Daniel Amos, When Everyone Wore Hats
Reviewed by Thom Gladhill
Lucas re-envisioned his trilogy. Spielberg rebuilt E.T. Now Terry
Taylor has remade Songs of the Heart. Why, you may ask. In
fact, unless you are the most die hard fan of Daniel Amos, you may
have missed this disc. It was released with little promotion. So why
this disc? Why not Motorcycle? Why not Darn-Floor? Hey,
why not Kalhoun? It's pretty simple when you see When Everyone
Wore Hats. See, where Lucas and Spielberg messed up classics,
Taylor took an interesting album and made it fresh and complete.
For those uncertain, When Everyone Wore Hats tells the story
(as did Songs of the Heart) of Bud and Irma Akendorf - starting
from their youth in 1947 to Bud's death. And it's a nostalgic story,
clearly influenced by a recognition of the WWII generation. This was
all part of the original disc - and disc one is simply Songs of the
Heart. For those who never heard it, it's an eclectic blend of noise.
It starts out with a nice upbeat rendition of the old song "Can't
Take my Eyes Off of You." The thing is, for much of the CD Taylor
sings in the person of Bud (a move he admits was questioned by many
and misunderstood by even more). It's a low, near growl that takes
a lot of time to adjust to, since most went into this expecting Terry,
not Bud. "Get Into the Bus, Aloha" begins with an accordion and becomes
a rock number shortly thereafter. The songs tell of the strange characters
Bud and Irma meet, such as a faith healer named Evangeline. Again,
Taylor speaks his way on a medium tempo bed.
The standout tracks of disc one are really at the end, like "Sins
of the Fathers," in which Bud contemplates the shortness of life over
a cup of coffee. The music drives the words along with a sense of
urgency. The rock ballad "When Everyone Wore Hats," is sung by Taylor
with a melancholy nostalgia. "And My Hand to God" is a beautiful ballad
that speaks of greeting God, while saying goodbye to loved ones.
This is, of course, a team effort. It would be ridiculous to ignore
the contributions of the band. Greg Flesch pulled a Prince and played
an assorted collection of instruments (including - but not limited
to - guitar, organ and accordion). Tim "I've played in every band
except U2" Chandler offers his bass and trombone talents (along with
some guitar). Jerry Chamberlain offered his guitar skills. And of
course, don't forget the master of Daniel Amos' drums, Ed McTaggart
(the only guy who didn't play guitar on the disc).
Which brings us to disc two. DA went back in the studio and recorded
all the songs acoustically. The disc now opens with "Donna Nietche
and Her Super Race of Kickboxing Uber Parrots." I just mention that
for the rather bizarre title. "The Glory Road" works nicely in the
upbeat acoustic format, but it really just sounds like a non-electric
version of the original, whereas "Get On the Bus, Aloha" sounds like
a lounge lizard's groovy intro. Evangeline's point is easier to focus
on in this format. Hearing Taylor treat these more as songs, it makes
everything more listenable. "Our Night to Howl, Time to Go Dancing"
feels almost novelty in this format, but the lyrics should still lift
the hearts of couples young and old. "Loveland" sounds incredible
as a quiet, passionate love song. The final two tracks are gems. Truth
be told, I used to wonder if Terry was poking fun at the earlier generations
with the song "When Everyone Wore Hats." This new version, underscored
on piano, holds the importance of the tribute he meant to pay with
the song. This is clearly to honor his father's generation, and it's
done beautifully. "My Hand to God" is quite haunting.
Disc three includes Taylor reading selections from When Everyone
Wore Hats, divided by additional songs (also rendered acoustically)
and a rather informative interview conducted by some kid named Jason
Martin.
And to the book. Back in 2000, we were treated to an ĦAlarma! Chronicles
book set. There was talk of more (and there are at least two more
to come - but no re-recordings?). The fans were shocked by the choice,
but it works nicely. Taylor's prose has improved quite a bit since
the ĦAlarma! Chronicles, though he is given to overusing metaphors
a little too much. The visuals of the books are very nice. They feature
both stock images of iconic fifties imagery and pictures of the band
members from their childhood. The book also contains explanations
of the songs, the lyrics and a nice little intro by Taylor. In fact,
the biggest criticism I have of the book is that it isn't a hardcover
like the ĦAlarma! Chronicles was. There are valid reasons,
and frankly, it's a minor concern. All in all, this is a solid and
creative piece of work. Daniel Amos has help shed light on a little
praised album and made it a worthy collection for any fan.
*Just as a precaution (to cover my butt): If you hated Songs of
the Heart, you may not like this one either.
Daniel Amos