Tears for Fears and the album ‘Songs from the Big Chair’

Released February 17th, 1985 per the website All Music, the second studio album for the band Tears for Fears thematically focuses on emotional healing. Songs from the Big Chair brings eight songs to bear for the alternative/indie rock, college rock, contemporary pop/rock, new wave, punk/new wave and club/dance classified band formed in Bath, Somerset, England. The album name itself, as noted here, was inspired by “the 1976 American TV drama series Sybil, in which the title character, suffering from psychiatric problems stemming from child abuse, seeks refuge in her therapist’s “big chair.””

(Released February 17th, 1985 per the website All Music, Songs from the Big Chair was the second studio album for Tears for Fears).

The primary musicians performing on Songs from the Big Chair included Roland Orzabal on vocals, keyboards, guitars, synth bass , Linn Drum and grand piano, Curt Smith on vocals, bass guitar and synth bass, Ian Stanley on keyboards, Linn Drum and arrangements and Manny Elias on drums and drum arrangement.

Shout opens Songs from the Big Chair with a song inspired by “American psychologist Arthur Janov‘s school of Primal Therapy. This song was inspired by his primal therapy treatment, which worked by getting people to confront their fears by shouting and screaming. The name of the group came from Janov‘s book” Prisoners Of Pain: Unlocking the Power of the Mind to End Suffering, as noted here. The song enjoys an engaging sound through the refrain, as well as attention grabbing jingling percussion to open the experience. Shout charted as high as fourth in the United Kingdom and number one in the United States.

(Released November 23rd, 1984, Shout was the second song from the Tears for Fears album Songs from the Big Chair to become a single).

The Working Hour opens with a setting of the soundscape declaring the presence of saxophone and a sense of drums for two minutes before singing from Roland Orzabal comes into play. As Orzabal is quoted here as saying in support of this being his favorite song from the album, the “main saxophone riff is extremely important and powerful – it’s got that sort of ‘crying’ quality to it.”

Everybody Wants to Rule the World “is about the quest for power, and how it can have unfortunate consequences,” as noted here and in evidence from the song itself. Charting second in the United Kingdom and first in the United States, the song Charlie Don’t Surf by The Clash includes a line that matches the song title of this Tears for Fears song.

(The third song to become a single in support of the Tears for Fears album Songs from the Big Chair, Everybody Wants to Rule the World was released on March 22nd, 1985).

Mothers Talk offers a political bent first in pointing out parental raising techniques, wherein mothers have warned their kids against making silly facial expressions. Second, the “anti-nuclear cartoon book When The Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs,” as noted here, inspired the Cold War messaging of the band’s opposition to nuclear tension among countries that the band felt could compromise. Turning that second message into a statement of telling society to stop being childish is fair enough. Mothers Talk charted as high as fourteenth in the United Kingdom and number twenty-seventh in the United States.

(Mothers Talk became a single in support of the Tears for Fears album Songs from the Big Chair six months ahead of the album’s release).

I Believe “was an homage to the style and work of British singer-songwriter Robert Wyatt,” as pointed out here. Charting as high as twenty-third in the United Kingdom, this ballad expresses love for the grand piano and the saxophone with “the narrator taking a hard look at his beliefs, including whether his destiny is created through free will or determined by fate, [further] challenging the listener to do the same.”

Broken breaks a unique rhythmic ground by offering an instrumental reverie of just over than 1-minute and 40-seconds that gives way to an almost dream-like sensibility of being overwhelmed in defeated emotion. The sense of being lost mentally yet physically in motion ends with emphasis on the sense that time has passed quickly with it passing in an echoing flight of timing flying past.

That sense of instrumental reverie flowing into a sense love slipping into fear of brokenness with Head Over Heels. As noted here, Head Over Heels charted as high as twelfth in the United Kingdom and number third in the United States while expressing an all-consuming love “for a girl and pleading with her not to break his heart.”

(Released June 14th, 1985 in the United Kingdom, Head Over Heels became the fourth single in support of the album Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears).

Listen closes the album Songs from the Big Chair at just under seven minutes, sonically setting mood through with interesting arrangements, operatic vocals, and lyrical invocations of Russia and allusions to American mythology through a lens of the fears expressed in Mothers Talk having been realized. Invoking lyrics in Spanish that mean “Birthday girl, no need to worry,” the reference to the television mini-series Sybil (1976) seemingly has come full circle by album’s end. While we started with the statement that the album invokes emotional healing, is the album in fact saying that the need for emotional healing is still on-going? My instincts say yes.

Additional musicians on the album included Chris Hughes on drums and Linn Drum, Sandy McLelland on backing vocals, Andy Davis on grand piano, Mel Collins on saxophone, William (Will) Gregory on saxophone, Jerry Marotta on percussion and saxophone arrangements, Neil Taylor on guitar, Stevie Lange on backing vocals, Marilyn Davis on operatic and backing vocals and Annie McCaig on backing vocals.

Matt – Saturday, February 17, 2024

Anthony Burgess and the book ‘A Clockwork Orange’

Returning to source material from our review of the movie A Clockwork Orange (1971) as reviewed by Matt Lynn Digital here, we look to the 1962 Anthony Burgess book A Clockwork Orange. We look at the 21-chapter version of the book that was familiar to many outside the United States, with the conversion of the narrator at book’s end in divergence to the movie presentation offered by the Stanley Kubrick film.

(Anthony Burgess, shown here, wrote A Clockwork Orange).

Landing firmly into a stylized injustice of youth, this Burgess novel takes a decidedly dim view of teen rebelliousness as exemplified first by highly violent crimes performed against people and society. The book’s narrator, Alex, serves as the 15-year-old gang leader of particularly random violence alongside slow-witted bruiser Dim, ambitious second-in-command Georgie and play along Pete, who mostly agrees to what the others seek. The first seven chapters focus on playing out the dynamics of the group, along with Alex’s quick wit and love for classical music generally and Ludwig van Beethoven specifically.

(Different covers for the Anthony Burgess book A Clockwork Orange).

The second seven chapters focus on the period of Alex’s eventual incarceration leads to the revelation of misunderstandings that wind up commuting Alex’s 14-year sentence after being selected for an aversion therapy program. The program conditions Alex to get violently ill at the thought of committing violence or listening to Beethoven‘s Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (Fifth Symphony). The prison chaplain becomes a voice against the state’s taking away Alex’s free will, which is what led to his being freed.

(A Clockwork Orange, as written by Anthony Burgess, was first published in 1962).

The third set of chapters, which were an additional seven in the version we’re reviewing, gets into Alex’s life after prison. Retribution, homelessness and an intention to self-harm eventually giving way to bad publicity for the government, a reversal of the aversion therapy conditioning and a return to the will for violent crime. The reinstated chapter has this give way to Alex wanting to become a productive member of society. This notion of change offers a more literary bent to the novel that arguably improves the meaning behind the novel.

(A portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven, whose music was referenced in A Clockwork Orange).

Overall, I get what I think was the author’s intention with this novel to work through some potentially latent restlessness that seems to have existed under the surface. Whether the final chapter really should have been included or not will land as a controversy that isn’t likely to end any time soon. The made-up language within the text seemed unnecessary too boot. All that and subject matter considered, I grant A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is 3.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, January 27, 2024

Cat Stevens and the album ‘Teaser and the Firecat’

The fifth studio album for Cat Stevens, who would later rename himself Yusuf Islam, was released this month in 1971. Teaser and the Firecat offered ten songs in the pop/rock, album rock, soft rock and singer/songwriter categories suggested by the American online music database. Stevens was born in London, England.

(Shown here is the cover art for the album Teaser and the Firecat, the fifth studio effort released by Cat Stevens).

The Wind opens Teaser and the Firecat seeing Stevens, as quoted on Songfacts here, examining “spirituality and fate, listening to the wind of his soul to find his direction. At the time, he was exploring Eastern philosophy following a life-threatening bout of tuberculosis.” Recorded in London, the song would be used in the Cameron Crowe movie Almost Famous (2000), among others.

With a verse sung in Greek, Rubylove was recorded in Los Angeles, California of the United States. As noted on the Playing Cat Stevens blog here, this song allowed friends of Cat Stevens’ father “over to the studio to play on the record with their bouzouki.” The instrument is similar to a mandolin in sound, though Greek in origin.

If I Laugh meditates on the aftermath of a deeply impactful relationship that has run its course to an unhappy ending. The relationship need only be meaningful and missed, with Stevens making a statement for doing the work for recovery. The meaning here helps me greatly.

The fourth song on the album, Changes IV, as noted on the Playing Cat Stevens blog here, “was recorded with Gerry Conway playing live drums. Those background claps on the album recording were actually Cat’s ingenious idea.” The song amplifies the message of change being a necessary teacher in life, as raised in the song If I Laugh.

(An image of Cat Stevens, later renamed Yusuf Islam, from 1971).

How Can I Tell You gets into the notion of a writer feeling “something so immense that he can’t think of words to describe how he is feeling[, thus] it becomes difficult to write songs,” as stated here. The song captures the elusiveness of this forthrightly.

Tuesday’s Dead brings an uplifting playfulness to finding the peace of mind and purpose in a life that hasn’t provided the experiences to light the path through the confusion. That the human condition is this kind of messy need not diminish the light; Stevens says to lift the bushel and shine despite what embarrassment or pain you feel to get to peace, allowing the past to remain there once you can.

Morning Has Broken, along with the remainder of the songs on Teaser and the Firecat, were recorded in London. Charting ninth in the United Kingdom and sixth in the United States, as noted here, the song provides a “reworking of a 1931 children’s hymn by Eleanor Farjeon, who also wrote a lot of children’s poetry. The lyric is a reference to the book of Genesis in the Bible, where God creates Earth on the “first morning.””

Bitterblue is a negotiation of sorts in coming to some form of understanding about moving forward with understanding and acceptance. While I can see this living in the context of a human relationship, I see this more expansively within the context of the Teaser and the Firecat album as an effort to reach spiritual understanding with the divine, perhaps existentially. I hear a distinct sense for what Cat Stevens is trying to reject within the dialogue he shares with us in Bitterblue.

(Moonshadow, released as a single in the United Kingdom in 1970 and in the United States a year later, is a part of the Cat Stevens album Teaser and the Firecat).

Moonshadow charted 22nd in the United Kingdom and 30th in the United States, as noted here. This song gets into finding hope in any situation; being present and joyful; seeing life as it is, right now, and not comparing it to others’ lives, or other times in your life. The message is to be present in the current moment rather than worrying about what could be, or what has been, since the richness of life rests in experiencing the present moment.

Peace Train charted as high as seventh in the United States, as indicated here. In the song, Cat Stevens sings of a hopefulness for people coming together, peacefully, to form a unified togetherness of purpose, direction and peace. Stevens is quoted as saying he was “was revisiting a very Greek-sounding riff – the kind of thing you’d hear on a Greek island. The words were attached to that time, my peace anthem. It ended every show that I did and was quite a show stopper. It was a very important song for me because it stated one of the big goals of my life which was heading straight for that peace.”

(Released in the United States after Moonshadow, Peace Train became the first U.S. Top 10 hit for the performer. Stevens would later change his name to Yusuf Islam).

Musicians accompanying Stevens on Teaser and the Firecat include Harvey Burns on drums, Gerry Conway on drums and voices, Alun Davies on guitar, Angelos Hatzipavli on the bouzouki, Del Newman on strings, Paul Samwell-Smith on finger cymbals and vocals, Larry Steele on bass and congas, Andreas Toumazis on the bouzouki and Rick Wakeman on the piano and organ.

Matt – Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Van Halen and the album ‘OU812’

With the band firmly established with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen, let’s look at the eighth studio album for the band Van Halen. Depending on the source, the album OU812 (Oh, you ate one too!) was released either May 20th or May 24th, 1988. The album itself has landed in the album rock, hard rock, heavy metal and pop metal genres, as suggested by All Music (American online music database).

(The album cover for OU812, the Van Halen album released in May 1988).

Mine All Mine opens OU812 with an aggressive sounding riff offering an inescapable declaration about the trappings of success. While some get lost in believing success rests in the attainment of those trappings, Sammy and the band give us the view that something a little more tangible, long lasting and theirs is what they want. I’ll leave it to you to decide how this commentary lands among the different lead singer of the band over time.

When It’s Love topped out at 28th on the United Kingdom charts and 5th in the United States. An anthem of recognizing the feelings of love, this song landed really close to the heart for my 13-year-old self. The song was “a group collaboration on writing, with brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen having composed the music first and Sammy Hagar writing the lyrics afterwards,” as noted on SongFacts here. The power ballad phenomenon of the late 1980s is well represented with this tune.

(When It’s Love was released in 1988 as the second single from Van Halen‘s eighth studio album, OU812).

A.F.U. (Naturally Wired) reminds us that Van Halen indeed is a band including a drummer, a bass guitarist, a lead guitarist and a singer. The song touches on the adrenaline rush of the road as a metaphor for Hagar‘s passion for romantic love with a woman flows through him like the electricity for the bands guitars, amplifiers and show microphones.

Cabo Wabo is a homage to the easy vacation life in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The themes of love, sand, booze and romance among vacationers definitely has its appeal.

Source of Infection sticks with the aggressive tempo that initially feels out of place when comparing the intense feeling of love to infection. With the music sonically expressing the early lyrical confusion of recognizing precisely what one is feeling, the song offers getting swept away with a fever of infatuation.

Feels So Good answers the confusion of Source of Infection with an infectious certainty both musically and lyrically. The joy of new found optimism of landing love feels so good that the band reintroduces a good measure of harmonizing to boot. The outcome here is among the better ones on the album.

Finish What Ya Started offers the most sonically unique song on the album, with a sound that really hits the mark. The song focuses on unrequited physical passion, which in being suggested yet not satisfied leaves the receivers of the bad news in an unsatisfying way. The underlying riff is said to have come to Eddie Van Halen in the middle of the night, with Hagar adding lyrics to the music in a session that led to what we hear on OU812.

(Finish What Ya Started by Van Halen features Sammy Hagar playing a rhythm guitar part. Eddie Van Halen plays lead).

Black and Blue takes a cynical view of physical passion. The message is that when the interest in mutual physical passion has arrived, act on that passion to the extreme of pain. The message is cynical in vacating hope for a longer lasting relationship, the mood for continued passion in the moment, or a number of other factors that give me pause while looking back with the distance and experience of 35-years since this album was released.

(Black and Blue was the first single released from the Van Halen album OU812).

Sucker In a 3 Piece offers an almost angry sounding opening riff, which emphasizes the message about to land. As noted here, this “song is about a guy who gets dumped by his very attractive girlfriend because she is looking for a rich man to take care of her (the “sucker in the three-piece suit”). This sugar daddy is fat and bald, but he’s got the cash she’s after.” The lyric “nine on a ten scale” within this song is a subtle reference to Sammy Hagar‘s 1976 album Nine on a Ten Scale.

A Apolitical Blues was not included with cassette or vinyl pressings of OU812. With composition credit belonging to Lowell George rather than the Van Halen bandmates, this song remakes the blues ditty released by Little Feat in 1972.

Matt – Saturday, May 20, 2023

Yes and the album ‘Fragile’

In opening a new year with the Matt Lynn Digital blog, we begin musically by reviewing an album released on this date, January 4th, 1972 per All Music. The English progressive rock Yes released the album Fragile with members Jon Anderson of Accrington, Lancashire, Chris Squire of Wembley, Middlesex, Steve Howe of London, Rick Wakeman of London and Bill Bruford of Sevenoaks, Kent, which we look into today.

(Presented here is the album cover for the album Fragile by Yes).

The opening song for Fragile was Roundabout, which as stated here proved to be a “breakthrough hit and one of their most well-known songs, but the band wasn’t looking for a hit at the time.” The keyboard as played by Rick Wakeman and the acoustic guitar play of Steve Howe to begin the song are both really strong and pronounced with this song.

(Presented here is the cover art for of the Dutch release of the single Roundabout).

The song Cans and Brahms proved a bit of the point above that Yes was looking to establish their sound as a band. The instrumental here experiments quite clearly, with Wakeman having done the arrangement. As quoted here, Wakeman said the music as presented “was dreadful, but contractual hangups prevented me from writing an original solo track.”

(Rick Wakeman of Yes).

We Have Heaven presents multiple vocal layers while seemingly expressing a psychedelic trip with their sound. Jon Anderson wrote the piece. As mentioned here, the lyrics in play were “Tell the moon don’t tell the marcher … He is clear … We have heaven”.

South Side of the Sky included liner notes in a remastered version that are quoted here. “The liner notes to the remastered edition of Fragile [described] the song as about a tragic polar expedition that ends in death.”

The instrumental Five Per Cent for Nothing comes in at 35-seconds long. Drummer Bill Bruford was the driving force for this song, which features his play.

(Bill Bruford of Yes).

Long Distance Runaround was written by Jon Anderson. Anderson was quoted here as saying the song was about “how religion had seemed to confuse me totally. It was such a game that seemed to be played, and I was going around in circles looking for the sound of reality, the sound of God.”

(Jon Anderson of Yes).

Chris Squire wrote Fish (Schindleria Praematurus). “The title comes from Chris Squire‘s nickname: he was dubbed “the fish” because of his tendency to take long baths. He also happens to be a Pisces,” as indicated here.

(Chris Squire of Yes).

Mood for a Day was written by Steve Howe. In discussing the writing of the song here, Howe mentioned that he “had settled down and just started new roots in [his] life and ‘Mood For A Day‘ was supposed to represent a happy mood for a day. I was about 28 when I realized there should be something more in my life than just the guitar.”

(Steve Howe of Yes).

Written by Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford and Chris Squire, Heart of the Sunrise fills approximately half of the second side of the Fragile album. In speaking of the philosophy underpinning this song and the album, Anderson was quoted here as saying that one “of the things that was always important for Yes was to create music for the stage to perform, not to make a record.” It was from that perspective that the lead singer for yes mentioned this song made him proud.

Matt – Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the album ‘Christmas Eve and Other Stories’

As the All Music website helps clarify here, “Trans-Siberian Orchestra is…not a permanent musical organization. Rather, it is the trade name for the session orchestras assembled for a number of symphonic rock cross-over albums produced by Paul O’Neill.” O’Neill was from Queens, New York City, New York, offering a series of rock cross-over albums that we begin looking at today. The Christmas Eve and Other Stories album was released on October 15, 1996.

(Presented is the album cover for Christmas Eve and Other Stories. This Trans-Siberian Orchestra album was released on October 15, 1996).

An Angel Came Down opens with a distinct piano open accompanied at times by thundering guitars and drums that offer alternating movements within the composition later interwoven with bells hinting at the song Silent Night as composed by Franz Xaver Gruber of Hochberg, Austria with lyrics by Joseph Mohr of Salzburg, Austria.

O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night follows the album opener with a more pronounced piano with guitar introduction to two songs eventually fused with drums into a clear harder hitting rock sound than typically heard from either song. This song is presented in strictly instrumental form.

(Adolphe Adam of Paris, France set O Holy Night to music with the song’s original composition in 1847).

A Star to Follow begins with pronounced adult male singing and supporting instrumentation at first to God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman. The presented composition moves into pre-teen children singing to the expected joy of the Christmas celebration. A third movement returns a chorus of the men singing the words Merry Christmas with the kids singing harmony. An appealing effect follows with an adult choir adding lyrics for the Ukranian folk chant Carol of the Bells. The song ends with the children singing their willingness to follow into the magical joy the holiday promises.

An acoustic guitar introduces First Snow for a few seconds before giving way to a clear electric guitar melody with accompanying drums. Following A Star to Follow, I felt the evocation of satisfied revelry for adults and children. Hinting at a notion of Christmas with snow does not hurt, either. The song plays as a full instrumental without lyrics.

The Silent Nutcracker plays to a more fully throated acoustical instrumental performance. Hints of Silent Night are again made in strictly instrumental form for a more extended playing in what proves to be another song presented without lyrics.

A Mad Russian’s Christmas opens with piano playing in solitude an authoritative electric guitar riffs accompanying. A series of explicit rock melodies follow in instrumental succession, invoking classic orchestral rises and falls of mood to tunes sure to be recognized by most. Of all the songs on Christmas Even and Other Songs, A Mad Russian’s Christmas perhaps best exemplifies why the word orchestra belongs in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

With The Prince of Peace, the reintroduction of singing proves welcome and as emotionally uplifting as the reason for the season sung about. An adult female sings of Jesus Christ‘s birth, explicitly invoking Hark! The Herald Angels Sing just beyond minute and a half into the presentation.

(Hark! The Herald Angels Sing first appeared in the 1739 book Hymns and Sacred Poems).

Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 begins with a few seconds worth of traditional instrumentation introducing God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman. A fully instrumental presentation continues from here with a different rocking sound, evoking anticipation, discovery and magic coming with the next day. The birth of Jesus with the celebration indicated with A Star to Follow earlier in the album come to bear again. The band Savatage, who played a significant role in bringing this song to life, were formed in Tampa, Florida in 1983.

(Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 was released as a single by Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Trans-Siberian Orchestra a side project of several members of Savatage).

Good King Joy raises the octave level on every song that preceded it on Christmas Eve and Other Stories by announcing the birth of Jesus with a bright introductory verse of Joy to the World. Heavy piano and guitar follow in furtherance of the Jesus‘ birth. Switching to a rhythm and blues theme three minutes into a song that plays more than six minutes with lyrics invoking the nativity story with the Magi in Bethlehem works magic.

(First published in 1719, English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts of Southampton, Hampshire wrote Joy to the World based on a Christian interpretation of Psalm 98 of the Old Testament of the Bible).

Ornament brings us back to a raspy blues singer view of a young lady separated from her family leading up to Christmas. We find that the viewpoint is that of a father desperate to have his daughter call a truce to whatever ails the relationship. A specific ornament between the two stands in as the token of hope, memory and joy to bring the two together again on this pending Christmas day.

The First Noel is presented in an acoustic and quick interlude of instrumentation. The song itself reminds of the birth of Jesus and the first nativity in less than a minute of song.

(Of Cornish origin, the song The First Nowell was published in its present form as early as 1833 in the book Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern by William Sandys, though the song seems to have been around longer).

A sympathetic and acoustic, storytelling vibe brings the song Old City Bar. The bluesy father from Ornament continues the story of the disconnected daughter who couldn’t get home on Christmas Eve. The song is a sad tale that turns unexpectedly happy with cab fare to JFK Airport in New York City to get home to her father.

Promises to Keep opens with distinct piano playing that quickly opens to the singing of children in chorus taking upon themselves the seeking and the keeping of the promises of love represented by Christmas. The wishing upon stars give way to keeping the spirit and goodness through the season, the years, the lifetimes. The sweetness is meaning like a music box invoked through the song.

This Christmas Day brings the optimism and feeling of Christmas in stringing together Ornament, Old City Bar and this song with bright strings of lights, ribbons, and the returning home of the daughter to her home, accompanied by the joy of her father. With the promise of desperation giving way to promises delivered now and forever, the feeling resonates through repetitions of the lyrics of “Merry Christmas, merry merry Christmas!”

An Angel Returned frames the album with the opening song of Christmas Eve and Other Stories, An Angel Came Down. In referencing Kyrie (Lord) and at least partially calling upon the “Kyrie, eleison,” or “Lord, have mercy” prayer, this song with new lyrics (An Angel Returned) set to essentially the same music (An Angel Came Down), the Christmas spirit as embodied by faithfulness expressed in song has transformed people through the joy felt in the hope of the savior’s birth on the night of Christmas Eve as told through the songs of this album.

(Pictured here is Paul O’Neill, the founder of Trans-Siberian Orchestra).

O Holy Night was presented as a bonus song beyond the original album, with an instrumental version of the song that varies from the second half of O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night earlier in the album. This presentation feels like it was played on guitar, though a dobro might have been the primary instrument.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen adds an additional bonus of 75-seconds of an exclusively acoustical presentation of the song.

Matt – Saturday, December 24, 2022

P!nk and the album ‘I’m Not Dead’

P!nk (Alecia Beth Moore, aka Pink) debuted her career with what All Music calls a “radio-friendly R&B sound” in 2000, with her fourth studio album being published six-years to the date of her debut album. Focusing on a somewhat more adult set of themes than her previous work, and sticking with a pop/rock quality, our review today of P!nk‘s April 4th, 2006 release of the album I’m Not Dead follows with my appreciation of her work with this album.

(P!nk‘s fourth studio album, I’m Not Dead, was first published on Tuesday, April 4, 2006).

Stupid Girls kicks off I’m Not Dead with a clear declaration for tackling stereotypes and media presentations offered to culture and girls. As shared here with Songfacts, P!nk “feels girls should be more focused on their talents and careers, and is concerned that there aren’t better role models for these girls.” The song itself charted fourth in the United Kingdom and thirteenth in the United States, offering what feels like a direct yet uplifting message.

(Stupid Girls was released in February 2006 as the first single from P!nk‘s fourth studio album, I’m Not Dead).

Who Knew charted fifth in the UK and ninth in the USA. The song discusses the emotional difficulty of losing friends to drugs. In this sense, there is an autobiographical component. As shared by Songfacts, P!nk has “lots of young fans and [she] wouldn’t want to give them any ideas. [She] found a friend dead from a drug overdose when [she] was 14.” The pop bordering on rock sound remains with this tune, as with the album’s opening track.

(Who Knew was released in May 2006 as the second single from P!nk‘s fourth studio album, I’m Not Dead).

As shared on Songfacts, “a regretful sexual experience” informed Long Way to Happy. In it’s most optimistic, the song serves as a warning to enter into intimate relationships with caution and intention. Whether the singer intends to extend this metaphor beyond losing virginity or unwanted pregnancy into other spaces seems unlikely from the lyrics, though these two points and the personal toll for the singer are exceptionally clear.

(Nobody Knows was released in November 2006 as the fourth single from P!nk‘s fourth studio album, I’m Not Dead).

Nobody Knows speaks to the heavy feelings of depression with a musical quality spoken through piano and P!nk singing. The singular quality of the pain of depression are central in a poignant and compelling tune. Nobody Knows was the fourth single released in support of the album I’m Not Dead.

(Dear Mr. President, featuring the Indigo Girls, was released in December 2006 as the fifth single from P!nk‘s fourth studio album, I’m Not Dead).

Dear Mr. President is a song with the folk and pop/rock band Indigo Girls that was released as a single in December of 2006. The song, which topped out at thirty-fourth in the United Kingdom charts, was identified by Songfacts as “an open letter to the President of the United States at the time, George W. Bush“. The song poses questions on issues “including war, homosexuality, the homeless, abortion, and drug abuse.”

The title song I’m Not Dead discusses P!nk‘s optimistic attempt to hold onto the affection that had existed in some form as the possibility for continued love seems to be departing owing to the waning feelings of her relationship counterpart.

(‘Cuz I Can was released as the seventh and last single from P!nk‘s fourth studio album, I’m Not Dead).

In a news piece on MTV (Music Television) by Jennifer Vineyard in April 2007 that has since been archived, P!nk specifically mentioned within the context of ‘Cuz I Can that she can be “a walking contradiction” and “a hypocrite sometimes.” Why? Besides the answer being in the song title, that this song contrasts in message with Stupid Girls at the beginning of this album offers something amusing. ‘Cuz I Can was the seventh and final single released in support of the I’m Not Dead album.

(Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely) was released as the sixth single from P!nk‘s fourth studio album, I’m Not Dead).

Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely) was the sixth single released from I’m Not Dead, with the type of that release being specific to country and format. The song itself flips the messaging of the I’m Not Dead song from one of hoping to hang onto something into the demanding time away from a clinging lover.

U + Ur Hand charted tenth in the United Kingdom and ninth in the United States with a firm response to a guy putting his hands on her while coming on to her at a bar. The bawdy response in mentioning how the night will end for him is equally clear, direct and unambiguous. This ninth song from I’m Not Dead was the third song released in support of the album release.

(U + Ur Hand was released in August 2006 as the third single from P!nk‘s fourth studio album, I’m Not Dead).

Runaway harkens back to a viewpoint of herself as teenager seeking escape from an unsatisfying home situation. The lyrics feel like reflection looking back through the lens of experience while being able to state precisely what the unmet interpersonal and aspirational needs in the moment were.

The One That Got Away offers an acoustical sensibility in experiencing a fleeting flirtation with a spoken for man. In sensing this truth, P!nk knows cannot continue this way, though the moment in time is one as singer of woman she wants to last.

The song I Got Money Now feels like a musical confession that comes from understanding that meeting the basic needs of life breaks a dependency for offering love in exchange for needs like food, home, safety and other independent needs that must be met before acting with love. For me, I Got Money Now feels like P!nk bringing that meaning to someone that’s taken advantage of this, once upon a time. A memory like this feels like life and sadness rolled into one.

Conversations With My 13 Year Old Self offers a raw expression of past pain and the mature expression of wanting to fix that for the self she needed way back when. There’s power in speaking one’s inner self, one’s diary in this fashion. This song is an example of the more adult themes that P!nk set out to communicate with I’m Not Dead. This lands with more depth for me than some others on this album, frankly.

(From left, James T. Moore, the father of P!nk, and P!nk).

The duet I Have Seen The Rain was written by her father, James T. Moore, who sings on the song. The notion of rain feels like a metaphor for tears felt over loss, sorrow and grief in the experiences of Vietnam War veterans, along with the lost potential among them for spending the time and sacrifice of fighting in that conflict.

Matt – Saturday, April 2, 2022

Van Halen and the album ‘5150’

Saying that there were different eras to the band called Van Halen is news to nobody that considers themselves fans of the music. The second distinctive era for the band began with the bands seventh studio album, which was released on Monday, March 24, 1986. We look into the nine songs of 5150, featuring then newcomer Sammy Hagar alongside veteran members Michael Anthony, Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen. As 5150 was Van Halen‘s first album to top the Billboard 200, I’d count this album’s heavier focus on love songs and ballads a hit.

(Seen here is the cover art for the seventh studio album for the band Van Halen, 5150, which featured lead singer Sammy Hagar for the first time).

Good Enough opens the second era with what was then the new singer for the band offering his hello right off the bat. While less comedic in lyrical delivery and approach with singer Sammy Hagar, the sound offers straightforward rock instrumentation and vocal harmonization that were hallmarks of the original band’s lineup.

Whoa, here comes Why Can’t This Be Love. The second song for 5150 charted number three in the United States and number eight in the United Kingdom as the first single released in support of the band’s new lineup. As musically mature as anything on the album, the song has what it takes to have introduced a new fandom for me to the band post-David Lee Roth.

(Why Can’t This Be Love was released as the lead single for the Van Halen album 5150).

A song to feature the guys playing the instruments, Get Up lyrically feels like a Sammy Hagar song while musically declares that Van Halen does full-throated guitar with spirited drums.

Charting 22nd in the United States and 62nd in the United Kingdom, Dreams challenges the listener to follow “your dreams [while] never giving up,” as quoted here. The music video supporting the song features the Blue Angels from the United States Navy. The song itself was released as the second single in support of the album 5150.

(Dreams was the second single from the Van Halen album 5150).

Summer Nights, as the final song on the front side of 5150, is mentioned as “the first song Sammy Hagar recorded with Van Halen.” The interesting thing that Hagar recalls from the recording is how guitarist Eddie Van Halen took quick notice for how Hagar “scatted [his] way through” the song, “singing Eddie‘s guitar licks with him.”

Best of Both Worlds kicks off the B-side of 5150, serving additionally as the fourth and final single released in support of the album. Ultimate Classic Rock calls the song “one of the more musically sophisticated and lyrically progressive songs” on the album, praising the band’s new singer for making statements in the lyrics geared at making “your own luck, and it’s important to keep pushing for higher ground.”

(Best of Both Worlds was the last single released from the Van Halen album 5150).

Love Walks In charted at number 22 in the United States.  As the website SongFacts indicates, the song can be understood “as a metaphor for new love, or as Van Halen reaching out to new fans.” The Hagar optimism rings through, as it did with other songs on this album. This song, as well as other singles for this album, suggest a softer approach to rock than with David Lee Roth that was “very effective, earning the band a broader, more adult audience.”

(Love Walks In was the third single from the Van Halen album 5150).

The song 5150 matches the album title as well as “the name of Eddie Van Halen‘s studio.” “5150 [also] is police code for an escaped psychiatric patient,” as the SongFacts website tells us. The symbolism of risking something crazy feels link an acknowledgement for fans of the Van Halen with David Lee Roth as singer that maybe the new singer is crazy, but checkout what new thing in fact had escaped those shackles.

(From left, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar, Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen were the band Van Halen once the album 5150 came along).

Inside brings the album to its conclusion with a bit of a scat approach to the band, which is to say Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen, coming together to develop their sound. While frankly sounding unpolished to my ear, the song looks inside the creative process for the band.

Matt – Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Adele and the album ’21’

It was eleven years ago in the United States when Adele‘s second album, 21, was released. Having been released 22-days earlier in Europe, the album continues what the website All Music describes as “bittersweet soul and folk-infused love songs,” acknowledging feels for the singer and songwriter aged 21 when the album was released. Join me in reminiscing with the music.

(The album cover for the 2011 album 21 by Adele).

Rolling in the Deep opens the album 21, serving as a song that the artist considered a “dark bluesy gospel disco tune,” per the website Songfacts. The song takes a turn of expressing feelings of being through with a love interest who had been unfaithful. The song topped the British charts at #2 and the American charts at #1.

Rumour Has It follows the album opener with a story of returning home to friends in the United Kingdom asking “about rumors that they had heard about Adele,” per Songfacts. The artist found the gossip surprising, aiming to set things straight back home as well as with this song. Rumour Has It topped the American charts at #16.

(Adele released the album 21 at the age of 21).

Turning Tables turns more ballad focused, turning to the notion of pre-emptive protection against becoming trapped by a controlling relationship. Accompanied by piano, Adele sings of maintaining independence with this tune.

The song Don’t You Remember offers a sad look at forgetting. Adele is quoted in saying by Songfacts that this song explores “when you forget why you loved someone? I was just thinking about how my entire body would just shiver if my ex touched me to say hello. It’s sad when you can’t remember why you loved someone.” The acoustic with stripped down sound of drums offers a sound of comfort while invoking consolation.

(The album 21 by Adele was released when the singer was 21-years old).

Set Fire to the Rain charted at #11 in the United Kingdom and #1 in the United States. The uplifting sense of pop accompanies the notion for how it can be difficult to light a cigarette in the rain. The metaphor underlying this song is for it being difficult longing for the comfort of another who isn’t there.

He Won’t Go offers an interesting and uplifting splash of piano accompaniments. The sound invokes the surprise of the beginning of a relationship quickly averted when Adele‘s prospective suitor enters rehabilitation for drug use.

(Adele released the album 21 at the age of 21).

The ballad Take It All “turned out to be about the early stages of a relationship falling apart,” per Adele. The choice to begin the song with singing as well as piano was compositionally interesting and appreciated, later invoking the sound with the backing vocals of what sounds like a choir.

I’ll Be Waiting warms the emotional temperature for the album with the recognition from the singer to the notion that rekindling the right relationship feels righter in the moment than she had previously realized. Seeing the blue skies of redemption warms the soul with optimism.

One And Only picks up the notion of considering love, this time with someone whose long been present yet the two have never quite come to examining those feelings with one another for one another. Using a different key to previous ballads included with 21 proves a nice and appreciated touch in turning over a gospel sound engenders a distinct feeling that seems appropriate to the bridge of possibility struck with this song.

(The album 21 by Adele was released in 2011).

The acoustic approach of Lovesong as a remake to a song by The Cure was both interesting and unexpected for me. The declaration that love remains a hopeful possibility for Adele offers a sweet and optimistic spirit that, with one last song, completes the album 21.

Someone Like You brings the album 21 full circle, remembering the special feelings of love, hoping for those again with the appropriate suitor, and moving on from a former hopeful who proved himself to be not the one. This song charted as #1 in the United Kingdom while additionally charting #1 in the United States. There you have my look into 21 by Adele. Thanks for stopping by and listening in with me.

Matt – Wednesday, February 16, 2022

David Foster and the album ‘The Christmas Album’

A pair of radio stations where I live have been playing Christmas music through the month of December. The station that tends to play more contemporary music has included music from The Christmas Album (1993) by David Foster among its more commonly featured songs. As it is the season for such songs, let us look more closely into the dozen songs that comprise this album.

(The Christmas Album by David Foster with friends was released in 1993).

Carol of the Bells opens the 12-songs of The Christmas Album with an uplifting and melodious rendition of this traditional song. Mixing horns, piano and an orchestral mix meaningful to many, the joy that comes in less than three-minutes of playing time is beloved by many. This song, incidentally, receives the heaviest play of any song from this album with my local station.

(The Christmas Album featuring David Foster and friends was released in 1993).

Blue Christmas features Wynonna Judd singing to the instrumentation offered by David Foster. A rendition of this song also accompanied David Foster’s Christmas Album television special, which accounts for the following image. The rendition of the song selected here comes from the album rather than the television special.

(Wynonna Judd accompanies David Foster by singing Blue Christmas from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).

Bebe Winans and Cece Winans are featured accompanying David Foster with The First Noel. The contemporary sound with support from a chorus and a broad accompaniment of other musicians offer a warm, welcoming and full sound commensurate with the underlying lyrics and music offered. The song offered is from the album, whereas the image is from the television special.

(From left, David Foster, Bebe Winans and Cece Winans performing The First Noel).

Johnny Mathis joins David Foster in performing It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The enthusiastic time offers an uplifting spirit to a traditional composition known to many through more commonly played alternative renditions of this song.

(Johnny Mathis accompanies David Foster by singing The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. This image is from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special while the rendition linked above is from The Christmas Album).

Natalie Cole joins David Foster in offering Grown-Up Christmas List. Compositional credit for the song belongs with David Foster and Linda Thompson-Jenner. The fresh perspective in offering a new sentiment for the holidays with quality musicianship is heartwarming with a sense of calm.

(Natalie Cole accompanies David Foster by singing Grown-Up Christmas List from The Christmas Album. This image is from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).

O Holy Night features Michael Crawford singing alongside David Foster‘s piano and other accompanying instrumentation. Crawford is “[m]ost popular to theater audiences from his title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s version of The Phantom of the Opera,” as mentioned by All Music, the American online music database).

(Vanessa Williams accompanies David Foster by singing Go Tell It on the Mountain / Mary Had a Baby. The version linked below is taken from an album published by Williams).

Vanessa Williams sings a powerful medley of Go Tell It on the Mountain / Mary Had a Baby with a choir and David Foster, as featured on The Christmas Album, in David Foster’s Christmas Album television special, and in albums published separately by Williams. In staking out something truly their own in a musical arrangement offering many things, call me intrigued and moved.

(From left, Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack performing I’ll Be Home for Christmas. The image shown is from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).

I’ll Be Home for Christmas features Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack with musical assistance from David Foster. The mellow feeling of the presentation, taken from The Christmas Album as linked above, offers compositional direction changes at various points in the presentation that offer interesting and warm feelings to my hearing.

(Tom Jones performing Mary’s Boy Child from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).

Tom Jones sang to Mary’s Boy Child. The linked soundtrack to a ballad with choir harmonies bordering on the up-tempo style of many of the standards of Tom Jones, with a distinct timing difference to the song that comes next on The Christmas Album.

(From left, Céline Dion and David Foster perform The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)).

Céline Dion sings The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) to David Foster‘s piano, set in a distinctly higher key to much of the catalogue offered by The Christmas Album before this song. The juxtaposition of the Peebo Bryson and Roberta Flack duet followed in sequence by Tom Jones and Céline Dion also feels wisely selected to me.

Tammy Wynette sings and speaks Away in a Manger. The orchestration and production value of the song strikes me as more endearing.

The song White Christmas as captured on the album is credited in performance to David Foster, Natalie Cole, Michael Crawford, Wynonna Judd, Johnny Mathis, Bebe Wians and Cece Wians. I distinctly heard Vanessa Williams, Peebo Bryson, Roberta Flack, Tom Jones, Céline Dion and David Foster singing as well.

Matt – Wednesday, December 14, 2021