Micheal Penn - Coal (Michael Penn)
From the album Free-for-All (1992)
Label: BMG Music/RCA Records
Appears on: DALI CD Vol. 4

One of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters to emerge during the late 1980s, Michael Penn was seemingly destined for a career in show business. The oldest son of director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, he was born August 1, 1958, in New York City's Greenwich Village area. Within a year, the family relocated to Los Angeles, where Penn's younger siblings Sean and Chris were born. While his brothers focused on acting, Michael turned to music and following an early obsession with the Beatles, learned to play guitar and soon started writing his own songs.

In the early '80s, Penn formed the group Doll Congress, which garnered a fervent local following but never expanded their fan base outside of Southern California. In 1987, his brother Sean hosted Saturday Night Live and brought Michael along as a musical guest; the performance revived his interest in music – and the rest is history.

Coal contains an impressive stereo image and every part of this nice pop tune stands clear and detailed. We selected this track because we simply love the rhythm and melody, and because Penn is much underestimated as a songwriter. The track seems to be a simple pop song but repeated listens reveal many nice details and an amazing chord progression. We at DALI are fans and we hope you will be as well.