Keith et al.---
May I comment briefly on the poll, or more precisely, on thoughts
about the band's music that the poll brought to my mind?
First, I just don't want to hear "And Hiding Away" without drums. The
staccato burst that opened Umbrella is, for me, one of the most
memorable "Here's our music!" kickoffs in my personal, 40-year
experience of pop music. While the song would certainly be playable
without drums, there are Muzak versions of "Purple Haze" out there,
too, you know? A hyperbolic comparison, I guess, but to me the soul of
that tune would be very hard to convey without a full rhythm section.
Which leads to my second point...I dunno when I started listening to
IM, but it was after the first record and before the second one,
probably around 1990 or 1991 (if you have archives from that far back,
Keith, you'll probably find a postings from me about wandering through
Tower Records and being intrigued by the first album's cover art, the
band's name, and the song titles, or about how Steve's drumming on
"Evensong" in performance nearly split my skull). Anyway, back then, IM
was a rock band. You can label them "alternative" or whatever, but the
basic vibe was about electric guitars, layered production, and a beat.
Karen's remarkable voice and mesmerizingly literate lyrics were what
made the band distinctive, yes, but the sensibility was rock-n-roll.
I would never deny any artist the right to evolve their art, so I do
not mean to criticize the band; they've followed their muse, and bless
'em for it. But as they've become more folksy--and, I don't believe
coincidentally, more obtrusively Christian--they've become, for me,
much less compelling. I think it's simply not arguable that their
current musical palette centered on acoustic guitar is more muted, and
I think limiting, than their original, denser sound. I saw Don and
Karen (performing, as is their right, as "Innocence Mission") open for
Patti Griffin in Pittsburgh this summer and, with the exception of
Karen's voice (which has grown richer but, perhaps, somewhat less
wide-ranging as she and we have grown older), they were unrecognizable
as the same band I saw and loved at the 9:30 Club or the Birchmere back
in the early - to mid-90s. Again, this is not a criticism; it is simply
an observation.
To be honest, I don't buy their records the instant they appear any
more. I applaud that they are being honest to themselves and to their
vision of their art, but I just don't find it particularly interesting.
I was out of town the last time they appeared in Pittsburgh on their
own hook, but will still go them live every time I can. But when I do
it will be more for the quiet pleasure of renewing the pleasure of a
long and satisfying acquaintance than for the excitement of hearing
music that excites and challenges me.
Just $0.02 from a curmudgeon who is listening to Umbrella as he types,
and remembering.
Cheers.
--- das
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