OLD SCHOOL

The Edmonton Sun
Sunday, June 27, 2004
BY FISH GRIWKOWSKY

WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS? (1995)
Art Bergmann
Epic
5 out of 5 stars

"There are no absolutes to human misery, things can get worse."

Don't I know it, brother. Don't we all. But I suppose they can improve, too. For example, there's a reason that Art Bergmann showed up four times on the big list of Canadian bests. That and a cup of coffee, I suppose.

He was and perhaps still is a terribly underrated performer, and this is my favourite album by him. It's a devastating portrait of fear, addiction and hopeless love, full of electric angst and dark, rolling piano.

He opens up telling us, "I just wanted to be good like the Beatles in Hollywood," then gets into a really heartfelt acoustic ballad called Buried Alive, where some cigarette-smoky girl tells him, "my whole life's a crime." Then, for levity, a couple drugs songs, Guns and Heroin and Some Fresh Hell, an Iggy Pop nightmare rocker propelled by vicious bass and a crazed circus organ.

Heavy stuff, but this guy spent enough time in the belly of the beast to earn his position as a loco, bored rock star in Hard Core Logo, a role he as much lived as played. Wherever you are, Art, I hope you're doing fine. If not, don't forget, there are no absolutes to human joy, either.