Gerald Collier: I Had To Laugh Like Hell

One of the more inexplicable major-label horror stories belongs to Best Kissers In The World, a promising Seattle band that had a few minor pop-rock hits a few years back. The group's full-length debut, Been There, sold moderately well for a first album, but Best Kissers In The World was unceremoniously dumped shortly before its sophomore album was slated for release. Months of wrangling and hardship later, the band is defunct, and charismatic singer Gerald Collier has just quietly released his first solo album on a struggling independent label. Consisting of little more than Collier and an acoustic guitar, I Had To Laugh Like Hell nicely conveys the singer's ample bitterness and fragile melancholy with songs that are gently played but surprisingly dark in tone. The album is vastly different from Best Kissers In The World's few recordings, but one constant remains: Collier is a strong, expressive songwriter who deserves more credit than he's gotten in the past few years. Maybe this understated, underhyped album will replace the fame he almost had with a fresh, more loyal cult following.