Mike Doughty Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
After upping the energy on his second record, 2008's Golden Delicious, to a mixed response from fans and reviewers, on Sad Man Happy Man Mike Doughty returns to acoustic folk; to the pared-down version of his '90s band Soul Coughing's funk-infused, downtown jazz-embracing indie rock that made his solo debut such a delight. Half Brooklyn hipster aging delightfully gracelessly, half pre-electric Dylan, Doughty muses over lost loves and lusts, throws in odd references, abstract couplets that, defying logic, retain meaning, and crafts bohemian characters past, present, and future. Since his days fronting the 120 Minutes-feted band, Doughty's been the master of his own brand of half-Beat mantra half-rap, and he doesn't take long to return to the repetition well. By the second track, "(I Keep On) Rising Up," he's skipping lyrical grooves, and on the next track, "(You Should Be) Doubly (Gratified)," he's practically in his usual scat trance; it's predictable, but oh so comfortable, and his prose poetry loses no substance during all the verbal substance. He continues to switch tacks effortlessly, dropping a straightforward Ani DiFranco-esque modern folk ballad on "(I Want To) Burn (You Down)," before returning to the underground hip-hop off-beat vigor of "Pleasure on Credit." Doughty closes (fittingly) on a reverent cover of Daniel Johnston's "Caspar the Friendly Ghost," a sweetly off-kilter product of another merrily fevered mind. While Sad Man Happy Man is nothing particularly new, it's a thoroughly fun and gleefully disorienting effort from one of the alternative era's truly unique pop artists. ~ Jason Thurston, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On 2005's Haughty Melodic, Mike Doughty took steps to move away from his purely acoustic solo material, bringing in piano and horns to fill out his sound. Golden Delicious stretches even further into radio-friendly adult alternative, and in fact little resembles the singer's earlier work. "27 Jennifers," which was originally found on the 2003 EP Rockity Roll, is revisited here, with added electric guitars and a swirling keyboard solo that might have come straight out of 1986, and the song ends up being one of the better ones on the album. Elsewhere, many of the melodies and arrangements are similar (the first two tracks, for example, "Fort Hood" and "I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep on Dancing," are nearly identical, except the former's chorus chooses to borrow from Galt MacDermot's "Let the Sunshine In," while the latter riffs on "The Little Drummer Boy"), but there are still moments on Golden Delicious that show what Doughty is capable of. For example, he holds back on the production and instrumentation and lets his acoustic guitar chords and voice take over in the darker "I Got the Drop on You," which references his Soul Coughing days while still coming across as an original. And while "More Bacon Than the Pan Can Handle" is intended as a nod to his love of hip-hop and sampling but is pure kitsch instead, there are other songs -- the aforementioned "I Got the Drop on You," the Death Cabby "Wednesday (No Se Apoye)," even "I Wrote a Song About Your Car" -- that successfully demonstrate Doughty's abilities. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It's been five years since the demise of Soul Coughing, and up to this point, Mike Doughty's solo releases have been solo in the truest sense of the word: He is literally the only musician present. Haughty Melodic is Doughty's first solo release to feature a band, making comparisons to his old band inevitable, but this really is a different beast. He's still an excellent wordsmith, and still favors acoustic bass and taut drums. His delivery is pretty much the same, but with a bit more emphasis on singing and melody. The big differences are that guitars are much more prominent than on any Soul Coughing releases, the lyrics have a more personal perspective, and the additional sounds of the album come from warmer sources like piano, Fender Rhodes and horns rather than a sampler. Several of the songs originally appeared on the live Smofe + Smang album, but those versions were quite sparse: just voice and acoustic guitar. Here, they get the full rock treatment. The sound can still be fairly thick, like on "Looking at the World From the Bottom of a Well" and "I Hear the Bells," but the acoustic guitar, piano and pedal steel of White Lexus" are a far cry from anything Soul Coughing released. There are still some strange sonics, like at the end of "Busting Up a Starbucks," but the overall sound is very organic with many acoustic elements. Doughty's solo work shows an interesting development. Even with his rather drastic switch from hip-hop hipster beatnik to acoustic solo troubadour, Doughty retained a large part of his original fan base. Those folks will surely be pleased with Haughty Melodic, but even the people who didn't take to Doughty's solo career immediately owe it to themselves to check this one out. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Mike Doughty's second solo release is a live album that takes another step away from the beat poet image crafted by his time in Soul Coughing. Performing over 20 songs with only an acoustic guitar, he continues his transformation into a hipster singer/songwriter à la Ani DiFranco. A good portion of the songs are new, a rare occurrence when it comes to live albums, making this more than just a stripped-down rehash of familiar material. Although some of the new songs aren't even done (he admits this at several points), they have a punk rock simplicity that makes their up-tempo bounce all the more memorable. It is his ear for good pop melodies and his ability to wear his heart shamelessly on his sleeve that makes Smofe + Smang an adorable display of warmth in songwriting. The new songs are quite good, favorably blending with his old material while hinting at his desire to move away from the abstract rapping of his past. Doughty turns phrases like a hip-hop artist on "Sunkeneyed Girl," blending his rhymes seamlessly and quickly with little more than some bouncy guitar driving it along. "Busting Up a Starbux" is a document of turn of the century angst that rails against harmless celebrity enemies and makes no bones about it. "Madeleine and Nine" is a wonderful display of pop songcraft that takes the clever innocence of Elvis Costello's early work and recasts it as a New York subway ballad. And "Grey Ghost" channels vintage Paul Westerberg with its delicate lyrics brilliantly mismatched with percussive punk rock guitar. The old material sounds good, the on-stage banter is hilarious, and his comfort with the audience makes the whole thing seem like a friendly campfire singalong, except the guy with the guitar is one of the most criminally overlooked songwriters in America. He may not have the window into the mainstream that he once did, but the mainstream doesn't know what it's missing. It may be a limited-edition release, but Smofe + Smang is a wonderful live album that captures Doughty's abundant charm and talents perfectly. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
'Skittish'
Release Date 1/1/2000
Tracks 12
Label www.superspecialquestions.com
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
After the dissolution of Doughty's band Soul Coughing, he tried to get interest in solo material that he had recorded years earlier. Major labels didn't show interest, leading him to distribute the album exclusively on his website. The album, a stark acoustic album, is very different from any previous output Doughty has released in the past. His Paul Westerberg and Hank Williams, Sr. influences have finally found a balance with his beat poet style, making songs like the wonderful "Sweet Lord in Heaven" or the delicate "The Pink Life" bounce with a sharp, echoing style. Doughty's lyrical skills take a large step forward, and his guitar playing has a pleasantly lazy shuffle to it. Fans of Soul Coughing as well as fans of dark acoustic music in general will find this to be a wonderful offering from an underrated talent. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
