Day 22 - Musical Time Machine

On a pleasurable, late October Sunday afternoon, I decided to do a two-fer by raking up leaves in the front yard (chores and physical activity).  As there were just a few leaves left on the tree and they weren't magically disappearing from the the yard, it seems like a good opportunity to expend some energy.  I decided to grab some ear buds and listen to some music while I worked.  While trying to decide on which albums would be my soundtrack, I opted to go to some that have been in my collection for a while.  In doing so, I traveled into my own personal "Wayback (WABAC) Machine."

Disclaimer:  When it comes to the Rock and Pop genres, I've typically been one to buy compilation albums of artists, rather than individual albums.  That could be because my tape collection had been filled with multiple albums from BeBe and CeCe Winans, Take6, Petra, Phil Driscoll, First Call, Michael W. Smith, White Heart, Bryan Duncan, Allies and numerous other Christian groups.  So, when I first decided to buy heathen tracks, I purchased the "Best of" albums because I knew most, if not all, of the songs on them.  I credit my now brother-in-law Mike for introducing me to the Best of Kansas while he was rocking out to it vacuuming the fellowship hall of First Assembly on his Walkman some afternoon in the late 80's.  Carry On, My Oldest not-Wayward brother-in-law.

As I've pulled almost all of my CDs into iTunes, you can see the compilation albums as you scroll through the artists:  The Best of the Doobie Brothers, The Eagles Their Greatest Hits & Best of the Eagles (Vol. II), The Very Best of Foreigner, Genesis' The Way We Walk Vol. One: The Shorts (Live), Journey's Greatest Hits, The Police Every Breath You Take, The Singles, The Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits 1974-78, Toto's Past to Present: 1977-1990, etc.  Maybe it's because I'm frugal and its the most bang for your musical buck.

Second disclaimer: I also like listening to albums in the song order in which they were produced.  While I don't typically dive into the history of each album/song, I figured there was a reason for the layout; that's the way the artist wanted the album presented, without skipping over songs (which has been so much easier to do since the CD days).  So, listen to it in that order, I do.  Perhaps it's a bit of OCD in me.  By the way, that's one thing that bugs me about one of the last iTunes updates: its propensity for shuffling albums.  Leave those tracks alone! (Sorry, wrong British artist.)


There are artists, however, where I have multiple albums. And, two of them were on Sunday's playlist: Sting and Harry Connick, Jr.

First up, Sting's Ten Summoner's Tales (a play on his surname).

While I had an appreciation for The Police in the early and mid 80's, I was much more of a fan of their former lead singer after he went solo.  If I remember correctly, Ryan Korb had a cassette of Sting's The Soul Cages the summer we graduated from high school, with "All This Time" (the first radio single off of the album) being my favorite track.  I didn't buy it personally, but that song in particular has been a favorite since it first came out.  We even covered said tune at Navigate a few years back.  But, I digress.

It was Sting's distinctive tenor, his affinity for funky time signatures and his lyrical content that I found most interesting.  Thanks to Columbia House and/or BMG (I/we belonged to both at various points in time), I picked up Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984-1994 in '94, and the aforementioned Tales in '95.  While I also bought Mercury Falling the next year, it never stuck with me as much as the other two albums.

Back to Tales.  I don't know that there's a song on the album that I don't like.  But, I really like "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" (also covered in the past at Navigate), "Love is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)," "Seven Days," "Saint Augustine in Hell," and "Epilogue (Nothing 'Bout Me)." It's their lyrical content, their time signatures, the musicianship, the packaging of each song that I appreciate.  They stories Sting tells in using all of those dynamics grabs me every time, as I'm singing along with him.

Sting has numerous times where he's wrestled with spiritual matters on his albums.  I hear it, and I appreciate it.  Matters of faith come up often in his work, but especially in this album.  Look and listen to the songs I mentioned above.  Or, in his song where he seemingly gives up on any faith in God, "It's Probably Me."  While I know I haven't shared the same spiritual journey as Mr. Sumner, I appreciate how he wrestles with faith in his music.  Even as I wrestle with it recently, the questions resonate in me, although with different resolve.

In listening to that album on Sunday afternoon, I was taken back to our first apartment at Fairway View Apartments in Bothell: 16724 Juanita Drive NE, Apt D-413.  I can remember listening to the album there, and on road trips in both my '92 GTI and my first '92 Saturn SL2. (I shouldn't have sold the latter to my brother--oh, the joys of a growing family, sports hatchbacks, to sedans to minivans).

It's funny how music can help you recollect times and places.  It's a powerful tool, the combination of lyrics and melody.  Songs that come on the radio can take you instantly back to a situation, which I've already given numerous examples of in this post.  Perhaps it's the combination of ethos, pathos and logos all in musical form that interests me.  Ive always appreciated performing it.  And, I appreciate it's use in worship, in recreation, at work, in therapy, etc. 

I have more to say, but it's late enough for now.  More on Harry and his influence another time.