Dryvetyme Onlyne

Greg Summerlin
All Done In Good Time: The Life and Times of Polly Shields
Superphonic Records; 2007
Rating: 7.9

Concept records are rather strange musical animals. At their core, a songwriter or band conceives and begins to develop this great idea about an album, taking into account not only what the music will sound like, but what image the entire package will possess and convey to their listeners. And more often than not, the songs will all be part of one continuous lyrical thread, as if each song is a chapter in the story the songwriter is hoping to tell with his/her words. There’s a great deal of faith that goes into these projects: the band has to catch the songwriter’s vision for a completely integrated album, the record company has to be enthusiastic about pushing an album whose style doesn’t always make for easy marketing, and the fans have to be willing to take the album at face value and trust that their favorite band isn’t going off the deep end with such an ambitious project. Simply put, few bands are imaginative and talented enough to pull off something as memorable as The Wall or Tommy, and when bands do make such attempts, their efforts come off as rather bloated and self-important.

Luckily, with the release of All Done In Good Time: The Life and Times of Polly Shields, singer-songwriter Greg Summerlin has avoided all of the typical pitfalls and obstacles that traditionally surround the creation of a concept album. Through the course of 14 songs (scenes in a play?), Summerlin tells the story of Polly Shields, specifically her interactions with her father, Johnny (the Revelator), and Timmy (the Deceiver), and the ups and downs of her life as she makes decisions and comes to grips with the consequences of those decisions. Admittedly, there’s little new lyrical ground covered here – teenaged girls and boys usually don’t make quality choices when hormones are involved – but the addition of the parental voice into the equation provides a well-needed sense of balance to the details of the Polly/Timmy/Johnny love triangle. In the end, what makes this album work is that Summerlin has crafted solid, ridiculously catchy pop songs that can stand on their own, yet find even deeper resonance when the album is appreciated as a whole. So, for a fresh perspective on the cycle of love, hurt, loss, and hope, All Done In Good Time: The Life and Times of Polly Shields would be a great album to obtain, even it weren’t also a well-executed concept album.