Learn How To Love is the feel good record of 2007. Sure, it's a no brain-er to compare singer-songwriter Mitch Linker to the finest piano pop maestros past or present, from Burt to Brian to Elton to Todd to Rufus, however this artist's fresh approach to a time-tested genre is rather extraordinary. It's the little things that make Love a winner; the Stax like horn blasts which raise the pulse on "Bright Side," the menacing blues licks to jumpstart "Wonder," or Linker's sultry baritone humming to introduce "Indian Summer Wind." Only an artist of Linker's cheery disposition could take the piss out of Bush's America in "America" which surprisingly morphs from a torch song to a campy romp in the second verse - surely Linker could peddle this ditty to CNN, Fox News, or Comedy Central. No surprise that Linker placed second in a recent John Lennon Songwriting Competition as "Far Away" could easily fit on Imagine. Who says they don't make 'em like they used to? All you need is Love?
--Tom Semioli
