I apologize for my lack of output over this past
week, Gentle Reader. I’ve had a crazy schedule at work and I’ve been getting
home with a tired brain. Usually writing a music review revitalizes me, but
this week I defaulted to laying on the couch doing little more than what
Leonard Cohen once referred to as “getting lost in that hopeless little screen”.
Disc 1205 is… All In Time
Artist: Jim Cuddy
Year of Release: 1998
What’s up with the Cover? According to the liner notes…
“The symbol in the cover – a
cross within a circle – is from the Kongo Altar. It is called Dikenda. It
stands at the crossroads and marks the onset of a journey. It is a shining
circle representing the sun, and it marks the sun’s four moments – dawn, noon,
sunset and midnight.”
So…there
you go. No word on all the other stuff, like the bones arranged in the Roman
numerals for “32” or the vines, or the roses or the five cups of blood or
whatever they are across the top. I was tempted to cut all that stuff out and
invent some game where they are all playing pieces but I didn’t want to wreck
the CD.
How I Came To Know It: We were already Blue Rodeo fans,
and had heard and liked the song “Too
Many Hands” and so we took a chance. That’s what you did before Youtube and
music streaming existed.
How It Stacks Up: We have two Jim Cuddy solo albums: this one
and “The Light that Guides You Home” (reviewed back at Disc 504). They are
pretty equal but I’m going to give the edge to “The Light That Guides You Home”.
Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4
“All In Time” has a subtle beauty to it that I
confess to having a hard time accessing while navigating a hard week. That said,
the airy beauty of Cuddy’s voice and the gentle melodies of the record still
reached me through the gloom, even if the words weren’t sinking in as much as I
would have liked.
It is impossible to discuss a Jim Cuddy solo record without
mentioning his usual gig as a principle singer and songwriter for Canadian
alt-country icons Blue Rodeo. That band is a joyful call-and-answer of songs by
Cuddy and fellow singer-songwriter Greg Keelor. You get half a record of Keelor’s
psychedelic blues-infused country to balance the more straightforward country
crooning of Cuddy. I like them both, so did I miss the variety?
No, and that speaks highly of the collection of
songs Cuddy has pulled together for “All In Time.” He has pulled together some
gorgeous melodies that showcase both his talents as a writer but also the
exceptional range in his vocals. I have written before about the angelic power
of Cuddy’s voice, but it bears some repeating. He has an ability to climb in
and out of falsetto that raises the hair on the back of your neck. On “Too Many Hands” he does this repeatedly
and I never got tired of it.
Cuddy was right to release “Too Many Hands” as the single – it is the album’s standout track –
but there is plenty to like about the record. Mostly, I was drawn to Cuddy’s
more thoughtful and melancholy songs. I think these tracks showcase his voice
better, and while he can rock out well, it is that side of the ledger where I
do pine a little for his Blue Rodeo bandmates.
Fortunately, I like alt-country and folk music just
as much as rock and roll, so I don’t need to hear someone bang out power chords
to have a good time. “Second Son” is
a reflective song about friendship, and “Slide
Through Your Hands” is about collapsing love; this latter theme being one
that Cuddy has excelled at his entire career. You’d think he’d exhausted it by
now, but “Slide Through Your Hands”
shows he’s still got plenty of heartache to offer if you need to get your
wallow on.
“All in Time” has slightly less noodling than your
average Blue Rodeo album, but there were still a couple of moments that irked
me. “New Year’s Eve” has over two
minutes of atmospheric intro that sounds like a movie score more than a song,
and serves no purpose that I could discern. Once the song starts it is pretty
solid, but I was too irked by then to enjoy it.
“Everybody
Cries” is a beautiful song that wraps its arms around your shoulders on a
cold day and tells you everything is going to be OK. It then breaks this
promise with a clangorous rockabilly guitar/bass riff for a full minute after
the song should have just faded away or quietly resolved. It was like having
someone sing you a lullaby and just as you were fading off to sleep, violently
shake you awake again.
“All In Time” is twenty years old this year, and I’ve
heard it a lot over those years. For this reason, the songs are so familiar
they sometimes fade into the background, particularly when my head is full of
other worries. However, I’m glad I took a little extra time to let it seep back
in over the last few days. Annoying noodles aside, it felt like a happy
homecoming to see an old friend.
Best
tracks: Second
Son, Disappointment, Too Many Hands, Slide Through Your Hands, Making My Way To
You
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