Dan Mangan

Dan Mangan is one of those singer/songwriters that tend to ask more questions than he answers. Oh Fortune is an album filled with memorable folk melodies and fairly vague lyrics.

Death is a big topic in Mr. Mangan’s mind. One song is called “If I Am Dead,” while another one is happily titled “Regarding Death and Dying.” His “Post-War Blues” deals with death as well, albeit indirectly. After all, war is all about killing and dying. It’s a sarcastic little ditty that looks at war as nothing more than something bored people engage in to stave off long dull afternoons. “Find them a foe for the fight,” Mangan suggests, “and stories to tell as they age.” This song is particularly directed at the slacker youth. Mangan begins the song by stating, “Let’s start a war for the kids.” Unless you’re a fortunate son, you’ll likely be one of these ‘kids’ that fight and die in such a proposed war.

Mangan ends the album with “Jeopardy.” But this is not any song about an American game show. Instead, its lyric finds Mangan questioning many of the things he thinks he knows. You’d think that with the full 10 songs that preceded it, Mangan might have better crystallized his opinions about the world already. Yet the more he sings about life, the less he seems to understand it.

Oh Fortune is the sound of an artist that sings a little bit like Ron Sexsmith, and surrounds his songs with a touch of Paul Simon-like world music flavors in places. He might be a bit of a downer at times, but none of these songs are out-and-out dirges. Everybody is trying to make sense of our quickly changing world. However, few of us are singer/songwriters, required by our jobs to make musical sense of it all. Mangan may not make complete sense, but he sure creates a beautiful mess.