Diary of a Mod Housewife
Studio album by
Amy Rigby
Released1996
GenreAlternative rock
LabelKoch Records[1]
ProducerElliot Easton, Gene Holder
Amy Rigby chronology
Diary of a Mod Housewife
(1996)		 Middlescence
(1998)

Diary of a Mod Housewife is the debut album by the American musician Amy Rigby, released in 1996.[2][3] It has been called a concept album about growing older in a music scene, marriage, motherhood, and romantic dissolution.[4][5]

Production

The album was produced by the Cars guitarist Elliot Easton, with the dB member Gene Holder.[6][7] Rigby duets with John Wesley Harding on the album's third track, "Beer & Kisses".[8] Ira Kaplan contributed organ to "That Tone of Voice".[9] Diary of a Mod Housewife was written while Rigby was doing temp work in New York.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Calgary Herald[12]
Robert ChristgauA[5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[1]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[13]
Lincoln Journal Star[9]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[14]
Spin7/10[15]

Robert Christgau thought that Rigby personalizes "the political for a bohemia that coexists oh so neatly with structural underemployment [and thinks] harder about marriage than a dozen Nashville homilizers."[5] Entertainment Weekly called the album "an impressive debut," writing that the songs "occupy a world where relationships, jobs, and urban life are rife with unfulfilled promise."[13] The New York Times thought that "like Kate McGarrigle and Iris DeMent, Ms. Rigby has a reedy voice with steely underpinnings," writing: "With clear-cut melodies and an exacting eye, songs like 'Beer and Kisses' and 'Just Someone I Had in Mind' measure the distance between romance and reality."[16]

The Philadelphia Inquirer placed the album on the "short" list of "grown-up rock-and-roll records that examine monogamy with insight and intelligence."[17] Stereo Review deemed it "a cross between the Go-Go's, Buddy Holly, and a female cowpunk band."[18]

AllMusic wrote that "in addition to her knowing lyrical eye, Rigby is also a terrific composer who synthesizes elements of rock, country, folk and girl group-era pop."[11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Time for Me to Come Down" 
2."Sad Tale" 
3."Beer & Kisses" 
4."20 Questions" 
5."Down Side of Love" 
6."The Good Girls" 
7."Knapsack" 
8."Just Someone I Had in Mind" 
9."Don't Break the Heart" 
10."That Tone of Voice" 
11."Didn't I?" 
12."We're Stronger than That" 

References

  1. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. pp. 22–23.
  2. ↑ "Amy Rigby | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Fernandes, Matt (24 Oct 1996). "Diary of a Mod Housewife Amy Rigby (Koch)". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Get Out. p. 8.
  4. ↑ Lepage, Mark (20 Mar 1997). "Temp jobs feed into Diary of a Mod Housewife". The Gazette. p. C5.
  5. 1 2 3 "Robert Christgau: CG: Amy Rigby". www.robertchristgau.com.
  6. ↑ "Songs From A Marriage". Salon. November 26, 1996.
  7. ↑ "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. 108 (34): 112. Aug 24, 1996.
  8. ↑ "Amy Rigby". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. 1 2 Moser, Daniel R. (24 Nov 1996). "Amy Rigby, Diary of a Mod Housewife, Koch". Lincoln Journal Star. p. H4.
  10. ↑ Catlin, Roger (21 May 1997). "TEMP WORK OK FOR RIGBY IF RESULT IS GOOD SONGS". Hartford Courant. p. E1.
  11. 1 2 "Diary of a Mod Housewife - Amy Rigby | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  12. ↑ Muretich, James (6 Apr 1997). "New Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C2.
  13. 1 2 "Diary of a Mod Housewife". EW.com.
  14. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 943.
  15. ↑ Powers, Ann (Oct 1996). "Spins". Spin. 12 (7): 135–136.
  16. ↑ Pareles, Jon (11 Oct 1996). "Old-Time Rock-and-Roll". The New York Times. p. C37.
  17. ↑ DeLuca, Dan (11 Jan 1997). "AMY RIGBY AT SILK CITY: GROWN-UP ROCK TALES". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D8.
  18. ↑ Nash, Alanna (Jan 1997). "AMY RIGBY: Diary of a Mod Housewife. KOCH 7922". Stereo Review. 62 (1): 100.
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