Michael Shelley is a New York City born singer-songwriter with a wry, witty style. His recording career includes three previous solo albums and a collaboration with Francis Macdonald of Teenage Fanclub, "Four Arms To Hold You." On "Goodbye Cheater," Shelley's fourth solo album, his rich musical influences are again evident. The album zips from acoustic-based songs that echo contemporaries like Aimee Mann and Freedy Johnson to country songs that evoke comparisons to the likes of Robbie Fulks and Steve Earle. Thematically, Shelley delivers his signature classic twists on love gone bad. For the recording of, "Goodbye Cheater," Shelley assembled his long time band, featuring guitar god Jon Graboff (Amy Rigby, Laura Cantrell), drummer Steve Goulding (Mekons, Graham Parker) and John Lee (Mercybuckets) on bass. This core was joined by versatile players like Dan Miller (They Might Be Giants), Jay Sherman-Godfrey (World Famous Blue Jays), and Drew Glackin (Silos, Tandy). Dave Amels (The Stepford Husbands, Husky Team) also showed up, as evidenced by his stellar keyboard work. The basic tracks for "Goodbye Cheater" were recorded "mostly live" in an intense two-day session at Bryce Goggin's Trout Recording in Brooklyn, NY. Goggin is known for his work with such bands as Pavement, Apples In Stereo, Lemonheads and Phish. Shelley truly appreciates the collaborative spirit of his compatriots. "During the recording sessions, the musicians would jump from instrument to instrument, trying different things," he reports. "The songs took shape really fast. Bryce somehow managed to stay one step ahead of the chaos...whenever we decided to try another set-up, he was right there with the technical adjustments." The array of instruments heard on "Goodbye Cheater" could have stymied a lesser engineer: organ, piano, electric piano, pedal steel, 12-string guitar, nylon-string guitar, six-string bass, mandolin, mandocello, glockenspiel, lap steel and Weissenborn, not to mention a pile of electric guitars. After adding in a couple of special guests (the lovely Laura Cantrell and guitar soloist Jim Campilongo) and overdubbing a few vocal, tambourine, and guitar tracks, the album was done. The album's opener "We Invented Love" is an anthem that looks back at teenage heartbreak. The segue into "Goofball," a 40-second instrumental, sets the tone for "Hurry On Up And Fall In Love" an only-in-NYC kind of honky-tonk song. The meat of the album is a series of heartfelt mid-tempo songs. The first is an ode to autumn romance, "The Leaves Fell Off The Trees." The title track, "Goodbye Cheater," showcases Shelley's ability to craft songs that create images in the listener's mind, unreeling like little films. Also on the album are pop gems, like the brief and catchy "Move Along" and the 60's-influenced "Out." During the recording of two songs, "A Little Bit Blue" with its Nashville, 1962 feel and the country/gospel tinged "Where Did I Go Wrong?" holes were left for guitar solos. Shelley, a long-time DJ at legendary freeform radio station WFMU, was inspired while airing a cut by Jim Campilongo. Shelley realized that Campilongo's unique brand of country/jazzy guitar might fill those holes nicely. One problem: Shelley didn't know Campilongo. Shelley tracked down an email address for Jim, electronically posed his challenge and subsequently sent over rough mixes. On a rainy Sunday morning in his living room, Jim added the guitar work to those songs. Problem solved, with a dose of modern technology and a "can-do" attitude. Another collaborative high point of the album is Shelley's duet with Laura Cantrell on the country-goes-south-of-the-border "I've Been Trying." It's his third duet with the Diesel Only recording artist on as many albums, and a gem. For the first time on a Michael Shelley album you'll hear cover songs. "That's The Way I Feel" penned by George Jones and Roger Miller gets a galloping, almost jaunty treatment. "I think George and Roger wrote that song in the back of a car. Just amazing," Shelley says. The other cover is by another great American songwriter, former Cricket Sonny Curtis. Shelley first heard "I Wanna Go Bummin' Around" on the "The First Of Sonny Curtis" LP. Shelley was having trouble figuring out the chord structure. So, in another example of modern technology working for the greater good, he found an email address for Curtis, and sent an inquiry. The next day he received a reply from Curtis himself with a chord chart that Curtis warned was "off the top of his head." Needless to say the chords were just right. Shelley wraps up the vocal portion of the CD with a pop/country take on this lesser known jewel. The album closer "Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha" is a short instrumental based on Woody Woodpecker's laugh. With that, Shelley seems to be implying that perhaps the previous tales of heartbreak and pain shouldn't be given too much weight. As always, Shelley tempers experiences of love lost with a sense of humor and slightly twisted optimism. In 1996, after stints playing in Los Angeles and New York bar bands, Shelley recorded his debut "Half Empty." It was a cassette of this credit card-funded album that got Shelley signed to the Big Deal label. His 1998 sophomore album "Too Many Movies" was recorded with a real budget. This enabled him to jet around and lay down tracks in Glasgow, Los Angeles and Brooklyn. He began his tradition of collaborating with musician friends, including members of Baby Lemonade and Belle & Sebastian, both of whom still join Shelley's touring band when geographically convenient. In 2001, Shelley released "I Blame You" on the legendary Bar/None label. Shelley's touring career includes two treks as opening act for They Might Be Giants, a US/Canada tour opening for Shonen Knife, and a trip to Japan opening for Marshall Crenshaw. He also has toured Spain and made five trips to the UK. "Goodbye Cheater" is another step forward from this unique voice, and once again Shelley manages to balance point-of-view and craft, while showing reverence for the wide variety of his musical tastes and styles.