Concept: Music journalist releases CD.

Did you just wince a little too? (Full disclosure: I'm one of those sorry writer-musician types.) The idea alone doesn't ring of promise, but The Mad Ripple – nom de rock for City Pages scribe Jim Walsh – has released a fun, loose, professional-enough record full of humor and charm. Even its title alludes to the possibility of failure and if Walsh's self-deprecating humor doesn't win you over, his songs will.

The record starts with "Here Come the catholic Boys" (whose lowercase "c" is emphasized by a Webster-like definition for "catholic" printed on the disc). This sets the tone appropriately for the rest of "Sink and/or Swim" – it's a campfire singalong that sounds not a little like the Stones' "Sweet Virginia." It's fun, ragged and sweet.

Walsh has some semi-famous friends from Son Volt and the Jayhawks helping out on this record, which turns out to be a genius move. Walsh seems to know he's not an ace guitarist and though the out-of-tune playing lends the CD some personality, hearing seasoned pros in the background keeps the album steady.

Walsh, however, is not without talent. With a couple of exceptions – such as the overlong, misguided dance track/poem "Fixthebroke" – Walsh knows what works and what doesn't, so the informal feel never feels cutesy or underdeveloped. The best track here is "A Question For Pat Dwyer at Grumpy's in Northeast Minneapolis," a lilting waltz that features a tin whistle and a chorus asking, "Does it all get peaceful in the end?" Though it sounds like a country take on a traditional folk songs, crashing drums and raucous piano disrupt the tranquility.

Walsh's soft and vulnerable voice makes him sound a little like ex-Jayhawk Marc Olson, giving "Sink and/or Swim" some poignancy that his humor alone would not have provided. The record ends with "This Little Light of Mine," a duet with daughter Helen Heyer-Walsh, and though adorable and full of guitar mistakes, it completely works.

This is not a vanity project, this is the sound of a man having fun with his friends and inviting us along. Luckily, it also makes for good music. DB

myspace.com/themadripple