From the first guitar lick of the opening track of Existential Jukebox, you know that Rob Craven’s newly released CD is going to make you get up and dance!  But, if you pay close enough attention, you’ll also find that it catches you off guard here and there – you might lift your eyebrow a time or two, turn your head in surprise, and even feel slightly unbalanced while listening to this eclectic collection of Craven tunes.

   The first song, Out of Love, is a down and dirty, in-your-face, blow-off tune that we all need now and then, something that can buoy you through your worst break-up with sass and vinegar.  But with the second song, Hello, How Are You, comes your first major head turn and several grins as an unexpected story unfolds, laced with Rob’s sardonic humor.  The tasty fiddle seems to be laughing at the incongruous lyrics, as Rob’s gruff voice paired with Janet’s sweet harmony magnifies the fun.

   Valium Jones delivers more paradox, but this one has poignancy:  a sweet young girl who’s getting in over her head receives a dire warning from an experienced enabler who sees where she’s going, but can’t stop himself from helping her to get there.

   Real Kind of Heaven turns your head again with a reggae beat and one of those poetic messages that you can’t quite decipher, but you know it’s deep.  Or, you might decide not to think about it at all, and just keep dancing.  Either way, it’s easy to picture the ragtag angels that sing harmony on the chorus – all friends of Rob, all with their own idea of what this song really means.

   Hideaway is the kind of rock ballad we used to slow-dance to in the 70s – the kind with the thrusting beat and heart-tugging words that imply there’s a lot going on here besides a dance….

   And then – what’s this?  A radio tuning in…to…a clarinet?  A banjo?  Is that a tuba?  Is this a love song?  Indeed – Come Be With Me is an anomaly in every sense – a delightful curve ball from left field a hundred years ago.  It’s followed by Tired of Myself – straight-on, rocking blues that fades into being, rocks the house, and fades back out again…

   She’s a Mystery might be my favorite song on the album:  full-bodied rock & roll that will not let you sit still.  Oh, but She’ll Come Around is just as rich, plus it has killer lyrics.  Talk about poignant!  Yes, our rough-edged maniac has a heart after all, a broken heart that’s big enough to still hold hope.  Maybe he doesn’t want us to know that about him; maybe that’s why he buried this gem so deep in the tracks.

   Elizabeth, while yet another song that yearns after a woman, is a bit lighter in its country-rock style, richly textured with layers of instruments.  Deep Shadow Lady will lift your mood a few more degrees as Rob goes back to his gritty, sardonic, rocking blues. 

   But Sherry’s Fool might cause you to lift that eyebrow one last time.  It ought to be a simple, old-fashioned, sadly sweet slow dance; but in Rob’s unique interpretation, the lyrics take on restrained anger, and you begin to realize that the beat’s a little too fast to properly slow-dance, and that your partner’s embrace is a little too tight, his hands a little too near your throat….

   The album’s very title, Existential Jukebox, tips you off that Rob Craven is not a surface player.  He has delved deeply for decades.  Whether his music penetrates your soul or just makes you get up and dance is up to you – which is what existentialism is all about.