When Hollywood was less sex and more song

Googling “1947 California” will bring you some interesting facts about our West Coast friend… Googling “1947 California” will bring you some interesting facts about our West Coast friend just after World War II. The first Web site presented displays authentic California license plates –a dirty yellow-orange background with black, rounded lettering. You’ll also find that California University played some good football, although they lost to Southern California that year. California also started tracking sex offenders in 1947.

But few of these facts seem reason enough to write a concept album. Singer/songwriter Michael Penn, however, found reason in the details of post World War II California in Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947.

Michael Penn’s resume must look like a decoupage masterpiece. He’s written music and acted since the ’80s, and he could surely be connected to anyone in Hollywood through six degrees of separation. When Penn’s first band flopped, he took time off to act, following his brothers Chris and Sean.

Penn returned in the late ’80s and early ’90s with two more albums before taking more time off. During his break, Penn found time to appear in “Boogie Nights,” and even to write the film score. Penn returned to music in 1997, the year he also married Aimee Mann. Penn released his latest work on his own record label, Mimeograph.

Writing a concept album always begins with choosing an angle. How does one go about capturing the feeling of a U.S. state during a particular year? Penn’s approach to commemorating the “simpler time” of 1947 was to compose straightforward, memorable songs.

In “Denton Road,” Penn’s piano mirrors his chorus with little accompaniment, save a bit of acoustic guitar and drums. The recording sounds more like a practice session, as if Penn had meant to add more depth. After exploring the lyrics, however, it seems clear that Penn had intended such simplicity. He sings, “Someone made a joke about the lord/And somehow it relates to a dash between the dates,” perhaps hinting that 1947’s concerns seem trivial in 2005.

Drawing on older musical styles, Penn hosts a folk-like sing-along in “Mary Lynn” with stomps and claps and seemingly random instrument additions. “Mary Lynn” begins with a “Cats in the Cradle” feel before the persistent harmony and handclaps begin. Bass accompaniment ends nearly as quickly as it begins, and following this are a dulcimer and a chamberlin (similar to a mellotron). The instrumental “solos” fall in and out throughout the song, causing it to sound more like a jam than a polished album track.

Other quirks on Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 include brief instrumentals titled “The Transistor,” which sounds like feedback and sound effects from a transistor radio, “18 September,” which just sounds plain spooky and “The Television Set Waltz,” a charming –albeit muffled –homage to the modern TV.

Some songs on Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 are as fresh and exciting as a new transistor (invented in 1947), but some seem lackluster, even forgettable. The combination of dragging tempo and Penn’s bass-less voice may at times send his listeners to dreamland. If only Penn could balance his creativity –which overflows from some tracks –Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 would sound more solid.