Forgotten Music Thursday: Harry Chapin - Short Stories (1974)

Short Stories was the next step in Harry Chapin's musical evolution.  After finding his footing with Heads & Tails and Sniper and Other Love Songs Harry comes across considerably more self-assured and comfortable in his shoes on Short Stories.  While Short Stories lacks the epic seven to eleven minute tracks like Dogtown, Sniper, and A Better Place to Be from his first two albums Harry manages to say less with more.

W.O.L.D. tells the tale of an aging DJ constantly seeking happiness at his next stop on the radio dial only to one day find his life, looks, and youth have passed him by.  The song was inspired by Boston DJ, Jim Connors who was instrumental in Harry's early success.  Chapin overheard a phone conversation Connors had with his ex-wife that sparked a deep discussion between Chapin & Connors and that conversation was the inspiration for this song.  The song is told through a phone conversation a DJ is having with his ex-wife, although you only ever hear his half of the conversation. 

Harry hits another homerun with Mr. Tanner which tells the tale of a humble man in Dayton Ohio who runs a dry-cleaning business and has a talent for singing in local plays and shows.  After increased pressure from his friends and neighbours he uses up all of his savings to book a concert hall in New York City to audition.  Being crushed after receiving some rather unkind reviews, Mr. Tanner returns to Dayton where he never sings again, "excepting very late at night when the shop was dark and closed, he sang softly to himself as he sorted through the clothes."  What drives the song home are the haunting background vocals of bass player, John Wallace as he sings O Holy Night.  According to interviews this song was inspired by a couple of rather harsh reviews Harry read in the New York Times-- Harry actually quotes segments of both reviews in the song.

As good as all of the tracks are, of all the tracks on the album it is really buoyed even further by the aforementioned tracks and by the achingly beautiful Mail Order Annie.  A sad tale of two lonely less than attractive people who, through unusual circumstances end up fighting that loneliness together-- a similar theme to what Harry tackled on the previous album with A Better Place to Be.

Once Harry found his voice, his comfort level and gained a bit of self-confidence as an artist his albums were elevated to another level.  Short Stories is the first in a series of several Chapin albums that truly showed Harry at his creative peak, a peak he rode through the rest of the seventies and up to his untimely passing in 1981.  Honestly, from this album on, there's not a weak one in Harry's entire catalog.

Related Media & Links
W.O.L.D. video

Mr. Tanner video

They Call Her Easy video

Mail Order Annie video

Harry Chapin (official site)
Harry Chapin (wikipedia)

Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore is nothing if not irreverent. Having long since read all of Moore's books I've started re-reading some of his earlier works that I discovered all those years ago.

In WWII a bomber, The Sky Priestess, lands on a remote Pacific atoll in Micronesia, Alualu. The people of the island have come to be known as The Shark People, as Alualu is the only place in the world where the sharks are more afraid of the people than the people are of the sharks. The pilot of the Sky Priestess, Vincent, is viewed as a God as he delivers cargo and glimpses of western civilization to the islanders. He also proves much more successful at establishing religion on the island than the Catholic missionary that was recently killed by the Japanese. After all, it's much more impressive having a God that you've actually met in person. Vincent promises to return with more cargo for the Shark People but The Sky Priestess gets shot down by the Japanese before Vincent is able to make good on his promise. And thus a cargo cult is born.

Fast forward a few years and an idealistic Christian missionary doctor, Sebastian tries to succeed where the Catholic priest failed. Unfortunately, for Sebastian, the Cargo Cult has taken hold. The Shark People show crucifixes as 2 propellers crossing each other, they portray any images of Jesus that they see wearing a WWII bomber jacket. They worship Vincent and many even name their children after him.

Sebastian meets Beth an "exotic dancer"/nurse on a trip to San Francisco for a medical seminar.  Beth bears an uncanny resemblance to the woman painted on the fuselage of The Sky Priestess in a photo they both discover at the San Francisco library and a brilliant idea is hatched. Having little luck converting the Shark People to Christianity, Sebastian decides if you can't beat 'em, join 'em and Beth becomes "The Sky Priestess" in a rather unscrupulous medical scheme funded by Japanese businessmen that are keeping Sebastian's mission work on Alualu afloat.

