Eitzel proves that 'Ugly Americans' are actually Greek

Former frontman of American Music Club, Mark Eitzel, has always had success that hinged on the power of his voice. He led AMC into territories where reverb met crooning and a very sarcastic dry wit. Since the band broke up in 1994 (though, plans and songs are being sorted out for a reunion as we speak), Eitzel's solo career has been calming down from the emotional wallop his old band's records used to provide.\nThe Ugly American is a kind of greatest hits collection, encapsulating the span of Eitzel's songwriting career, but with a twist. The songs were re-recorded in Greece with a group of traditional Greek musicians. The Greeks add some extremely pleasing string work over Eitzel's songs, and surprisingly, pull out the ancient American immigrant melodies in his compositions. Think of "The Last of the Mohicans" soundtrack accompanied by a lounge singer and a banjo. The problem is, this lounge singer is drunk, or too careful to really get outside of himself in the way he used to. \nEitzel truly was one of the great American songwriters, and despite the inspired idea that The Ugly American is, it's a little perturbing that he would choose to rest on his creative assets.