Few other albums in recent memory have had as long and tortured an evolutionary process as
The Cutting Room Floor. The man behind it -- New York singer/songwriter
Jed Davis -- is an eclectic, multi-talented artist who has been everything from a keyboardist for
Jessica Simpson to a member of garage rock band
the Hanslick Rebellion, but at heart he's a singer/songwriter. Before
The Cutting Room Floor, he had already released a couple of solo albums in the ‘90s, and even inspired a tribute record that featured the likes of
Daniel Johnston and
King Missile covering his songs.
Davis began putting together
The Cutting Room Floor back in 1999, but over the years, he was beset by a daunting series of travails; work on the album was interrupted at various points by everything from a host of physical ailments to day-job layoffs and music-biz complications. Through it all,
Davis forged ahead with a Job-like persistence, but his fortitude was finally rewarded when some high-profile friends popped up to help bring the project home.
David Fridmann of
Mercury Rev/
Flaming Lips fame, stepped in as executive producer and offered up some studio time, and former
Ramone Tommy Erdelyi stepped into a producer role for the first time in many years. The resulting album is nearly as diverse-sounding and difficult to pin down as it was challenging to create. "I Have a Rose," "Let Go," and the title track find
Davis dipping into melodic, atmospheric psych pop that evokes the
Fridmann connection. "Before I Was Born" is hard-driving power pop, peppered by crunchy, punk-tinged guitars and infectious hooks. Piano-driven cuts like "Native Son" and "Enough" combine elegantly arcing melodies with sharp lyrics, suggesting an underground cousin of
Ben Folds. Left-field indie pop tunes "Denny's 3 A.M." and "Queens Is Where You Go When You're Dead" are quirky cuts that show off both
Davis' compositional savvy and his sense of humor. Only
Davis can really say whether
The Cutting Room was worth what he had to go through to make it, but his admirers will surely be thankful that he followed through.