Every now and again I'll have a dream where for some reason I'm hanging out with somebody really cool like Bill Murray, and I'm cracking him up saying all these funny things and he thinks I'm cool too. While it lasts I'm deliriously happy--and it's about the only way I can think of to describe the way listening to Peter Case makes me feel. The day I got my hands on Flying Saucer Blues, I spent most of the afternoon driving around aimlessly, cranking the Pete, smug in the knowledge that no one else was listening to anything half as cool as I was.

This is the first album Peter has released since I've been doing this for a living, and I'm going to spare no superlatives in my effort to urge you to acquaint yourself with the man whose music I hold so dear. With a voice like Lennon, a lyrical gift like Dylan, and the pure American soul of Guthrie, Case is, in my opinion, the greatest Folk singer/songwriter since Mr. Zimmerman.

Because of the terrific Acoustic Concert Series, we southern Utahns have been treated to a steady diet of Folk's finest. I've enjoyed and appreciated almost all of these traveling troubadours--but, my hand to God, from Gorka to Gilbert, none of these guys can hold a candle to Peter Case. By this I'm issuing a challenge to all my friends who frequent the Acoustic series to go buy this record--and then come and tell me what album I need to be listening to that's any better.

Case enjoyed his 15 minutes of Pop fame in the early 80's as the frontman of the LA band The Plimsouls. His song "A Million Miles Away," was a big KROQ hit about the same time songs like The Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty In Pink," and Modern English' "Melt With You" were the soup of the day. He quit the band at their height, in favor of the backroad route that folk music held out, and he never looked back.

During this time, he met and married Victoria Williams (the undisputed Queen of the alternative/folk sub-culture). Many evenings did I see them perform together at McCabes in Santa Monica . . . I'm just rambling now. The two divorced after four years, but on an interesting sidenote--VictoriaÕs brother Andrew plays on most of Flying Saucer Blues' tracks, and she's presently married to Mark Olson co-founder of The Jayhawks. (to be cont.)