''620 W. Surf'' is the debut album by the American musician Michael McDermott, released in 1991. The album is named after McDermott's former address in Chicago. "A Wall I Must Climb" peaked at No. 34 on ''Billboards

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart. McDermott supported the album with a North American tour that included shows with the

BoDeans BoDeans is an American rock band formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin. BoDeans came to prominence in the 1980s. The band's sound encompasses multiple rock genres, including roots rock, heartland rock, and alternative rock. The band's biggest hit to da ...

Production

The album was produced by

Don Gehman Don Gehman is an American record producer, engineer, and executive, best known for his work with John Mellencamp and Hootie & the Blowfish. He was one of "the most successful producers of the 1980s and 1990s." As a sound engineer, he also helped ...

and coproduced by

Brian Koppelman Brian William Koppelman (born April 27, 1966) is an American showrunner. Koppelman is the co-writer of ''Ocean's Thirteen'' and ''Rounders (1998 film), Rounders'', the producer for films including ''The Illusionist (2006 film), The Illusionist'' a ...

, who had signed McDermott. On many songs, McDermott's voice is supported only by his guitar and harmonica; McDermott wrote all of the songs.

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

contributed to ''620 W. Surf''.

Critical reception

The ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

'' wrote that "A Wall I Must Climb" "suggests that his most stirring songcraft also is the simplest, while much of the rest practically begs for McDermott to lighten up a little and submit to some judicious editing." ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'' concluded that "McDermott squanders his feelings and insight on excessive verbiage." '' The Republican'' opined that, "though far too musically derivative at this point, McDermott is a very capable lyric writer." ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' stated that Gehman "unleashes a full-throttle rhythm section only where necessary (as on the rocking 'Sacred Ground'), which gives the album a sense of drama and development." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' concluded that "it probably will take a couple of albums before McDermott sheds some of the stylistic affectations that occasionally get in the way of his storytelling."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

noted that "the arrangements throughout the record are very effective, and are generally enhanced by McDermott's passionate vocals, though his occasional vocal excesses can become grating and interfere with the introspective tone of his songs."

Track listing

Personnel

Band *Michael McDermott: vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, guitar solo on track 6 *Jack Holder: electric and acoustic guitars, piano and organ, accordion,

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more trad ...

*Don Teschner: violin,

dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

, backing vocals on track 2 *John K. Pierce: bass *Denny Fongheiser: drums, percussion Additional Personnel *Wendy Fraser, Portia Griffin,

Marcy Levy Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut al ...

: backing vocals *

: keyboards and piano *Kevin Savigar: Hammond organ

References

{{authority control Michael McDermott (musician) albums 1991 debut albums Giant Records (Warner) albums Albums produced by Don Gehman