Hal Shows

The independent rock distribution network of the late '80s and early '90s heavily favored alternative rock with an attitude. An unfortunate side effect of this was that quirky singer/songwriters such as Floridian Hal Shows -- not especially commercial, but not especially alternative-minded or experimental either -- could get lost in the shuffle. Shows, formerly of the extremely obscure Persian Gulf (who had a couple of releases in the 1980s), recalled British singer/songwriters like <a href="spotify:artist:2BGRfQgtzikz1pzAD0kaEn">Elvis Costello</a> and (more strongly) <a href="spotify:artist:6spXkXEP6teMn2cu9sWbBR">Ray Davies</a> on his 1989 debut LP, Birthday Suit. Shows was best at acoustic folk-rock with a narrative flavor, sounding worn without sounding sorry for himself. Although this unassuming effort flew under the radar, Shows continued to release additional albums sporadically over the ensuing decades, including Lifeboat (1995), Native Dancer (2003), and Treasure of Love (2012). Shows is also a published poet and essayist. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi