Stranger
Preface
Totally worth the time and attention, I will hear some of these songs again. I heard Vienna years ago and it’s been my favorite since then. the whole album has that mood. a certain melancholic longing but with one’s chin up. it’s not a desperate break-up sadness, it’s more fundamental. it’s longing for love, peace, and youth. it celebrates having a dream of your own, as the last song goes:
And I know that everybody has a dream
And this is my dream, my own
Just to be at home
And to be all alone
All alone with you, oh
With you
Review
I’ve heard Vienna before, it’s an all-time favorite of mine. I’m expecting a lot of piano and great lyrics. 9 songs, 42 minutes, perfect album length. Movin’ Out is a bit dance-y, I love his singing. it’s very soulful, intimate, and articulate. it talks of how everyone works their lives only for money, and the character moves out, of the house but it’s a metaphor for how he wants to break free.
Who needs a house out in Hackensack
Is that all you get for your money?
With the second track, comes the expected piano, the title track. beautiful intro with a melancholic whistling melody. straightforward lyrics. a new form of rhyming for me.
Just The Way You Are sounds very personal. as if he’s telling a real story from his own life. it speaks of simplicity and how we usually forget to appreciate it, of how it is to want simple things, to be the way we are and to be loved for it.
I don’t want clever conversation
Never want to work that hard, mm
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are
Scenes From Italian Restaurant sounds like a rainy day in New York, the strings, the sax solo, everything; it could be the soundtrack to a sitcom. however at 7 minutes, it’s very long, but it gets interesting with the middle section (Brenda and Eddie), and the return at the end is even better. the sax really works with the transitions.
huh, Vienna… it’s very nostalgic for me, it makes me wanna cry. very strong lyrics (p.s. it did make me cry right now)
Only The Good Die Young sounds more upbeat, a good move from the melancholy of the previous track. this one made me smile, and laugh even. it’s saying to the girl that you will sin eventually, I might as well be it! funny.
Come out Virginia, don’t let me wait
You Catholic girls start much too late
Sooner or later it comes down to fate
I might as well be the one
She’s Always A Woman beautiful love song, smooth and with a cool fade out. Get It Right The First Time sets the happier mood after a sadder song once again, something that has repeated for few times now. almost a Caribbean atmosphere, later confirmed with the instruments. well captures the rush of first impressions. the pre-chorus is interesting, “I’ve got to give it one good try”, it being the chorus and his first impression of the girl.
The last track is very concert-y, with the crowds singing a repeating line. I knew it was the last song after hearing the chorus. once again, very beautiful strong lyrics. not too bright, not too sad. both optimistic, realistic, and human. beyond time and place, touches the deeper side of the listener’s mind. I felt like I needed to quote many of the lines, and for good reason: they’re awesome.
While in these days of quiet desperation
As I wander through the world in which I live
I search everywhere for some new inspiration
But it’s more than cold reality can give
If I need a cause for celebration
Or a comfort I can use to ease my mind
I rely on my imagination
And I dream of an imaginary time
oh, it’s two different songs, sounds familiar. it’s the intro from another track that had a whistle; yes! there’s the whistle. that’s how the album ends: sad, hopeful, simple, intimate, nostalgic.