Album Review Friday

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#10 Couldn’t Stand The Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan

#9 Let It Be - The Replacements

#8 Learning To Crawl - The Pretenders

#7 The Smiths

Context is key to understanding why the albums on this list were so powerful in 1984, which lends understanding to why their brilliance continues.  1984 was the year of Van Halen,  Footloose, Duran Duran and ZZ Top.  Nothing but over the top gloss seemed to get attention and popular praise.  Yet somehow a band with an intentional bland name and a socially awkward frontman set its debut album against this glitz to make music history.  The Smiths, four overly self conscious lads from Manchester, England produced a fully formed sound that would be too short lived, but still ring as relevant and unique thirty years later.  Their self-titled debut album The Smiths featured a mature sound strengthened by the emotional vocals of Morrissey and the chiming guitar sounds of Johnny Marr.  This duo would burnout four years later, but the music they created survives.  

Manchester in the 1980s was the English analogue to Seattle in the 1990s.  Spurred by unemployment and a dying economy, the youth of Northern England took their anger and angst out in music, which for pop fans was a bounty of creativity.  Joy Division, New Order, ABC and others would mark the beginning of the period, anchored in the mid-80s by The Smiths and The Stone Roses, all setting the foundation for a scene that would give birth to Oasis in the 1990s.  The Smiths’ origin story is one so often heard in rock, the chance meeting of two gifted artists, invigorated by a common love for alternative bands and the New York punk scene of the 1970s.  Shortly after, slowed by finding the right rhythm section, Morrissey and Marr joined forces with bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce and the band was formed.  Morrissey had now decided to only go by his surname, and also is credited with the intentional simplicity of the name of their group: 

“it was the most ordinary name and I thought it was time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces”

 

Their debut album The Smiths, released February 1984, would be anything but ordinary.  Everything from Marr’s guitar sound to Morrissey’s songwriting would get attention, and not all of it positive.  Certainly an album of murky songs all around four-minutes plus in length, steeped in dark, sexually ambiguous undertones is not a formula that would predict popular success.  “Reel Around The Fountain”, the album’s first track, is not the typical song meant to grab the listener and announce a band’s arrival.  Six minutes of dreamy memories of a sexual experience gone bad do not often bode well, but there is something catchy in Morrissey’s crooning and the song definitively works.  This theme of sexual frustration and confusion continues, as seen in the daringly titled “Pretty Girls Make Graves”.  Again we hear Morrissey describe an awkward situation of adolescent love, sex and denial.  The song works so well though with his lilting delivery and the strength of the backing of Joyce and Rourke. Marr’s guitar work is front and center on the controversial ‘lullaby’ “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle”.  Marr’s consistent, ringing guitar work backs Morrissey’s haunting lyrics that imply a plot of childhood murder.  Looking back now we know this is the band that would write about the pleasure of being killed by in bus accident, and the conflict of seeing a girlfriend in a coma.  But for a debut album to contain lyrics that are this chilling, the music better be extraordinary to pull it off.  

 

                                                A piano plays in an empty room

                                                There’ll be blood on the cleaver tonight

                                                And when darkness lifts and the room is bright

                                                I’ll still be by your side

                                                For you are all that matters

                                                And I’ll love you to the day I die

                                                There never need be longing in your eyes

                                                As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine

 

 

And it is, and that is what made this album so attractive.  The subject matter was difficult, but the music and vocals conveyed a universal appeal to the themes of struggle, despair and sadness.  That they could put a song out with such sincerity as “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle”, and follow it with the pure pop treat  “This Charming Man” shows The Smiths’ true talent.  Marr’s guitar is bright and fun, betraying Morrissey’s tale of sexual confusion, lust, and vulnerability.  

 

 

 

But the most controversy, and anger, would be directed at the closing track “Suffer Little Children”.  Clearly describing the horrific Moors murders that occurred near Manchester in the 1960s, the song actually led to the album being banned from several stores throughout England.  Despite the subject matter, the song again is a beautiful example of Morrissey’s skill as a vocalist matched with the unique guitar work of Marr.  This combination led to even better music to come, but albeit for only four more years.  Marr and Morrissey could not overcome their creative conflicts, which ran deep enough that their mutual anger continues three decades later.   

