AMG Review of Praying Mantis

Stewart Mason
All Music Guide

Not a rock & roll album like his three early-'80s releases with the Jim Carroll Band, 1991's Praying Mantis is a spoken word disc recorded live at ~St. Marks Church in the Bowery. Taking poems and monologues from his collections -Living at the Movies (1973), -The Book of Nods (1986), and -Forced Entries (1987), as well as some new material and a 14-minute improvised monologue/prose poem/rant called "The Loss of American Innocence," Praying Mantis is like a greatest poetry hits collection. Those who aren't fans of Carroll's Rimbaud/Verlaine-derived poetry will not have their minds changed (indeed, his harsh Noo Yawk accent sometimes obscures the language's power), but it's pretty essential for fans.