Monday, September 21, 2009

The Rhythm of the Saints

And speaking as we were last week of the late Jim Carroll -- obviously "People Who Died" is better known, but for my money "I Want the Angel" is the best track on Catholic Boy.





An all but perfect rock record, I think -- three chords (but the right three chords), a fabulous lyric ("I want the angel/That knows rejection/She's like a whore in love with her own reflection" -- damn, if that isn't poetry), a vocal with just the right air of on-the-nod conviction, the usually useless Alan Lanier of BOC covering himself in glory on the piano, and of course that ascending octave thing in the buildup (a hook that's almost classical in its gorgeousness).

5 comments:

Kid Charlemagne said...

I'm a fan of "Wicked Gravity" myself.

steve simels said...

Well, my feeling has always been that if you can wring another song out of the chord changes to "Sweet Jane" you're onto something good almost by definition.

geor3ge said...

That is some fine piano.

David said...

OK, I have to weigh in to sing the praises of "It's Too Late," just as fierce as "People Who Died," which garnered a blistering cover by Seattle's short-lived, brilliantly named 7 Year Bitch.

David Rasmussen said...

I love Jim Carroll, the songs mentioned here, and even his spoken word/comedy CD. It's too late to have a date with Sharon Tate, indeed.