Dan Who?

After a turbulent year in which the whole lineup of Dan Israel's Minneapolis roots rock band the Cultivators changed except for himself, Israel decided to take a break from work on the band's third album and release this all-acoustic album in late 2000, sarcastically titled Dan Who?. As the title suggests, the songs are mostly semi-autobiographical about the struggles of a little-known musician nearing his 30th birthday and still chasing his dreams. Some lyrics from the opening track, "Last Words," say it all: "Nobody wants to play a losing hand/nobody wants to book a losing band/too much supply, not enough demand/and you're out 20 grand." Israel is the only musician who appears on the album, playing rhythm guitar and singing and even providing the few lead guitar overdubs to be heard. This, of course, made the album acutely personal to him, not to mention very inexpensive to produce. The middle four tracks on the album are from an unreleased tape from 1997. These tracks show the Dylanesque nasality of Israel's voice — a quality which has lessened since then. Highlights of the old set include "Overloaded," a catchy tune about trying to keep up with musical and social trends, and "All My Friends" about how his friends have drifted away while he has remained on his course. Besides the revealing "Last Words," the highlights of the new material include the social commentary of "Late Afternoon." The album ends on a sentimental note, as the song "Looking Out for Me" is a thank you to his big brother, and "Tears of Joy" is an apology to his parents. Israel reminds us that ultimately family is most important in our lives. Dan Who? will appeal to anyone who has made sacrifices for the sake of a dream, but the subject matter is too personal, and the all-acoustic sound is too spare for the album to be a breakout success. Still, it is a worthy piece of work from this emerging artist — Dan Israel's most personally revealing work to this point. His fan base will treasure it.