The Smiths is ranked on too many lists to mention, be it greatest albums of the 1980s, best debut albums of all time, and on and on.  This is all well deserved, and on reexamination the music and songwriting seems to improve with age.  If only we all could be so fortunate.

 

Monday Lesson From History

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Five days from now, Saturday June 20 2019 will mark the 50th anniversary of the first landing of humans on the Moon.  Neil Armstrong of course became the first person to set foot on the lunar surface, but that contact was made due to the work and spirit of hundreds of millions of Americans.  This attitude was captured in President John F Kennedy’s speech to Congress in 1961, when he detailed the importance of space exploration:

 

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth…But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon – if we make this judgement affirmatively, it will be an entire nation.

 

Eight years later (eight years!) an American mission would complete that journey and plant our flag on the Moon.  Eight years during which the country grieved with the murder of a president, struggled with our historical errors on civil rights, and battled communist foes in Southeast Asia.  Despite those challenges, America was able to focus and achieve what was thought to be undoable.  And that is exactly why JFK declared, in 1962, that we would go to the Moon:

 

We choose to go to the moon.  We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win…

 

 

That spirit should never leave us, that we can do what others believe we can not.  Be it as an individual or as a country, we should never back down from a challenge because overcoming that challenge is where true greatness is achieved.    

Album Review Friday - 1984 Countdown, #8

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#10 Couldn’t Stand The Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan

#9 Let It Be - The Replacements

#8 Learning to Crawl - The Pretenders

No matter the art, be it cinema, writing or music, what separates the great from the mediocre is commitment.  Commitment to the craft, the desire the artist has to create that drives them no matter the obstacle in front of them.  The eighth album on this list, The Pretenders Learning To Crawl,  is the product of the passionate drive of its lead singer Chrissie Hynde.   Her rise to fame with that of her band is unique and inspiring, especially reflecting on how difficult it must have been for a woman in rock music in the 1970s.  Fascinated with music and art she moved to London in 1973 where she ended up working for the magazine NME, and eventually connecting to Malcolm McLaren and his band of music renegades The Sex Pistols.  Legend has it that she tried to get a British visa by marrying Sid Vicious, which may be the ultimate example of rock and roll dedication.  She was forced to leave England but returned a few years later, again trying to make her mark with a band, even trying to form a band with Mick Jones from The Clash.   Eventually she would form the first iteration of the Pretenders in 1978 and the following year release their classic “Brass In Pocket”, which hit number one in Britain the following year.  All should have been good, the struggle complete and the achievement obtained.  But only three years later The Pretenders would be forced into hiatus, after drug use forced the firing of bassist Pete Farndon and drug overdose took the life of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott.  The test of Hynde’s commitment to rock and roll was upon her.

 

By the end of 1982 Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers were able to cobble together a reformed but temporary version of The Pretenders and released their biggest single in the USA “Back On The Chain Gang” (with the equally strong B-side “My City Was Gone”).   By 1983 a permanent group was intact, with Malcolm Foster on bass and Robbie McIntosh playing guitar.  This quartet released what would become the classic rock album of the 1980s Learning To Crawl in January 1984.  Looking back it should not be a surprise this album is so strong, coming after a string of singles listed above that remain relevant to this day.  But even with the power of time it is remarkable to listen to the consistent, robust music of Learning To Crawl.

 

The album makes no mistake about its intent with the lead track “Middle Of The Road”, opening with a powerful drum beat that announces what will be forty minutes of rock and roll.  Listening to the album over thirty years later is an awakening to just how brilliant the music is from start to finish.  Blindfold a novice Pretenders fan and have them listen to this album and they will think you mistakenly slipped in a greatest hits collection.  The all time classic “Back On The Chain Gang” follows as the second track, powered by Hynde’s snarl and Chambers relentless beat.  This pattern continues, without letting up, demonstrating that despite the tragic circumstances, Hynde and The Pretenders were here to stay.  The closing of the first half of the album features their ability to work catchy melody with a rock backbeat as  “Show Me” finishes off what is a near perfect album side. If their ability to rock were in doubt at all then those doubts were erased when the bass groove of “My City Was Gone” begins. This song fits into the reflection Hynde put into her songwriting, recalling changes in her youth, her home state, and her recent personal life.  The album ends with what is likely the most misunderstood song of the album, the beautiful “2000 Miles”.  Its lyrics have often been misinterpreted as a holiday song due to the references to snow and Christmas.  But more examination reveals it is  written to lost bandmate Honeyman-Scott -

 

                        He’s gone 2000 miles

                        Its very far

                        The snow is falling down

                        Gets colder day by day

                        I miss you

 

 

Learning to Crawl is a clear example of triumph from tragedy, that commitment and desire will not be stopped in the search for something beautiful.   This album is the result of that search,  and its strength resonates over three decades later.   

Monday Lesson From History

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I lived in Charlottesville Virginia in the 1980s and 1990s, after moving there when I was 13. One thing immediately apparent was this was the city that loved its hero Thomas Jefferson. Not only was the University of Virginia the cultural center of the city but it was also the pride of the city. This was the beacon of the town, created by the vision of its famous resident, the third President of the United States. Everywhere in town were reminders of the affection and pride taken in the association with Thomas Jefferson. Restaurants named after him, historical markers designating important exploits, reminders of his nearby mansion on the hill, Monticello. School lectures always seemed to weave his national influence into their theme, no matter history, english or government. Yet now, with prominent signaling of virtue, Charlottesville has decided not to celebrate the birthday of its most honored former resident and founding father of the country in which we live. Yes, Jefferson was a flawed man, a complex person who embodied the conflicts of his time. While a champion for individual rights, he was a slave owner. A defender of the rights and responsibilities of the individual, he was infamous for not paying debts, and also guilty of having an illicit affair with one of his slaves.

But this man also risked execution by being a leader in the movement that gave birth to this nation. He wrote his own death sentence when he completed the Declaration of Independence. He represented Virginia in the Continental Congress, he became governor of his home state in 1779, and was elected this country’s third president in 1801. As president he led us in our first war against terrorism, confronting the pirates of the Barbary states on two occasions.

History is relevant for us to learn from that which preceded us, to examine the triumphs as well as the defeats, the glory and the shame, the great and the flawed. We are the ones truly flawed if we ignore the lessons of history, if we cover up or ignore people or events that are not perfect in our current definition of that word. We honor people and build statues to our heroes to celebrate their importance and their greatness, not to declare them immune from scrutiny and criticism. It is their example that can be used to inspire, but also to teach. For Jefferson, his life is one that deserves celebration because without his actions the freedom we enjoy may never have been realized. I would like to think we are mature and intelligent enough to also discuss his flaws and mistakes, as by doing so allows us to consider and improve our own.

Album Review Friday - 1984 Countdown, #9

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#10 Couldn’t Stand The Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan

#9 Let It Be - The Replacements

It is often said that people regret most what they did not do, actions not performed, chances not taken.  It is the missed opportunity that haunts us, leaving us with the constant remorseof what could have been.  In the mid 1980s I was offered a chance to see The Replacements play a show at Trax, a small club in Charlottesville, Virginia.  I passed, missing out on what was supposed to be a legendary show from an iconic band of the 1980s.  The Replacements live shows were legendary for their aggressiveness, which when fueled by too much beer would turn into blatant antagonism for their audience.  How that show in Charlottesville came off I’ll never know, and that sentiment of missed opportunity is how I and others feel about the band in general.  They always seemed on the cusp of true greatness, but something always seemed to be missing.  But with their 1984 album Let It Be, they got as close to true musical brilliance as any band of the decade. 

The Replacements came out of Minneapolis, which was the alternative epicenter of the 1980s, much as Seattle was the hotbed of the grunge movement coming in the 1990s. Joined by bands like Husker Du and Soul Asylum, The Replacements were as dysfunctional and raw as they were talented.  Similar to other bands of that post-punk indie scene they liked to play fast and loud, which when left unchecked easily could sound ragged and careless.  Yet by the time of their 1983 album Hootenanny, they had matured enough that true songwriting could be heard on the record, and this broadened their appeal to both critics and audiences.  With this attention they seemed to gain confidence, allowing them to explore more sincere songs with more musicianship.  Led by Paul Westerberg, their guitarist and vocalist who now was responsible for the bulk of the writing, The Replacements put together thirty three minutes of music that would become a classic of both the postpunk and rock scene of the 1980s.

 

What makes Let It Be so good is what made The Replacements so entertaining to watch live (so I’ve heard), vulnerability coupled with arrogance. Could anything be more arrogant than an indie rock band featuring mandolin on the opening track of their breakthrough album?  Certainly this was due to the influence of their relationship with REM’s Peter Buck, but they still had the brashness to put it out there and accept any criticism to come. Westerberg even said the album’s first song “I Will Dare” represented the attitude of the band, “We’ll dare to flop, we’ll dare to do anything”.   “I Will Dare” is immediately attractive on first listen, intense rock yet softened enough to match the sincerity of the lyrics – 

 

            Oh, meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime

            Now, I don’t care, meet me tonight

            If you will dare, I might dare

 

From the sincerity of teenage vulnerability the album quickly swerves into songs like “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out”, a raw but fun song that seems from a different band that recorded “I Will Dare” or “Sixteen Blue”.  “Sixteen Blue” shows off how Westerberg’s lyrics could capture every teenager’s feeling of boredom and loneliness, matched with enough aggressive guitar to symbolize the teenage angst still percolating through the band. 

 

Let It Be is a classic because of how unique it was when released, and how its effect lasts until this day.  The songwriting initially seems to be focused on teen frustration and isolation, but the lyrics still resonate to listeners who are decades beyond adolescence.  Combined with music that had a controlled ferocity, the album was the high point of a band that always seemed to be on the cusp of self destruction.  Of course, that self destruction was only a few years away, as band members left and some were replaced, leading to the eventual breakup in 1991.  What could have been if they had remained intact and repeated the brilliance of Let It Be?  We will never know, but we have what was, Let It Be, and that remains one of the best albums of 1984. 

Monday Lesson From History

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July 1st is the traditional first day of internship, the first year of post medical school training and humorously known as the unluckiest day to be a patient.  Naïve and green, new physicians in training are typically referred to as well intentioned but error prone, bumbling but idealistic. 

It seems appropriate this July 1st to recall how the idealism and energy of young doctors can sometimes have impact well beyond healing the sick.  One such example is of physicians actually creating an illness for their patients, which ironically would be the only chance both the suffering and their doctors had to survive. 

In 1943, at the height of World War II,  Rome was abandoned by the Italian army and overtaken by the Germans.  Under Nazi occupation, orders were quickly established in the city to arrest any Jews and prepare them for deportation to Auschwitz.  Across from the Jewish ghetto in downtown Rome stood the Fatebenefratelli Hospital, a structure dating back to the 16th century and run by the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God.  When the ghetto was raided by the Nazis in October 1943, Jewish refugees were given shelter in the hospital.  Their fate uncertain as the German roundup of Jews continued, it was a group of young physicians who devised a plan to protect those in hiding from capture.  This was the origin of the fictitious disease, Syndrome K.

Syndrome K originally was the label used by the doctors and staff to distinguish the Jewish ‘patients’ from the actual sick in the hospital.  The fictitious disease was named after the German commander in charge of the Roman occupation, Albert Kesserling.  While this system allowed for all in the hospital to know which patients were refugees, it would take more ingenuity to protect them from the inevitable Nazi sweeps looking for Jews in hiding.  So the physicians created an isolation unit for Syndrome K patients, describing the illness to the Germans as highly contagious.  As tuberculosis was prevalent in Europe in the early twentieth century, the physicians coached the Syndrome K patients, some of them children, to violently cough whenever the German soldiers were present.  Vittorio Sacerdoti, a Jewish physician working at the hospital under an assumed name said “The Nazis thought (Syndrome K) was cancer or tuberculosis, and they fled like rabbits.”

Through the actions of hospital staff and led by young, compassionate physicians several hundred Jews were believed to be saved by the ‘disease’ Syndrome K. In 2016 the bravery of those at Fatebenefratelli Hospital was honored as it was designated a “House of Life” by the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

Album Review Friday - 1984 Countdown, #10

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#10 Couldn’t Stand The Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

There are certain musicians that create a sound that is so unique it only takes a few notes before the listener identifies its source.  John Bonham’s crushing drum rhythms,  Prince’s screeching guitar solos, and John Entwistle’s thunderous bass lines are a few that quickly come to mind.  But in 1983 a new artist created a fusion of blues and rock that had not yet to be heard.  With a guitar sound forged from the heaviest strings, high-set frets and a merciless pounding of his workman like hands, Stevie Ray Vaughan introduced the pop-drunk music audience of the early 1980s to his version of the Texas blues.  He made his mark on his debut album Texas Flood, with the “Pride and Joy” track waking the MTV audience up and making them take notice of this unparalleled bluesman.   

