Greg Lisher / Handed Down the Wire / Magnetic (CD)

After lying semi-dormant for years, the memory of Camper Van Beethoven is a now a spectre haunting the music-buying public. As well as Greg Lisher, former members Jonathan Segel and Chris Molla have released new albums in the last six months or so, with a new CD from Victor Krummenacher expected later this year. CVB and Cracker both released collections in April of this year. And the legendary Camper Van Chadbourne is on the move, touring sporadically in the United States. Lisher's work only subtly recalls CVB, despite the fact that he's backed by Campers Segal, Krummenacher and Chris Pederson, as well as former Monk of Doom David Immergluck. Instead, Lisher seems to have found a life of his own as a solo writer. The songs that grace Handed Down the Wire are meditative, often rooted in the country vernacular but with pop overtones; imagine the music Richards Davies and Buckner would make if forced to occupy the same body by a science project gone awry. -- bl

Jonathan Segel / Scissors and Paper / Magnetic (CD)

In order to avoid being redundant, I shall simply refer the fair reader to my comments last week about the recent resurgence in all things Camper. This week, we have yet another example -- ex-CVB violinist Jonathan Segel (who either quit or was kicked out of the band while vacationing in Asia, depending on whose version you believe), releasing his first solo work since 1988's double album Storytelling.

Scissors and Paper is an erratic work, most enjoyable in its sweet, violin-driven moments and its wandering ballads. When, in "Voices in My Head", Segel finds himself sitting in a cantina "a couple shots of tequila down", the moment feels right and is further fueled by a freaky instrumental break. Half prog rock and half Flying Burrito Brothers, the song showcases what Segel does right. Later arrivals, like "Wonder Woman", are not nearly as strong. It sounds as if Segel would like to be able to write concise, witty songs a la fellow San Franciscan Barbara Manning, but that is not where his strengths lie.

Instead, perhaps we should leave our friend Jonathan lost in the beautiful convolutions of "People Will Stop at Nothing (to do something that no-one has done before)", molding guitar, lap steel and keyboards moodily beneath Jane Thompson's vocals. Segel's work shines the most in this type of haunting sonic landscape. -- Beth Lucht

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