“Wimps,” Robert Christgau sneered, comparing them to Talking Heads — who were wimps, he proclaimed, without “vagueness or cheap romanticism.” But that was ’77; the Heads (whom I love) left us; and four Englishmen, fronted now by one renegade Seattleite, now answer the call. They stand in the context of modern Western society, which just took a few blacker-water churns. They have to make sense relative to this undertow.
Vagueness? Yes lyrics have always been riddles, but never riddles you couldn’t figure out. Cheap romanticism? I submit that romanticism runs in short supply right here, right now (’77 was maybe different times), and a commodity in short supply becomes more precious.
So when our quintet pours on peace and love, more specifically “lift your heart above the fight,” and “take me from where I am,” they acknowledge how much heavy lifting that takes at the best of times. They wrote and recorded pre-Ferguson, pre-Staten Island, but that’s how little the news that stays news changes. And you can’t call this the best of times — one important change.
Read on..
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
 | Union (Standard DVD) DVD - £9.99 |
 | Union (2CD) 2CD - £7.99 |
 | Rock Of The 70's DVD - £12.99 |
| Rock of the 70s DVD - £9.99 |
No comments:
Post a Comment