Colours of the Dawn
The Johnstons
Vanguard VSD 6572
1970
I bought this about a year ago in a Pasadena record store. This is the 1971 American release of the 1970 British album on Transatlantic Records that features a different cover, a different running order and one less song than the Vanguard version. This was their fifth album overall and their second American release. This group's career trajectory is emblematic of the weirdness of the 1960s. They were originally a family group performing traditional Irish folk music that gradually moved into contemporary folk and pop music ultimately recording a song supporting Angela Davis, the lead track on this album -- talk about your long, strange trips! Along the way the band shed Johnstons until Adrienne Johnston was the only Johnston left and acquired new members Mick Moloney and Paul Brady. Perhaps the key figure in this album is the producer Chris McCloud, who was Adrienne's husband and who wrote or co-wrote several songs on the album including "Angela Davis." McCloud was an American who took over the management of the group and supposedly exploited them to achieve his own financial and artistic ambitions. He was reportedly a rather nefarious, almost sinister figure who has even been accused of being responsible for his wife's premature death in 1981. He has been blamed for Moloney's departure from the band after this album and Brady has subsequently made disparaging remarks about him as well. The album opens with "Angela Davis" which is a heavy handed protest song. In his liner notes McCloud connects the song to the Irish tradition of rebellion songs, but I suspect it has more to do with McCloud seeking publicity and perhaps a connection to the radical left in the United States. The group's vocal is very stirring though and they sing it like they mean it. Gordon Lightfoot's "If I Could" is more satisfying to me with some enjoyable guitar picking in the solos and a wistful vocal from Moloney. McCloud and Brady's "I'll Be Gone In the Morning" sounds very West Coast folk-rock, Brady's lead vocal and Johnston's harmony vocal reminds me a bit of the latter day Youngbloods or Moby Grape and the rich instrumental backing of the song is exactly why folk-rock was invented, it adds intensity and propulsion to the song. The group's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" is faithful to the original with a lovely, muted vocal from Johnston and a dense acoustic guitar sound in the backing track. The side ends with "Aiseiri" which was not on the English version of this album. It is another protest song co-written by Johnston, McCloud and Moloney. The title is an Irish word meaning something like to rise again as in revival or resurrection. McCloud says it meants "uprising" as in "a day of reckoning for The Man" and the lyrics address international revolution from Chile to Rome to Chicago with lots of pointed digs at American imperialism and the Presidency, McCloud has a pretty big axe to grind. Although the lyrics are overtly polemical, there is some poetic imagery and Moloney's vocal is so passionate that I find the song quite powerful especially since it is coupled to an anthemic, traditional style tune. It is one of the best songs on the record for me. Side two opens with McCloud and Brady's "Colours of the Dawn" which is an anti-war song. Like most of McCloud's lyrics, the song is melodramatic and heavy-handed. It sounds like a traditional song though, particularly in Moloney's mandolin lines. Peggy Seeger's "Hello Friend" deals with racism and labor struggles. It is the folkiest song on the record, with its multi-part vocal harmonies it reminds me a bit of the Seekers. Brady's "Brightness, She Came" is more in a contemporary vein. Freed from McCloud's heaviness he delivers a jazzy, impressionistic song reminiscent of Nick Drake or Tim Buckley. It is another one of my favorites. Johnston sings lead on McCloud's "Crazy Anne" which is a gentle hippie anti-conformity and escapism type song. In his notes McCloud suggests that the song is about Adrienne Johnston. The side concludes with Ian Campbell's "The Old Man's Tale" which is another traditional sounding song which chronicles working class struggles against fascism and labor oppression through the 20th Century. It is an impressive song with some wonderful guitar/mandolin interplay. I'm a big believer in music that makes a statement and I value personal expression in pop music, but I have to admit that I'm not all that comfortable with the political perspective on this album. It is not that I'm opposed to their viewpoint, it just seems forced and unnatural to me. Part of it just may be me being weirded out by McCloud and what I've read about him which isn't really fair, but I think much of it is that I don't like getting preached to. When Phil Ochs sings a protest song, I feel like he's communicating with me, but when the Johnstons sing "Angela Davis" I feel like I'm being lectured to. Is this better than performing traditional songs like "The Lark in the Morning" like they did earlier in their career? I don't know, you could probably make a case that both are equally lacking in authenticity. I do know that this record sounds wonderful, chockful of excellent playing and singing. If you dig Anglo-American folk rock you will probably find much to like here. Recommended to people who think that Bob Dylan's "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is a better song than his cover of "See That My Grave is Kept Clean."
Watermark
Enya
WEA Records WX 199 243875-1
1988
If you have seen David Fincher’s version of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” you may have noticed his little musical joke. No I’m not referring to Karen O’s cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” in the opening credits (although that is kind of funny) but rather the scene where the serial killer is getting ready to get down to business and turns on his stereo (a reel to reel tape machine oddly enough) for a little mood music. Out of the speakers comes Enya’s “Orinoco Flow” (supposedly a suggestion from Daniel Craig.) I interpret this as a comment on the banality of evil or a not so subtle dig at bourgeois cultural values, but it is also a cheap shot at Enya (I’ll bet real serial killers prefer Fincher’s buddy Trent Reznor to Enya by a wide margin.) It reminds me of the crude way that Bret Easton Ellis used his killer in “American Psycho” to mock Whitney Houston, Phil Collins and Huey Lewis (although they kind of deserved it.) I’m not sure what Enya ever did to deserve becoming a punchline for hipsters and cultural snobs besides sell a lot of records, but I’m not embarrassed to admit that I like this record and I have from the moment I first heard “Orinoco Flow” on the radio back in 1988. This record is commonly described as "New Age," a genre I don't care for, although I do like some of the world music variety in particular the mystical, trance-type stuff from Asia and the Middle East and the Celtic-style music of Loreena McKennitt and Enya. I have some appreciation for New Age culture having grown up in what is arguably its birthplace, the San Francisco Bay Area. We had transcendental meditation lessons at my high school. My father and stepmother were both involved with est Training for awhile. My sister became a homeopathic doctor and acupuncture practitioner. I've had friends who were deeply engaged in New Age thinking and I'm not unsympathetic to their views. Enya herself apparently disapproves of being categorized as "New Age" and she has a point. This doesn't sound much like the contemplative instrumental music you hear from labels like Windham Hill. It is more like a highly polished extension of traditional music as well as religious music. The album begins with the title song which is a sedate instrumental with Enya tinkling the ivories over a soothing synthesizer backdrop. It is the song that sounds most like "New Age" music on the record. According to the lyric sheet on the album, the next song "Cursum Perficio" was inspired by an inscription at the entrance to Marilyn Monroe's last home. It translates roughly as "end of my course" and the entire song is chanted in Latin lyrics composed by Enya's lyricist, Roma Ryan. It is a little creepy, sounds like something in a gothic horror film although the lyrics are actually a benign advisory to avoid materialism and greed. "On Your Shore" is a gorgeous song although it is so vague that I'm not sure if she is singing about holding a lover or embracing some sort of spiritual enlightenment. "Storms In Africa" is one of the best known songs on the album. It is a majestic song with lyrics in Gaelic. Enya later recorded an English version that is on most American pressings of this album, but I have a European import copy that doesn't have it. The lyrics offer encouragement to people as they endure life's storms. The prominent percussion in the song gives it power and sonically evokes Africa in a world music sort of way. "Exile" seems like a companion song to "On Your Shore." The songs sound very similar with Enya's evocative crooning and a slow synth driven melody. The lyrics discuss the situation prior to her arrival "on the shore" with the song describing insecurity and the journey homeward. Side one concludes with another pretty piano instrumental, "Miss Clare Remembers." The reverse side opens with "Orinoco Flow," a song I will always like no matter how many people make fun of it. Like so many of the songs on this aptly named album, water imagery dominates the song as well as the theme of traveling as a representation of a spiritual quest. Of course the Orinoco is not only a river, it is also the name of the studio where this album was recorded and I think the song is about the power of music to carry one away as well. The song is dominated by a catchy riff and expressive multi-tracked vocals from Enya. It is easily the most propulsive tune on the record, although there is not much competition in that regard. "Evening Falls" slows the record back down. It is a dreamy song about yet another quest although this one seems almost supernatural with its references to other worlds. The instrumentation is quite sparse, the song is carried by Enya's gorgeous vocal. "River" is another instrumental that resembles a more subdued "Orinoco Flow" in its motif and instrumental sound. "The Longships" is in Gaelic but despite the nautical title, it is apparently about eternal life. The album closes with "Na Laetha Geal M'óige" which is my other favorite song on the record. It sounds like a traditional folk song and it has Gaelic lyrics that recount how youthful hope and idealism has been replaced by sorrow and regret as the songwriter has aged. This record is full of exquisitely lovely music that is soothing and peaceful to listen to while retaining just enough pop flavor to keep me from getting bored. Recommended for people looking for a little shelter from the storm.
War
U2
Island 90067-1
1983
I recently saw U2 play at Anaheim Stadium as part of their 360 tour. It was a spectacular concert, I enjoyed it more than I expected. I was a big U2 fan when I was younger but over the years I lost interest in them. I went to this show because my son wanted to see it and I'm glad we went. There was a moment in the concert where I was reminded of when I started to lose interest in the group. It occurred when they performed "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Here I was in the heart of conservative Orange County surrounded by beer swilling party people bellowing out the lyrics to the song including the doofus who had been yelling at Bono to stop talking and start singing earlier in the show. The song is a heartfelt cry for peace that references the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, yet the happy drunks around me might as well have been singing "Louie, Louie." The irony of this reminded me of when I was in college. I had the first three U2 albums and they were one of my favorite bands. I deeply respected their willingness to express strong political and religious opinions in their songs, I thought of them as cutting edge artists. I was walking along Fraternity Row in Berkeley when I came across a loutish bunch of frat boys sitting on their lawn and blasting from their stereo was "New Year's Day" my very favorite U2 song. I was horrified and it was never the same after that. U2 skyrocketed in popularity and my interest in them waned accordingly. I'm embarrassed to admit that a lot of that was snobbery on my part, like many indie rock fans I don't like it when my pet bands become famous. I've gotten better about that now, I like obscure bands and famous ones as well. Also I've come to realize that perhaps U2's greatest virtue is being a massively popular band that still has something to say. A bunch of idiots in Anaheim were lectured by Bono about Aung San Suu Kyi and the civil rights situation in Myanmar. Even if only a few of them learned anything from what he said, it is still more than there were before the concert. Bono has been given the gift of a platform and he has consistently used it for good. Kudos to him and U2 for maintaining their integrity all these years. My favorite U2 album is this one, "War." I bought it in Berkeley and played it all the time for awhile. It is a concept album about armed aggression. It is very much a record of its pre-Glasnost era, when the world was unstable and full of conflict. With a trigger-happy cowboy in the White House and gunboat diplomacy the order of the day, the feeling of Armageddon and doom that permeates this album was definitely shared by myself and a lot of my peers. The lyrics on this album express confusion and disgust with the violence and injustice in the world and emphasize the power of uniting against oppression as well as the redemptive power of love. You can call Bono a silly romantic, but I prefer his idealism to the cynicism that is so prevalent in so much modern music. There isn't as much religion on this record as there is on the first two U2 albums, aside from "40," but it still has an evangelical flavor to it, particularly on "Drowning Man" and "Like A Song." I don't think that is a bad thing. One of the things I like best about Bono is that he is such a passionate believer in things. Musically this is an incredibly powerful record, it is far more muscular than most "New Wave" albums with their fake drums, jangly guitars and synthesizers. U2 championed traditional rock and roll values: loud guitars, heavy bass lines, big drums and powerful vocals. Unlike punk rock though, U2 played with grace and skill, this record is full of beautiful instrumental passages - despite the harshness of the lyrics, it is a pleasure to listen to. There is a wide variety of music offered - passionate anthems like "New Year's Day," "Like A Song" and "Two Hearts Beat As One" which soar and lift the spirit. "The Refugee," "Surrender" and "Seconds" have a funkiness to them that reminds me of the Clash. "Red Light" is soulful, it even has a trumpet solo. I can imagine someone like Otis Redding singing it. It displays Bono's chops as a vocalist as does the powerful ballad "Drowning Man." "40" is a mournful tune with a touch of gospel. The militaristic sounding "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is in a class by itself. It is such a powerful song, I think it is one of the great protest songs of its era. Listening to this record 28 years after its original release I'm impressed by how vibrant and exciting it still sounds. Let the bells ring out - long live U2, a band that still matters. Recommended for people who still believe that music can make a difference.
