Piece Comment

Review of The Flipside


Typically, "One Hit Wonder" treatments give the "wonder-artist" back-handed compliments at best, and primarily dedicate themselves to the dark or unflattering reasons the artist only wrote one hit and struggled for the rest of his or her life. Not here.

This is a brighter, rightfully upbeat and respectful look at 8 "One Hit Wonder" composer/performers, as we hear at the top of the show: "Once upon a time, when the wind was blowing in just the right direction, it happened. The words fell into place, the melody came together and the performance clicked." The artists here all happen to be from Texas, but their hits are universal. And regardless of the singularity of their fame, the music and performers are treated respectfully. The quality and craft of their work deserves nothing less ? so in the end, "The Flipside" is a warm and endearing tribute to great music, the musicians and their stories. And the stories are fantastic, from the song with just two (maybe three) chords to the harmonica lick that inspired John Lennon.

More nice work from KUT's David Brown, with generous contributions from Michael Hall of Texas Monthly. Earlier, I recommended David Brown's "Live from Austin: Joe Ely" program ? still one of the finest programs available on PRX. "The Flipside," too, is a great one.

N.B. This program opens with a one-minute billboard and a five-minute (silent) news hole. The show picks back up at :06, and there are two internal breaks with music beds at :19 and :39.