Sylvia Hotel
Since her first independent EP appeared in 1983, Cheryl Wheeler has been keeping her fans content and more than confounding critics who might prefer to pigeonhole her. This gifted singer/songwriter can shift from deep irony to deeper emotion in the space of a single measure. OnSylvia Hotel, Wheeler's comic brio is particularly abundant. Witness her tongue-twisting, starchy paean to the potato (to the tune of the "Mexican Hat Dance"!)--this is most definitely roots music with a difference. Then there's "Meow," an ode to her master-slave relationship with a saucy, self-loving feline: "I see you in Memphis on the Nile in the spring / Swinging through some palace doing your Egyptian king thing," Wheeler growls. But there are also several beautifully serious songs--such as "His Hometown," a keen tribute to some stronger roots, and "Lighting Up the Mighty Mississippi"--that wreak emotional havoc on listeners' hearts. Leavened with essential humor, abiding images, and sublime harmonies (courtesy ofLucy Kaplansky),Sylvia Hotelshould break Wheeler out once and for all.--Kerry Fried