Chris Stamey kicks off the album with "I'd Be Lost Without You," which has an interesting opening moment, like the tape being quickly rewound through the machine and an announcement that "Okay, we're rolling." The song is then counted off and quickly proves itself a wonderful, earnest pop number. Here Chris sings, "If you ever leave me, don't know what I'd do/I'd be lost without you." Sure, those might seem simple lines, but if you are completely in love with someone, you know exactly the feeling expressed here. And besides, that's the point, a return to some of the innocent-sounding music of the past. And the track features excellent vocal work that might make you think of the Beach Boys. "What would tomorrow be/Without you here with me?" Probyn Gregory adds some really nice touches. Then "Anything Is Possible," the album's title track, begins with a bright burst of energy and touches on the idea of life on Mars. I remember reading about possible evidence that there once had been life on the red planet. Will we ever find life on other planets? It seems likely at some point, doesn't it? Otherwise, what a great waste of space the universe is. Check out these lines: "If you look closely at the edge of time/The fabric of the day-to-day/You'll find it's almost never/Moving in a straight line/And anything is possible, anything is possible, anything is possible." I find that thought positive, even comforting, though I suppose that's just how I choose to take it. For if anything is possible, that means all sorts of terrible things are possible too. But this song certainly has a wonderfully positive bent, as heard in these lines: "You tell me everything is so unclear/That you don't know why we are here/But I say that's the beauty of this life, my dear." Yes, yes, yes! And no one knows why we're here. In fact, I believe there is no why to the matter at all. This is one of my personal favorite tracks.
Then we are treated to a beautiful number titled "After All This Time," setting the tone and mood with its opening lines: "I don't know why I should think of you, but I do/It catches me by surprise, out of the blue." This song feels like one of those beloved numbers from the Great American Songbook. Really, it could become a standard, should become one. And it features an excellent vocal performance. This track features Probyn Gregory on flugelhorn, and also contains some wonderful stuff on strings. But it is perhaps that guitar lead in the middle that really makes this track stand out. That's followed by "Meet Me In Midtown," a fun, light song of the city. "Every morning, taxis parade but can't get through/Sidewalks so crowded, hidden beneath the pounding shoes/But when the sun sets, we can do just as we choose." The taxis and crowded sidewalks are elements of New York, but not Los Angeles, though those lyrics still speak to us here in L.A. There is a cool bit on saxophone in the middle (that's Matt Douglas), which adds another delicious layer. At the end of this track, there are sounds of traffic, including a couple of honking horns, but they are incorporated into a sort of rhythm, which is great.
The album's sole cover is "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)," a song written by Tony Asher and Brian Wilson and included on the Beach Boys' celebrated Pet Sounds album. Chris Stamey delivers an outstanding rendition. As you'd expect, there is some excellent vocal work here. There is a lot to latch onto here, right from that great opening on strings. This song was not my favorite track from Pet Sounds, but this version is giving me a stronger appreciation of this number. That's followed by "When My Ship Comes In," a song that is pretty and moving right from that wonderful instrumental intro. "One day, I'll be back again/Until then, we'll have to pretend/Till my ship comes in/Hold fast to these memories/Please say that you'll wait for me." This is a song for anyone who has had to be separated from his or love. I did the long-distance thing for a while, and there is a chance that I will have to again soon, and this song is hitting exactly the right spots. It's beautiful. Chris Stamey plays piano on this track, delivering some really nice, tender work.
"In A Lonely Place" is named after the Humphrey Bogart movie, and it has something of a late 1950s, early 1960s vibe, particularly in the percussion. "I live in a lonely place/With memories I can't erase/The sun rises and it sets/But time won't let me forget." I love that guitar part in the second half. That's followed by "Once, On A Summer's Day." The music so perfectly gives us a sense of place at the very beginning. We hear seagulls. We feel that great sense of memory even before those first lines, "Did we love, once on a summer's day?/Did we kiss, as the waves washed our thoughts away?" I love how our own memories become part of the song as we listen. There is a touch of melancholy, as what seems to be left are memories, and even they are framed as questions. So it's like we are in danger of losing them too, or perhaps already have, at least to some extent. "Did we walk, hand in hand, on an empty beach?/Did we talk of a life just beyond our reach?" This is another of my personal favorites.
When I first glanced at the CD's track list, "Done With Love" stood out, for the title could be taken two ways. My first thought was that it would be about someone doing things with love in his heart, a positive thing. But then it hit me the other way, about someone who is through with love. It is the latter meaning, it turns out, here. Chris sings, "I'll never give my heart away/I'll let the doorbell ring and hide my face/I'll let the mail pile up outside." And I love these lines: "Who is the author of this one-act play?/Who signals when the curtain falls?" This track features some nice work by Charles Cleaver on keys. Then, as "Au Revoir And Goodbye" begins, there is a sense of walking into a magical realm. That brief intro on the cymbal accomplishes that, and then Chris' vocal approach and the lyrics themselves add to that feeling. "I didn't know that the night could be so entrancing/I didn't know that the stars could so fill the sky/I didn't notice the rest of the world was sleeping." Then there is a moment when it feels that the magic has died, when he sings, "I thought that you still loved me so." We hear a desire to remain in that magical realm. And just as quickly the strings take us farther inside it, creating a dance, a waltz. What a wonderful moment. Don't we all want to live within moments like that? This song is yet another of the disc's highlights. The album concludes with "Leaves In The Wind." It opens with the lines "I count the days, leaves in the wind/Until I will see you again," reminding us of the theme of "When My Ship Comes In," but this one has a more haunted feel. It features some wonderful work by Probyn Gregory in the middle. "So I wait here, and watch the sky/And think of you, and days gone by."
CD Track List
- I'd Be Lost Without You
- Anything Is Possible
- After All This Time
- Meet Me In Midtown
- Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
- When My Ship Comes In
- In A Lonely Place
- Once, On A Summer's Day
- Done With Love
- Au Revoir And Goodbye
- Leaves In The Wind
No comments:
Post a Comment