Tucker Case is a bit of a loser, a pilot for a cosmetics magnate that uses his charms to lure middle-aged cosmetics distributors to bed. After an ill-fated in-air dalliance Tucker finds himself seriously maimed and out of a job. Tucker receives a job offer from Sebastian to fly his Lear jet on medical supply runs between Alualu and Japan. Given Tucker's recently revoked pilot license and at that point limited prospects he's encouraged to take the job by his friend, Jake Skye, and a mysterious WWII bomber pilot that keeps mysteriously appearing to him.

On its surface, Island of the Sequined Love Nun is a fun and somewhat whimsical read. Under the surface it's an interesting take on origins of organized religion that the reader may or may not agree with but should at least take the time to ponder. Having read all of Moore's novels before and since reading this one, Island of the Sequined Love Nun has remained a favorite of mine. I'd argue this also makes an interesting companion piece to Moore's much more popular and successful Lamb: The Gospel According to Christ's Childhood Pal, Biff. And Tucker Case was a popular enough character that he made another appearance in Moore's zombie Christmas novel, The Stupidest Angel. All in all, if you're new to Christopher Moore all of his books are thoroughly enjoyable, Island of the Sequined Love Nun is as good a place as any to start your literary journey into Moore's rather quirky imagination.

Related Links
Christopher Moore (official website)
Christopher Moore (wikipedia)

Lindsay Aline - Illusion (2009)

I was recently approached by the management of Lindsay Aline requesting that I review her debut album, Illusion. 

Upon first listen I'll be the first to admit this is not normally the kind of music I would listen to.  It's generally a bit too light for my tastes.

That being said there's no denying Ms. Aline's talent her voice is reminiscent of Evanessence's Amy Lee.  Her style is closer to My Immortal than to Wake Me Up Inside. 

There's a haunting yearning in her vocal delivery on most songs.  While there is some variance of style from song to song there's a bit too much similarity for my tastes.  All of the songs are relaxing and easy to listen to and could easily stand on their own.  But the sum of the whole does show a lack of variety.

All of that aside, this is Ms. Aline's debut album and as far as debut albums it's certainly a worthy outing.  I can't help feeling that she's holding back though.  As I listen to songs like What Would It Be Like (easily my favorite on the album or Pop My Collar with its beautiful muted trumpet backing her hauntingly beautiful voice. I can't help but feel Lindsay is giving but a glimpse of herself...  She's giving just enough of herself to whet the listener's appetite.  There is an undercurrent of untapped potential that resonates under each song.  Even if that talent is never FULLY realized Lindsay is talented enough that she'll have a respectable career.  But if she ever really taps into her full potential she will be a force to be reckoned with.

If you're looking for a relaxing Sunday afternoon CD, Illusion should certainly fit that bill, but I do challenge Ms. Aline dig deeper, the talent is undeniably there.  She's given us a taste of what she's capable of, next time I hope she feeds us the meal. (7 out of 10)

Related Links
Lindsay Aline

Harry Chapin - Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

While not as commercially successful as his debut, Sniper and Other Love Songs is a far superior album to Heads & Tails. Harry’s vocal delivery and range are substantially improved, the production is superior, and the overall quality of the material is far more even and consistently good. Where Heads & Tails was largely buoyed by Taxi & Dogtown, there’s not a weak track on Sniper and Other Love Songs.

