Back Up Singer Moves To Center Of The Stage

By Rod Lockwood
Article Published Sunday, June 27, 2004
Toledo, Ohio, USA

Patti Scialfa steps out of the shadows most career backup singers are relegated to, producing a strong, warm disc that’s a major improvement over her only other solo work, 1993’s “Rumble Doll.”

“23rd Street Lullaby” benefits from Scialfa’s decision to make a song suite, with each of the tracks reflecting on the time she spent in the ’80s living in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York. The thematic consistency presents an engaging coming-of-age story that never falls victim to too much nostalgia.

At 50, Scialfa’s able to look back on those years with a combination of wisdom and wonder. With producer Steve Jordan she draws on the girl-group sounds of the ’60s, folky Joni Mitchell-like arrangements and street corner rock for inspiration.

She’s sung with everyone from the Rolling Stones to David Johansen and, of course, as a member of husband Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, so she has the vocal range to pull it off. Her voice is a comfortable croon, full of vibrato and often resembling a female version of Garland Jeffreys, another New Yorker.

The title track, the disc’s first single, is a beauty of a midtempo pop rocker, ending with Scialfa pleading “I can’t hear you” over a pillowy backdrop of female singers. “City Boys” cops a Dylan groove, sounding like a lost cut from his “Love and Theft” album. And “Love (Stand Up)” features an understated guitar solo by Springsteen.

Scialfa’s wise to let the disc stand on its own, though, barely calling on any help from her famous husband. As the mother of three, she brings an intriguing dichotomy to tackling 12 songs that focus on her younger, wild days. But it works well, making “23rd Street Lullaby” a surprisingly strong work from an artist who sounds good in the spotlight.