Peter Stampfel, Friends & Daughters

• Song Shards [Jalopy, 2025] A

See Also:

• Holy Modal Rounders
• The Holy Modal Rounders and Friends
• Michael Hurley/The Unholy Modal Rounders/Jeffrey Fredericks & the Clamtones
• Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel
• The Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel Band
• Peter Stampfel
• Peter Stampfel and the Atomic Meta Pagans
• Peter Stampfel & Baby Gramps
• Peter Stampfel and the Bottle Caps
• Peter Stampfel and the Brooklyn & Lower Manhattan Fiddle/Mandolin Swarm
• Peter Stampfel and the Dysfunctionells
• Peter Stampfel & the Ether Frolic Mob
• Peter Stampfel and Jeffrey Lewis
• Peter Stampfel/Eli Smith/Walker Shepard
• Peter and Zoë Stampfel
• Stampfel & Weber
• Unholy Modal Rounders
• merge all

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Song Shards [Jalopy, 2025]
Comprising 46 often foreshortened "soul jingles, stoic jingles, vintage jingles, prayers, and rounds" that break down into 20 obscure hymns and apothegms and 26 long-lost radio ads in just 43 minutes, and what can I say? At first I thought those 72 . . . ditties (???) seemed pretty thin as pieces of vocal music and 2021's Peter Stampfel's 20th Century in 100 Songs it ain't. But Stampfel is so unpredictable and so generous of spirit that I found myself playing it over again after reading the downloadable 23 pages of notes Stampfel wrote to contextualize these compositions. These include his thoughts on the religious ramifications of the project, which though an atheist I found worthy of reading, rereading, and revisiting musically. How well they and for that matter it will endure there's no knowing at this point. But let me call attention to my favorite tunelet here, which goes: "When the values go up up up/And the prices go down down down/Robert Hall this season/Will show you the reason/Low overhead, low overhead." True, the clothing chain of that name went bankrupt in 1977. But take it from me—the songlets hang in there. Carola likes it too. A