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Diary of a Mod Housewife

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Diary of a Mod Housewife
Studio album by
Amy Rigby
Released1996
GenreRock
LabelKoch[1]
ProducerElliot Easton, Gene Holder
Amy Rigby chronology
Diary of a Mod Housewife
(1996) 		Middlescence
(1998)

Diary of a Mod Housewife is the debut album by the American musician Amy Rigby, released in 1996.[2][3] It has been called a concept album about growing older in a music scene, marriage, motherhood, and romantic dissolution.[4][5] Rigby supported the album with a North American tour.[6]

Production

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The album was produced by the Cars guitarist Elliot Easton, with the dB member Gene Holder.[7][8] Rigby duets with John Wesley Harding on the album's third track, "Beer & Kisses".[9] Ira Kaplan contributed organ to "That Tone of Voice".[10] Diary of a Mod Housewife was written while Rigby was doing temp work in New York.[11]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Calgary Herald[13]
Robert ChristgauA[5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[1]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[14]
Lincoln Journal Star[10]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[15]
Spin7/10[16]
Winston-Salem Journal[17]

Robert Christgau thought that Rigby personalizes "the political for a bohemia that coexists oh so neatly with structural underemployment [and thinks] harder about marriage than a dozen Nashville homilizers."[5] Entertainment Weekly called the album "an impressive debut," writing that the songs "occupy a world where relationships, jobs, and urban life are rife with unfulfilled promise."[14] The New York Times wrote that, "like Kate McGarrigle and Iris DeMent, Ms. Rigby has a reedy voice with steely underpinnings," writing: "With clear-cut melodies and an exacting eye, songs like 'Beer and Kisses' and 'Just Someone I Had in Mind' measure the distance between romance and reality."[18]

The Philadelphia Inquirer placed the album on the "short" list of "grown-up rock-and-roll records that examine monogamy with insight and intelligence."[19] Stereo Review deemed it "a cross between the Go-Go's, Buddy Holly, and a female cowpunk band."[20] The Winston-Salem Journal called it "a disgruntled look at the disheveled life of a creative thirtysomething woman."[17]

AllMusic wrote that "in addition to her knowing lyrical eye, Rigby is also a terrific composer who synthesizes elements of rock, country, folk and girl group-era pop."[12]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Time for Me to Come Down" 
2."Sad Tale" 
3."Beer & Kisses" 
4."20 Questions" 
5."Down Side of Love" 
6."The Good Girls" 
7."Knapsack" 
8."Just Someone I Had in Mind" 
9."Don't Break the Heart" 
10."That Tone of Voice" 
11."Didn't I?" 
12."We're Stronger Than That" 

References

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  1. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. pp. 22–23.
  2. ^ "Amy Rigby Biography & History". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Fernandes, Matt (24 Oct 1996). "Diary of a Mod Housewife Amy Rigby (Koch)". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 8.
  4. ^ Lepage, Mark (20 Mar 1997). "Temp jobs feed into Diary of a Mod Housewife". The Gazette. p. C5.
  5. ^ a b c "Amy Rigby". Robert Christgau.
  6. ^ Perry, Jan (31 Oct 1996). "Kentucky Spotlight". The Cincinnati Post. p. 17.
  7. ^ "Songs from a Marriage". Salon. November 26, 1996.
  8. ^ "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 34. Aug 24, 1996. p. 112.
  9. ^ "Amy Rigby". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  10. ^ a b Moser, Daniel R. (24 Nov 1996). "Amy Rigby, Diary of a Mod Housewife, Koch". Lincoln Journal Star. p. H4.
  11. ^ Catlin, Roger (21 May 1997). "Temp Work OK for Rigby If Result Is Good Songs". Hartford Courant. p. E1.
  12. ^ a b "Diary of a Mod Housewife Amy Rigby". AllMusic.
  13. ^ Muretich, James (6 Apr 1997). "New Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C2.
  14. ^ a b "Diary of a Mod Housewife". Entertainment Weekly.
  15. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 943.
  16. ^ Powers, Ann (Oct 1996). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 12, no. 7. pp. 135–136.
  17. ^ a b Bumgardner, Ed (27 Sep 1996). "Spins". Winston-Salem Journal. p. D7.
  18. ^ Pareles, Jon (11 Oct 1996). "Old-Time Rock-and-Roll". The New York Times. p. C37.
  19. ^ DeLuca, Dan (11 Jan 1997). "Amy Rigby at Silk City: Grown-Up Rock Tales". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D8.
  20. ^ Nash, Alanna (Jan 1997). "Amy Rigby: Diary of a Mod Housewife". Stereo Review. Vol. 62, no. 1. p. 100.
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