I love Penguin. I remember first listening to it and being genuinely excited by the quality of the songs, especially "Remember Me" and "Night Watch." I also think it's mixed better than Mystery--a little more echo and some distance from the microphones, maybe?
The band and critics tend to dismiss the album because no one wants to discuss Walker or why he was ever in the band. I suppose it's easier to write the whole thing off than consider the LP song by song which, when done, is actually quite a collection.
Yeah "Road Runner" stinks--but is it's presence there enough to bash the entire record?
I agree with chilD that the one genuine complaint here is the record's too short. If the band were short on material, I simply don't see why Chris couldn't have used one or two of her backlogged songs (We now know, for example, "Spare Me" was written one or two year prior to its being recorded on Bare Trees..."It's You I Miss" and "Gone Into the Sun" from Madison Blues set could be likely candidates) to fill in some spots.
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