In 1984 he released Couldn’t Stand The Weather.  Sophomore slump?  Not for a man who dropped out of high school to dedicate his life to the blues, sleeping on bar room pool tables after nights of shredding his version of the blues to any Texan willing to listen.  Backed by Double Trouble - drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon (and keyboardist Reese Wynans) - Stevie Ray Vaughan (SRV) would stake his claim to the premier blues guitarist of the late twentieth century. The week of Couldn’t Stand The Weather’s release, the top Billboard album spots were held by artists Lionel Richie, Van Halen, Michael Jackson and Culture Club. Little did radio listeners realize a storm was on the horizon.  

Couldn’t Stand The Weather was a statement from the opening notes of the first track. “Scuttle Buttin’” makes it clear that SRV is putting everything on the line to prove he is the blues guitarist of the hour.   This quick instrumental shows off his technical skill, with a fun beat that kicks off an album totally unlike anything else on the radio at the time. 

And then the title track.  The slow beginning lulls the listener into thinking this is just another display of SRV’s blues skill, but then the drums and bass kick in, starting and stopping until SRV’s guitar steps in and leads the rest into what becomes a blistering, relentless rock and blues beat that does not let up for the next three minutes.   

The next five minutes may be the best on the whole album.  “Things That I Used To Do” is just simply SRV doing what he does best – technical, soulful guitar playing and snarling vocals that put together are simply a joy to listen to. And the solo is probably the best on the album, just exhilarating.  Sample this outtake from a 1984 show featuring his brother Jimmie Vaughan, which demonstrates the energy and emotion SRV puts into this song, assaulting his guitar to produce another legendary performance. 

 

His take on Jimi Hendrix’ classic “Voodoo Chile” is strong, and shows off why SRV was so talented.  The song itself is limited in its construction, but he is able to input his own interpretation that takes it to new places and his solos are exceptional.  A joy to listen to as he stretches the rhythms of Hendrix’ version, and uses just enough feedback to pay homage to the original as he brings this classic from the 1960s into the 1980s.

The second half of the album reinforces SRV’s strength on this album, his commitment to the blues with just enough rock beats to keep it fresh.  “Cold Shot” and and “Honey Bee” are classic blues riffs with his vocals backed by unrelenting blues jams that still sound sharp over thirty years later.  Sandwiched between these is “Tin Pan Alley”, nine minutes of the most honest blues heard on the album.  Magnificent,  slow guitar licks interrupted with Vaughan’s low growl which create a song unlike any other from the best albums of 1984.   Myth is that the album version was a soundcheck outtake done live, giving more credence to how tight SRV and Double Trouble were playing at the time.

In a year that saw Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the soundtrack to Footloose dominate the sales charts, it is a Texas bluesman and his thunderous guitar tone that leads off the best albums of 1984.   These albums are chosen on their creativity, sustaining impact, and of course my subjective appreciation of the work.

Following Couldn’t Stand The Weather Stevie Ray Vaughan would continue to carve out a space for blues in the world of 1980s popular music. He proved that music fans in the 1980s were sophisticated enough to appreciate the blues, supported by his continued popularity and musicianship that only were halted by his untimely death in a 1990 helicopter accident.

 

Looking Ahead

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Starting Friday I’ll begin the countdown of the best ten albums from 1984. Why 1984? It was a treasure of rock and pop music seeing Madonna and Springsteen plant their flags of dominance over the airwaves. But it also was the year rap truly became part of the general pop scene, as Run DMC sprung out of NY and across the country. But it was also a year of smaller groups maturing into the bands that would last until today. What were the best albums of that pivotal year? Start the journey with me on Friday and see.

Monday Lesson From History

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I recently finished the HBO series Chernobyl, the dramatic portrayal of the 1986 nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union.  Overall it is a satisfying work, an apparent comprehensive description of the major events surrounding the explosion of the Soviet nuclear power plant, though of course with accepted theatric license that has been criticized elsewhere.  But what struck me is the core (no pun, seriously) issue that led to the disaster, the conflict that repeats itself in history with all too much frequency  and in this case led to unmeasurable suffering.  This would be the failure of effective communication within a hierarchical structure. 