The first half of the album, or what would have been side 1 of the LP is anchored by Sniper which is easily one of Chapin’s most vocally challenging songs. Later in his career Harry would rarely sing the song as he confessed, “It tears my voice to hell.” While no real names are actually used. The song is a fictitious account of actual sniper Charles Whitman who killed 14 people and wounded 32 others from the clock tower at the University of Texas in 1966. The song is so ambitious in its scope it plays out like a screenplay examining the psychology and mindset of the sniper. Harry alternates between singing the voice of the sniper, the eyewitnesses and an objective narrator showing a tremendous range and an impeccable ability to shift between different vocal deliveries within the same song.
The other standout track on the first half of the album is Burning Herself. After the soft more acoustic folk stylings of And the Baby Never Cries, Burning Herself is a somewhat jarring piece. Compared to the other songs on the album it’s largely out of place, but it’s that rather jarring out of place style that makes the song that much more effective. There’s an anger and hostility to the lyrics that needs to be noticed.

The second half of the album is equally strong, if not stronger. It features the hauntingly beautiful A Better Place to Be about a night watchman and a rotund waitress who “both know all about loneliness and living all alone.” It also features the catchy sing-a-long, live-staple Circle.

All in all, Harry sounds decidedly more comfortable and self-assured in his second outing. The quality of the material is consistently better and you can clearly hear Chapin’s growth as both a singer and songwriter. *** ½ (out of *****)

Related Video & Links
Sniper

A Better Place To Be

Circle

Harry Chapin (official site)
Harry Chapin (wikipedia)

Harry Chapin - Heads & Tails (1972)

While not as well known or remembered as some of his contemporaries, Harry Chapin’s career thrived on a sizable and devoted cult following and the respect of many of his peers.

Despite not being as strong as many of his later albums, on his solo debut, Heads & Tails, Chapin shows glimpses of his talent as a singer/songwriter. Musically, the songs are quite an eclectic mix. As would be the trend on future Chapin compositions, the cello (played on this album by Tim Scott) is a cornerstone of his folk-rock sound on every track. The album also features Chapin’s longtime bass-player/background vocalist, John Wallace (he continued touring with Harry right up to Harry’s last show).

The trouble with the album is that it’s rather “bottom heavy” that is to say on the LP side 2 was considerably stronger than side 1 (or on the CD, Tracks six through nine were stronger than tracks one through five).

The second side starts with Taxi, easily one of the best songs Harry ever wrote or recorded—so popular amongst his die-hard fans that it yielded Sequel in 1980 that picks up several years after Taxi leaves off. As much as I enjoy Taxi, I’d argue that the live versions I’ve heard are superior to this original studio version. Where Harry’s voice is somewhat youthful and innocent on the studio version, there’s a grizzled world weariness to his vocals on the various live recordings I’ve heard of the song that gives the song a bit more emotional weight. An interesting footnote to Taxi, the movie Taxi Driver was supposedly a cross between Taxi and Sniper which appeared on Harry’s 2nd album, Sniper and Other Love Songs.

Dogtown is the #2 of a 1-2 punch on side two. It’s another glimpse at the storyteller style of songs that Harry first exhibited with Taxi and would become increasingly more prevalent on Harry’s subsequent albums. It’s the tale of a town of fishermen’s wives in Massachusetts. With their husbands out to sea so much they all have guard dogs to keep them safe in their husband’s absences. The song relates their hard lives even mentioning one widow who had already buried 3 husbands who had drowned. The song also features the wives of these fishermen asking, “Am I his widow or his wife.” and asking if they’ll have to give their husbands to the sea or the sky. The emotional intensity is undeniable and Harry’s delivery is considerably stronger and more intense than on Taxi.

The album closes with the haunting autobiographical Same Sad Singer. The song is spare and yearning but the lyrics lack the punch of songs like Taxi and Dogtown. Harry does make up for the weak lyrics (weak in comparison to Taxi and Dogtown) with a strong vocal delivery. The sorrow and loneliness drips from each tender note he sings.

While Harry would come to perform stronger material on later albums, his debut made for a respectable start and a glimpse of the better material that he’d release as his career matured and progressed. For the casual listener, it’s generally a “pass”, but for the more die-hard fan and those who are interested in hearing his musical evolution it’s an excellent place to start one’s musical journey.  Feels like ** 1/2 (out of *****)

Related Video and Links

Harry Chapin (official site)
Harry Chapin (wikipedia)