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Ian
Charles
- Minutes From Midnight
Issue
#62
May
'04
Every so often we receive a
CD that perfectly illustrates what IndepenDisc
is all about...
From out of left field comes
an unassuming CD which, once placed in the disc player, refuses to
leave,
forcing us to tell people about how captivating it is, inspiring us to
spread
the word…
Minutes From Midnight is such a CD.
Ian Charles
is a man preaching musical salvation. His use of poetry is like that of
no
others since the hey day of a young Bob Dylan. Throw in the feel of
Woody
Guthrie and the road weary traveler of Jack Kerouac and we have a
mirror image
of Neil Diamond’s Brother Love, except this Traveling
Salvation Show is brought
to the masses from a musical disciple on the run from every thing that
could
possibly haunt him.
11:55 has long been the metaphor for
being as close to the
end as possible…
Minutes From Midnight is Ian
Charles’ song cycle of how and why he walked to the
edge, yet instead of
jumping he took a leap of faith: Faith in music, Faith in the power of
healing
that a song can deliver, and Faith in life that can be taken in and
reflected
on for the better due to the insight of musical purity. He has seen the
promise
land through music and has been inspired to share it with us through
his
experiences both in life and in song.
“For
a long time I spent my time / Worrying about things that
didn’t
mean a thing,” he opens with. “Parallel”
is sung using a vocal that
automatically reveals a rough traveled life gathered together with a
lot of too
fast and too soon – the ancient tribal beats chase down a man
running from
himself. It Relates a ripped-from-the-bare-soul confession, which is
anointed
with the promise of “to spread the
word I
heard on a twelve inch wonder.” Yet as far as he
runs and as much as he
preaches the word, there is still the fact that “Far away in the back of my mind / the parallels
that I can’t hide from
/ Save Me.” But it isn’t the parallels
that will save him. He cries to be
saved *from* them –
“Took a breath and reached for my
lord / and
knew I had a long way to go.” What follows are 12
more songs that personify
his lord, the music, and the long way it came about to Save Him. Yet,
this
isn’t a religious sermon; it is a spiritual one, delivered by
a unique talent
that has had the gods of music uplift him with an epiphany he must
share.
New Traditional is the best
way to describe the Acoustic Folk, Sonic Rock, Gospel Soul sound that
meshes
silky smooth vocals, that pronounce passion and bring to mind the
elocution of
Dan Fogelberg, Cat Stevens, Johnny Cash, James Taylor and Paul Simon,
with
musical compositions that paint landscapes so real, so familiar, that
with the
close of your eyes you are easily transported to the scene in which the
song/story unfolds and takes place. Both lyrics and music capture
together what
each accomplishes separately, but when melded as one, bring a
fulfilling sense
of achievement. It is done through the amazing writing of Ian Charles (vocals, acoustic &
electric guitars, spinet piano,
Wurlitzer, Hammond B-3, drums, percussion, harmonica), the solid
playing of Eric Michael Lichter
(Hammond T-200,
Korg, ARP string ensemble, Wurlitzer, bass, electric guitar, slide
acoustic
guitar, piano) and Dick Neal
(Banjo,
Dobro, electric guitar, mandolin), and with guest appearances by Peter Kazaleh (electric guitar), Mace Vitale (bass), and Jeremy
Lichter (electric guitar). These
guys produce a sound so full that you’ll spend many spins
just discovering new
“most favorite” musical highlights sprinkled
throughout each and every song – A
joy that true music fans never grow tired of.
Just about every song on this
CD has something special to say, and something unique to add, and
something
that I’d just love to expound on… But, for the
sake of space I’ll attempt to
(briefly) highlight a few more (while commenting on others)…
“Paint You A Picture”
is
absolute poetry in a love song that contains two lines that touch my
heart. “I wanna wait in line with
you / I wanna
sneak you into the show.” It’s so pure
that when he alludes to how some
sadness tore them apart and then as a preamble to a crying harmonica he
confesses, “I wanna see you as
I’m dying
/ I will love you forever,” you melt into the
beauty of the song. It is
also where we get the first Coda of many. It’s been a while
since I can
remember an artist using a coda to allow the song to reverberate
through us
after it has ended, but Ian Charles
not only puts one in, he sprinkles many in throughout the CD, and all
of them
work with the material in a way that’s both moving and
penetrating.
“Lonely Symphony”
again
brings a Bob Dylan sensibility into the poetic styling of the romantic
snapshot
of a man sitting on a balcony. He observes a weeping woman across the
way
talking to herself and wonders about her. As he does, he sings his
thoughts
aloud accompanied by a solemn electric piano, and a lone guitar
plucking. He
wonders why her suitors have been rejected and asks, “How did the boys that serenade you come to walk
away / why did their
songs fall flat?” As he sings this, she hears the
words and realizes that
he has made a correlation with her and her heartache, causing her to
stop
crying in order to listen to his serenade. It connects her to a point
of
spiritual bliss, and he recognizes this: “Can’t
help but notice as I sing my lonely symphony / That your tears and your
lone
conversation have stopped.” With an off guard
resounding note he stops, and
the song stops, leaving us astounded.
“Destination: A Dusty Road” takes us to a point
that only a masterful painting
can. The music, relying on big lush cymbals, Hammond organ, simple acoustics, and a
host of instruments,
presents all we need to see and feel of this lone and sorrowful dusty
road. The
atmosphere created by this tripping musical conglomeration hangs heavy
over the
weary drifter who walks this desolate stretch with no purpose but that
of
suffering for salvation: “His name
he
says is Jesus.” And with that we are left to draw
our own conclusions as to
the allegory, whether implied or not – again classic Dylan
takes us by
surprise.
While many others deserve
ink, I’ll point out that “Charlie” is a perfect
companion to James Velvet’s
“John Alley,”
having that
distinct medieval sound that Traffic used so well on “John
Barleycorn.” It’s no
surprise that James’ long time collaborator, Dick
Neal, weighs in heavy here with a picking mandolin that has
all hell threatening to break loose at any minute. You can see and feel
the
sinisterness seething like a satanic version of Led
Zeppelin’s “Bron-Yr-Aur.”
But it’s “I Saw
The Sun Go Down” that defines Ian
Charles. This protest song is as poetic a musical statement
as that of
“Blowin’ In The Wind.” Against a subdued
yet driving bass and drum rhythm, a
tambourine and mandolin lead a document of a day which outlines the
horror of
war and the devastation that the political agenda of current day Washington has brought to us all in the
course of a simple day.
Haunting and brief it delivers the message not with a heavy hand, but a
heavy
heart. It’s 2:44 that covers every anti-war protest
since the ‘60s and
rebirths them into the ‘00s at a time when they are needed.
Instead of ending there, we
get one more to close this music revival. “Call it A Song” is
sung in a
riveting sweet soul sound of a stunning Otis Redding vocal floating
over a
church organ. This gospel reading ties up the disc as presented in the
opening:
That faith in music can be the salvation that not only saves you, but
makes
your life pertinent. “So today the
choirs
of the valley / Are singing of salvation.” We can
hear the choirs, we can
hear the choirs of Ian Charles, we
are saved by the music, and we are inspired to spread the
word…
Ian
Charles - Minutes From Midnight
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