 

Crew Resource Management (CRM) is an idea that grew out of the airline cockpit culture, to allow for free expression and questioning from all crew members, regardless of their place in the traditional hierarchy.  CRM was meant to replace the authoritarian, top-down, never question the captain culture with one of open collaboration.  This idea is present now in medicine, seen most clearly in surgery and the ICU, where a more team approach is fostered as opposed to the physician being an unquestioned commander that should not be challenged.  When used effectively, this can allow any member of the team to speak and question freely without fear of repercussion.  Of course, theory and practice are often not in sync, but this continues to be the goal of most medical care teams. 

 

There was no such theory or practice in the nuclear reactor control room at Chernobyl.  Fear of superiors was present at all levels of the hierarchy, which accelerated the errors that eventually led the plant’s explosion.  It is about time that we reflect on this example and finally learn that cooperative environments foster more consistent success than autocratic systems. 

Album Review Friday

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Bruce Springsteen has a new album out.   I can remember when that statement would bring immediate excitement, at the period of his career when albums of new material came every two to three years.  This was when exposure to a musician was mainly through their music,  when MTV was embryonic, and obviously no twitter, YouTube, internet whatsoever.  But times change, and careers change.  With live albums, re-releases, books, etc the past ten years or so seem to have included a feast of Springsteen creative output.  As a lifelong Springsteen fan, I admittedly became a bit fatigued with this.  The quality has not always been there, and with every release the effect of each product becomes diluted.  So with his new album solo Western Stars I have been reluctant to listen, expecting to be disappointed.  And I am. 

 

I was skeptical when I heard a few years ago Springsteen was going to be on Broadway.  Assuming this was the pinnacle of overexposure, I was pleasantly surprised listening to the music he performed for that show.  Sure, the banter between songs seemed forced and slick at times, but the beauty of his music was there.  Listen to “Growin’ Up” from his Springsteen on Broadway and I challenge you to distinguish that from solo recordings of the same song done forty years earlier.  The power is in the music, the words and his delivery.  When that is your focus, it all comes together in a moment that makes him one of the best musicians of the past fifty years.  Unfortunately, Western Stars has none of those moments. 

 

Overproduced.  That would be the one word to describe this album, and that is the element that makes it so unsatisfying.  Just give us the words, the voice and the guitar, Bruce.  Stop with the string sections, the violins, the horns.  This is most egregious in “Chasin’ Wild Horses”.  The first few minutes are actually refreshing, mostly just Springsteen and some guitar and a quiet banjo in the background.  But then come the strings halfway through, and they do not go away.  They overwhelm the song, and the crescendo of strings and horns in the last minute makes it sound like the soundtrack of some Kevin Costner straight-to-video western.  “Somewhere North of Nashville” has the most promise of the 13 songs on Western Stars.  It starts with some simple finger picking, and Springsteen’s voice echoes what we heard on his best solo album, Nebraska.  It keeps that feeling throughout, and though the piano on the second half is unnecessary, it does not take awake from the song’s simplicity.  More of this and the album would be one to recommend. But by the first note of the next track, “Stones”, the strings and gloss return.  All of the beauty of the previous song is forgotten, buried under overproduction. 

 

It is easy to think that the strength of Springsteen’s music over the past forty years comes from the dramatic sounds of fist-raising crowd pleasers like “Badlands”, “Born To Run” and “Hungry Heart”.  But when he allows his lyrics to be the focus, the music is just a bonus that reinforces the message his words are conveying.  And this is when the listener feels his power.   “Badlands” is musically a tour de force, but it’s the words that you remember:

 

                                    I want to find one face that ain’t looking through me

                                    I want to find one place

                                    I want to spit in the face of these badlands

 

The guitars, drums and keyboards are just gravy for the words and message of that song.  And this is even true of the softer songs of Springsteen’s work.  Listen to “Highway Patrolman” from his masterwork Nebraska.  The song describes the pain of a patrolman whose life intersects with that of his troublemaker brother.  Just Springsteen’s voice, guitar, some harmonica and a few faint touches of glockenspiel.  What gives it meaning is the lyrics, which if they do not move you then check your pulse.

