Steve Goodman launched his own record label,
Red Pajamas Records, with the release of
Artistic Hair, a live album, in March 1983. Of course, a record label needs more than one record, and
Goodman followed ten months later with the second
Red Pajamas release,
Affordable Art. Unlike its predecessor, which consisted largely of vintage material,
Affordable Art introduced new
Goodman songs, although it also mixed in older tunes. "Talk Backwards" was a novelty repeated from
Goodman's final major-label outing, 1980's
Hot Spot. "Souvenirs" found
Goodman in a duet with his pal
John Prine on one of
Prine's old songs. And "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was, of course, the ageless sports anthem, which served as a set-up for "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request,"
Goodman's humorous rewrite of "St. James Infirmary" as the funeral plans of an adherent of one of the most hapless teams in baseball history. Complicating the comedy of the song, one of four on the disc recorded live, was
Goodman's own status, not only as a Cubs fan, but also as a cancer patient whose recent career had been complicated by medical treatments; indeed,
Affordable Art would be his last album released during his lifetime. It was typical of the singer/songwriter, however, that he would offer such gallows humor, which could also describe "Watchin' Joey Glow," a post-apocalypse tale. "Vegematic," the nightmare story of a man who falls asleep in front of the TV one night and wakes up to find he has ordered every one of those special offers that turn up on late-night commercials with 800 numbers, wasn't quite so morbid, but it was no less funny for that. And typically,
Goodman also found time for a tasty instrumental ("If Jethro Was Here") and for a sentimental ballad concerning family, in this case, his grandparents ("Old Smoothies"). His last album, therefore, was a characteristic one, amusing and moving by turns. [In 2019,
Omnivore Recordings reissued
Affordable Art in an expanded and remastered edition. In addition to the original album's 12 songs, eight bonus tracks have been added, including "Go Cubs Go," an upbeat celebration of his favorite team that became a radio staple in Chicago. (It was composed after
Goodman was told Cubs management found "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" too depressing.) The other bonus performances are solo acoustic studio recordings, previously unreleased, that make the most of the nuances of
Goodman's vocal style. The package also includes original liner notes from
Lee Zimmerman as well as rare photos, and the quality of the audio is strong throughout, making this a significant improvement over the earlier
Red Pajamas release.] ~ William Ruhlmann
