Rich Arithmetic

Sleep In A Wigwam 30th Anniversary Edition (with Bonus Tracks)

Optional Art Records

When this was released in 1994, the height of grunge, Rich wondered if it would find an audience or just remain unknown. It took a year, but then the good press started, and then the sales. It was arty and quirky, totally unlike grunge. Would it find it’s place despite that? The answer eventually was yes, and now it’s been re-released in a very different time.

This was an alternative to grunge; it was happy, the aforementioned arty and quirky, and drew on rock traditionalism more than the future, which today makes it sound even better than it was already. It's different, fun. I like the art and quirks, and his ability to evoke hopeless situations, like “Thirteen Brides,” “Cambridge,” and the John Lennon tribute “Postmortem For Winston.” The album concludes with the multi-part “Ballet For Richie,” a character sketch.

There are bonus tracks too, many of them Christmas-themed and religious. I'm Jewish, and Christian power pop is new to me. I like it. It's perfect for this time of year.

Arithmetic released several albums after that. The ones I’ve heard are worth getting too, but if you want to know his roots, this is it. If I’d heard this album back then, I would have found my musical place, which would’ve been great, as is this album. Now it sounds wonderfully from another time, out of time, and timeless.

Andrea Weiss