Aimee Mann

Aimee Mann is as literate and skilled a singer-songwriter as you’ll find anywhere in the pop universe. Her spiritual antecedents are the likes of the Kinks, Joni Mitchell, and Squeeze, whose cofounders, Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, provide backing vocals on her gorgeous 1995 single “That’s Just What You Are.” Before going solo (in 1993) Mann had fronted new-wave band ’Til Tuesday, who scored in 1985 with the single “Voices Carry” (a memorable MTV video hit), and the talents she showed early on would really flourish down the line, in melt-away classics like “Red Vines” and “Freeway.” Mann weaves her interest in boxing into the weft of a concept album, in Next Steps.

Aimee Mann’s fifth solo outing, The Forgotten Arm, is a concept album exploring the relationship between a drug-addicted, Vietnam-vet boxer and a Virginia state fairground girl. Like all of Mann’s work, it’s sharp, poetic, tight, and melodically heartbreaking — prepare to be knocked sideways by “King of the Jailhouse,” “Goodbye Caroline,” and “Video.” Bachelor No.2 (featuring the lovely “Nothing Is Good Enough” and “How Am I Different”) was self-released in 2000 after Mann had bought herself out of a label contract, and became one of the first albums to really succeed in the online-only sales market. Rewind some more to Mann’s new-wave days, in Deep Cuts.

To get a real sense of Aimee Mann’s genius, it pays to delve further into her beginnings with post-new-wave popsters ’Til Tuesday. Although she went solo back in ’93, she collaborates regularly with former ‘Til Tuesday bandmate Jon Brion, and here we get a sense of her long-standing gift for sweet sadness on “J for Jules.” The perfectly measured, darkly infectious “Wise Up” — which features on the soundtrack to Magnolia, Mann’s first taste of solo exposure to the world at large — gets a live outing here, while “Jacob Marley’s Chain” from solo debut Whatever builds on an allusion to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to illuminate her own poetic gifts.

Aimee Mann’s career has seen its fair share of record-company wrangles, but she has emerged from all of them defiant and bursting with the pure talent that makes her one of the most vital artists active today. For anyone who takes the time to get to know her work intimately, the rewards are huge. After heading up new-wave band ‘Til Tuesday, and stunning MTV fans with her shock of spiky blond hair, Mann laid down the roots for an outstanding solo career, and built up a strong following (based around L.A.’s legendary Largo venue) that would see her through to the 21st century. Settle into the best of her output so far, from “Voices Carry” to 2008 single “Thirty One Today” from @#%&*! Smilers.