’s not all that funny. I mean, if you want the punch line to this song I’ll tell you. In Clonetown, THERE ARE MULTIPLE COPIES OF EVERYTHING. That’s it. That’s the joke. Again, pretty disappointing. I mean, what was there, a five-minute deadline on writing those lyrics? Where’s the creativity? I mean, seriously, if anyone else is planning on writing a song called “Clonetown,” there better be more to it than just a town that has lots of clones. That’s a lesson for all the kids out there. As you’ve guessed by now, there are tons of Mitchells running around at the end of “Clonetown." Big surprise there.

But I admit I am being too critical. I enjoy "Clonetown"; there is no getting around that. The guy sees a sign saying “Clonetown” and then in smaller letters “Population Nine." Instead of mumbling, “Hmm ... Clonetown, that sure is weird” like most hacks would have done, Mitchell is unpredictably excited. He exclaims, “Sure sounds good, got to get some shut-eye." How can you not like that? That is creative. Nice job Mitchell. Nice.

Now you may be asking yourself, “Isn’t this supposed to be a music review?” The answer is no. I will discuss the music with one line. This is classic country which makes you want tap your toes a little. That’s it. The story here is not the music. As this review demonstrates, this reviewer found the tales the artist told and the manner in which he told them far more interesting. I’m not sure if I should be enjoying them as much as I am. But if it makes me feel good, I’m sure Mitchell wouldn’t find anything wrong with that.

On a final note, I would just like to point out that Mitchell actually has the big-time handlebar mustache seen on the album cover. Only his isn’t red, it’s gray