SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DAN MANGAN – BEING ELSEWHERE MIX

DAN MANGAN
BEING ELSEWHERE MIX
ARTS & CRAFTS

This is an interesting and unexpected follow-up to Dan Mangan’s hugely successful (critically and commercially) 2022 release Being Somewhere. But then again, Mangan has never really done the expected. Being Elsewhere Mix CD is an interesting compilation of reimagined songs, a couple of non-album singles, others that have been on soundtracks and a handful of new songs. Mangan has collected them all together to form what at one time would be a very good mixed CD. For those of a certain vintage, music fans graduated from mix tapes to mix CDs. This new album, with a great front cover, tries to replicate this moment in history. Only this CD is all Mangan.

The covers are interesting choices. Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm” has the arrangement and production of Dylan’s 1965 version of the song. It is a faithful cover, and Mangan does infuse some of his own style into the song, especially the ending. While his version of Damien Jurado’s “A.M. AM” is stripped bare and brings out the melancholy of the original. Mangan’s voice is in top form, and it is a great interpretation of the wonderful song. Hearing Mangan sing it, it sounds like it was written for him to sing. His cover of The Lumineers’ “Sleep On The Floor” is very good and once again, he transforms the song into a Mangan song.

There are some ‘reimagined’ or ‘remixed’ songs on the albums as well as a couple of new songs. “Say When” was previously released as a single, and it is nice to have it in the collection. It has a Sufjan Stevens feel to it, and is quite a great song. Whereas “Four Chords” (co-written by Andy Stochansky), a new song, is an emotional love song while explaining how hard it is to come up with a new idea for a love song. It is very moving and a beautiful song. The new song “Call Me Up High”, a song Mangan wrote with Matt Peters and Matt Schellenberg is a different sounding Mangan as performs a pretty straight up pop song. It is a great way to start the album.

As noted, Being Elsewhere Mix CD includes three songs from his previous album Being Somewhere (“Just Know It”, “Fire Escape” and “All My People”) and an acoustic version of “Find New Ways”.  The three songs from Being Somewhere are complete reworkings of the songs and while they are good versions, they do not replace the originals. “Find New Ways (Acoustic)” is pleasant and, again, while quite nice, it is an interesting turn at the song but doesn’t add a great deal to the original version on the album.

Being Elsewhere Mix CD is a great album, however, it does have a feel of a stopgap album. This is nothing new in rock. The Who did something similar with Odds And Sods and many other artists have cobbled together an album full of odds and ends. It is still a great album, but one can’t help but listen to it and pine for a whole new album full of new songs. In the meantime, Being Elsewhere Mix CD will do fine with lots of little treasures on it.

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