 

                                    I catch him when he’s strayin’ like any brother would

                                    Man turns his back on his family, he just ain’t no good

 

I am all for the artist’s ability to chart their own course, to push their growth as they continue to evolve the music they make.  But with that comes realization that they need to know when they have pushed too far, beyond what makes them who they are.  Western Stars is that album for Springsteen. It shows at its core he still has something to offer, but it has been buried beneath layers of overproduction that obscure the beauty of what made his past work so special.

 

                                   

Monday Lesson From History

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I was gifted a subscription to American Heritage magazine when I was about fourteen years old.  Maybe to most teenagers this would be a letdown, but being a bit of a nerd this was a gift in my wheelhouse.  Issues would arrive every other month, and the articles were always fascinating. They would cover all aspects of American history, but always with a perspective that was just a bit different.  I can still remember certain pieces, such as the importance of air conditioning to settling the Southwest, or a story of a famed counterfeiter who drew his fake bills by hand.  But the story I recall with the most affection is, for their thirtieth anniversary they polled historians to describe the event in history they would like to have witnessed.  Most of the responses were what you would expect: skirmish at Lexington, in the courthouse at Appomattox, observing the final days of Nixon in the White House.  

 

My choice, likely not unique, would be to observe the debates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.  This is the creation of our living government, the leaders of the new country setting out to debate how this hard won union would set out on its own.  Would it have been easier to just build on to the existing Articles of the Confederation? Likely, but they knew that their charge was bigger than that.  Sure, I would not enjoy the heat (summer in Philadelphia, windows kept closed to prevent eavesdropping) but it would be worth it to hear what certainly was a fascinating debate.  All of the phrases and nuance that would be the source of contention for the next 200 years can be traced to this event.  The composition of the houses of congress, the selection of the judiciary, the role of the executive.  To hear how this unique and everlasting government was constructed would be what I would want to witness.  What event would be yours?

Album Review Friday

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Blood On The Tracks is not a great album. Blood On The Tracks is a legendary album, certainly one of my favorites and one of the most beautiful recordings of the past sixty years.  

 I grew up a huge music fan, pouring most of my teenage tip money into records and CDs.  By the age of twenty, with over one hundred fifty albums in my collection I owned exactly zero Bob Dylan recordings.  When I was twenty one I was given the cassette of Dylan’s Greatest Hits, and wore that tape out over the summer before my senior year in college. But my flirtation with Dylan ended there.  I just never felt, for whatever misguided reason, that he would have more to offer me than those ten songs I listened to over and over in my Toyota Celica’s factory stereo.  

 This all changed when in my thirties, frustrated with the dearth of good rock music, I purchased my first Dylan CD, Highway 61 Revisited.   I was blown away, which led me to purchase another Dylan album, then another, and so on.  And then I came upon Blood On The Tracks.  

 The opening track, “Tangled Up In Blue”, captured me instantly.   It seems like a song that you step in the middle of, a rambling story with a plot you quickly catch up with, that propels itself forward to its eventual conclusion. The music is steadying and simple, and Dylan’s phrasing is catchy yet complex.  You want to sing along, but no one can deliver those lines like he can, so you retreat and appreciate the master at work.

 Following is “Simple Twist Of Fate”, a little slower in pace but still capturing the listener with its repetitive melody and tale of emotional loss.  

 Emotional loss is a theme of the album, and I will not go beyond mentioning any of the controversy over whether the album is Dylan’s poetic description of his broken marriage.  This theme though is in full form over the next two tracks.  “You’re A Big Girl” is a broken man (?Dylan) describing the heartbreak he feels upon losing his lover, trying to convince himself that ‘love is so simple’ and that he will be able to rebound and recover. These sentiments are no where to be found on the best angry breakup song ever written, “Idiot Wind”.  The bitter invective that makes up the lyrics of this song made me actually wish I had a bad breakup earlier in life so I could send this song to my ex.  I mean, listen to the lyrics, sung with a pointed aggressiveness.  Idiot wind, Blowing every time you move your teeth, You're an idiot, babe It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe.  Does it get more direct than that?  Dylan does rein it back in at the end, confessing that he too was an idiot, though the message is already clear that this woman burned him, and forgiveness will not come easy. 

 

While Springsteen has been accurately criticized for not matching the tone of his music with the despair of the subject matter, Dylan commits the same sin on “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go”.  The song is quick, the melody light, yet the lyrics describe another period for reflection, looking back at previous relationship mistakes and decisions that have led to nothing but pain.  

