Jill Sobule is a smart and witty songwriter who keeps gaining maturity with each progressive CD. "Pink Pill" is a more enjoyable recording than Happy Town, in that the songs seem less dark and more peppy. The character songs are still the ringers here, from the body maniac with low self-image in "Lucy At The Gym" who discovers that everyone in heaven is perfect to "Mary Kay," about Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher who had sex with a 13-year-old student.

I have two favorites on "Pink Pearl," and they are the wonderfully sad tale of unrequited love in "Mexican Wrestler" and the darkly funny "Heroes." In the later, Jill bemoans the fact that all the folks she looked up to creatively were train-wrecks.

"William Faulkner, drunk and depressed.
Dorothy Parker, mean, drunk and depressed,
And that guy in Seven Years in Tibet turned out to be a Nazi.
The founding fathers all had slaves.
The explorers slaughtered the braves.
The Old Testament God can be so petty."

All set on top of a great shuffle with a goofy electric piano solo. The only artists who reach these kinds of musical epiphanies would be Aimee Mann (a lot of "Pink Pearl" is reminiscent of Mann's "Bachelor No. 2") and the late Warren Zevon, who Jill often toured with. While I still rate her second album and "Underdog Victorious" as her better albums, there is still plenty to enjoy on "Pink Pearl."

Jill Sobule is a smart and witty songwriter who keeps gaining maturity with each progressive CD. "Pink Pill" is a more enjoyable recording than Happy Town, in that the songs seem less dark and more peppy. The character songs are still the ringers here, from the body maniac with low self-image in "Lucy At The Gym" who discovers that everyone in heaven is perfect to "Mary Kay," about Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher who had sex with a 13-year-old student.

I have two favorites on "Pink Pearl," and they are the wonderfully sad tale of unrequited love in "Mexican Wrestler" and the darkly funny "Heroes." In the later, Jill bemoans the fact that all the folks she looked up to creatively were train-wrecks.

"William Faulkner, drunk and depressed.
Dorothy Parker, mean, drunk and depressed,
And that guy in Seven Years in Tibet turned out to be a Nazi.
The founding fathers all had slaves.
The explorers slaughtered the braves.
The Old Testament God can be so petty."

All set on top of a great shuffle with a goofy electric piano solo. The only artists who reach these kinds of musical epiphanies would be Aimee Mann (a lot of "Pink Pearl" is reminiscent of Mann's "Bachelor No. 2") and the late Warren Zevon, who Jill often toured with. While I still rate her second album and "Underdog Victorious" as her better albums, there is still plenty to enjoy on "Pink Pearl."

OMG! I can't BELIEVE there are only two reviews for this fantastic album! As is all of Jill's material - it's full of really smart, really funny, heartfelt and incisive songs.

've been a big Jill Sobule fan for ages and ages. It's always tough to know which album to start new fans with, but this one is a great place to start. I've given this album as a present to quite a few girlfriends, and they've all LOVED it and ALL reported how much the listened to it over and over and over and over again - as I did when I first got it.

Jill's just a terrific songwriter - each song is like a perfect little short story all in its own right. The songs are also really fun to sing along to, and really easy to relate to. I've always been amazed that Jill isn't more widely known.

Definitely get this album - and then all her others. And if you ever get a chance to see her live, go - she puts on a terrificly fun show.

JS has a very pretty if rather small voice. Her lyrics are smart and different. Songs are catchy. I'm surprised none of the tracks from Pink Pearl were hits. She's a good singer-songwriter who deserves more recognition. Check her out.

This album was a pleasant surprise. If you enjoy female vocalists and witty lyrics you'll like this. The songs have graceful melodies and are easy to listen to yet reward attention as well. Just like the review quoted on the site says, the lyrics really demonstrate that there are interesting things going on in even the most ordinary events...just as an example from "Rainy Day Parade":
I used to have the stars in my pockets
Now I just watch them on TV
My friends, they've all run away
But they'll come back again
And we'll have a celebration
Getting back on my medication
We'll have a rainy day parade

Other songs include "Lucy at the Gym" about a woman exercising to overcome self image problems, dying and going to heaven..."Mexican wrestler" about unrequited love..."Claire" about a friendship with a woman with Alzheimer's and secrets of that life that are lost to fading memories and ambiguity...
Great stuff - really enjoy the songs - too bad Amazon doesn't have samples foryou to listen to so you could see if you like it.
I would say that the closest performer that comes to mind is the duo of Kate and Anna McGarrigle.