Life’s Too Short, but a ‘Miracle’ Makes It Better

For Marshall Crenshaw, a seedy motel room helped turn a scowl into one big smile.

Four years ago, the respected but commercially undervalued pop-rocker had become disillusioned by the record business. Making “Life’s Too Short,” his first and last album for MCA, had been such a negative experience, he says, that when it was done, he didn’t even want to think about going back into a studio.

“I guess I knew I would do another [record] sometime, but I sure wasn’t in a particular hurry,” Crenshaw--who plays the Galaxy in Santa Ana on Sunday night--recalled last week on the phone from his home in Woodstock, N.Y. “My association with MCA was a real drag”--he wouldn’t elaborate--”so when I got free of my contractual obligations with them, I didn’t want any big commitments.”

But there was at least one potential song still swirling around inside his head. Searching for a place where he could shake it loose, a place that would afford him the solitude to work up some inspiration, he remembered that “about three years ago, I used to rent this motel room down the road from me, so I could just sort of go and work on new stuff.

“It was a cheap motel by the side of the highway with 40-watt lightbulbs, ratty carpeting. . . . You could even smell the disinfectant.” He checked in with his “acoustic guitar and Sony Walkman and closed all the curtains, to just try and come up with ideas.

“It was just me beating down on the guitar, trying to get a good groove going. That’s how the melody to ‘What Do You Dream Of?’ was born. And that’s what really got me going again.”

Adding lyrics that were inspired by a PBS documentary on Greta Garbo, Crenshaw wound up with a wonderful, shimmering, highly melodic pop gem about intimacy and privacy. The song kicks off “Miracle of Science,” his first studio album in five years.

The album includes four R&B; and soul covers (Dobie Gray’s “The ‘In’ Crowd” among them) along with Crenshaw’s own ‘50s and 1960s-inspired power pop, ranging from the blissful “Starless Summer Sky” to the surf-rock-cum-spaghetti-western instrumental “Theme From ‘Flaregun’ ” to the somber and personal “Laughter.”

“Laughter,” which employs a drum and bass arrangement borrowed from Howlin’ Wolf’s “No Place to Go,” is described by Crenshaw as “a melancholy post-AIDS kind of song. My wife and I used to have a large circle of friends which included some gay men,” said Crenshaw, 43. “Some have passed away, and I wrote this song for my wife, who lost her best friend to AIDS. It’s about coping the best we can and finding the strength to carry on.”

Such introspective material is a long way from his early upbeat nuggets such as the sing-along “Mary Anne” and the jangly “Someday, Someway.” But stylistic departures should not be surprising from a man whose tastes stretch from Desi Arnaz, Curtis Mayfield and Merle Haggard to the Beastie Boys, Beck and ZZ Top.

Crenshaw has been active in a variety of extra-musical pursuits. He played bit parts in the films “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “La Bamba” (playing Buddy Holly, whom he resembles) and writing “Hollywood Rock,” a fan’s survey of rock ‘n’ roll movies from the ‘50s to the present. He said these endeavors were fun and offered new challenges, but, he was quick to add, they have been little more than recreational pursuits between albums and tours.

Crenshaw’s priority is making music, and he is glad to be back at it. “I am proud of this record,” he said, “because it still has my catchy pop confections, plus some very real, personal sketches too. I don’t want to become one of those self-absorbed singer-songwriter types. Yet I think it’s possible to touch others emotionally without forcing my life’s story down their throats.”

* Marshall Crenshaw (backed by drummer Brock Avery and bassist Andy York), Victor DeLorenzo and Ave C. play Sunday night at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $13.50-$15.50. (714) 957-0600.