 

“Meet Me In The Morning” certainly continues the theme of pain and reflection, but done in a blues style, which breaks the album up a bit as it the most unique sounding song on the record. Another song that sets itself apart is “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts”.  This is Dylan at his story-telling best, the longest track on the album describing some sort of robbery, with a bulk of the song set in a cabaret in an unnamed town. Whatever the exact meaning of the song, what comes through is the sense of waste, loss and unfulfillment.  

Blood On The Tracks closes with three songs that are near perfect in their tone, message, and complete the emotional journey Dylan takes us on.  In “If You See Her, Say Hello”, while still hurting from lost love, Dylan has either matured or healed enough to want what is best for his lost love.  “Shelter From The Storm” describes how Dylan is rescued from a life “of toil and blood” and rescued by his lover, with each verse ending with the same lines “Come in, she said, I’ll give ya shelter from the storm”.  The power of the song is driven home by the simplicity of the music, just guitar, voice and harmonica.  

With the closing track “Buckets of Rain”, Dylan describes what is so painful about broken relationships.  Its those things you loved so much about someone that bring you the most pain:

              I like your smile

            And your fingertips

            Like the way that you move your lips

            I like the cool way you look at me

            Everything about you is me bringing me misery

 

With another song of simple production, voice and guitar, Dylan shows that even though broken, he can rise up.  He is broken, but he knows he “can do what you must”.   He will move on.  

 The journey of Blood On The Tracks is one of pain and loss. It is not an easy listen the first time through, as it can be emotionally exhausting.  But the crisp music underscores the simple message, one of the strength we all have to get up and keep living.  

 

Lesson From History

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Whenever we doubt our place in the world, or the impact we can have, it is helpful to realize the power one person’s action can have.

While being the largest country in Europe, Ukraine is often forgotten when the influential countries of Europe are discussed. For most of the 20th century it was an integral part of the Soviet Union, but as the Soviet empire collapsed in 1991 Ukraine achieved independence. After a period of instability, by the beginning of the 2000s Ukraine had gained economic progress despite a government tainted by corruption and centralized power in Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Elections in 2004 would challenge his leadership, leading to the ascent of the main opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko. Approaching the end of what was a vigorously contested campaign, Yushchenko became gravely ill just one month from the planned October elections. Seeking treatment in Austria and England, it would eventually be proved that he was the victim of an attempted poisoning, as his blood levels of the organic pollutant dioxin were 6,000 times normal. Though his face was permanently scarred from the poisoning, he survived and pressed on with his campaign. But it is not this act of bravery that is the lesson from these events.

After the initial October election resulted in a statistical tie, a run off was set for November 2004. Despite polling giving Yuschchenko a clear lead and all initial results pointing to his victory, fraud and corruption permeated the process that culminated with the announcement of the results on the night of November 24. While the government run news broadcast announced Yuschchenko’s defeat, Nataliya Dmytruk, the sign language interpreter for the broadcast, refused to translate the lies of the state. Instead, she signed “I’m addressing all the deaf citizens of Ukraine. Our president is Viktor Yushchenko. Do not trust the results of the central election committee. They are all lies.... And I am very ashamed to translate such lies to you. Maybe you will see me again.” This single act of protest sparked a revolt among other figures in the media, which propelled what would become the Orange Revolution in Ukraine to demand a new election. This was held in December, with Yuschchenko achieving victory.

Of course, the rise of the Orange Revolution is more complex than the brief summary outlined here. But what is clear is the impact one person’s courage can have, and the importance to remember that similar courage lives inside all of us.

Update

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In order to streamline my blog, and to make posts more predictable, tomorrow I will begin three weekly posts. On Mondays I will be writing a Lesson From History, a vignette profiling less known stories and perspectives from history. Wednesdays will be my Wisdom series, with more pithy quotes to inspire, teach and motivate midweek when we all need it most. Fridays will be an expanded take on What I Am Listening To, with a more in depth review of a single album, mostly albums I admire but I’ll also be sure to include albums I feel may have received unearned praise. Of course, I will continue to write unscheduled posts as issues demand, especially regarding medicine and politics. Please feel welcome to offer feedback as I continue to develop and grow my website.