Gravity: Defying Gravity

Cheryl Wheeler: Defying Gravity

Jesse Winchester: Defying Gravity

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When released in early 2005, dreamy electric guitar tones opened the 44-minute "Defying Gravity," singer/songwriter Cheryl Wheeler's first studio album since 1999. It was interesting that she chose to title the entire album with the only track that she didn’t write herself – Jesse Winchester’s “Defying Gravity” at track six on her album. 
 
While a singer/songwriter could fall into the trap of rushing out mediocre material to meet self-imposed deadlines, Cheryl's didn’t rush out with “Defying Gravity.” Like Winchester, she’s also known for masterfully crafted songs with colorful lyrics color and intriguing auralscapes. Some of her songs are somber meditations about life, and the “Defying Gravity” CD's jacket gives us all the lyrics to read and reflect upon.
 
Sung from the heart, Cheryl's themes revolve around loneliness brought on by the death of her father ("Since You've Been Gone"), heartache ("Must Be Sinking Now"), and inner turmoil ("Beyond the Lights"). "Summer's Almost Over" is a sad nostalgic tale of a season changing and time passing. "On the Plane" and "It's the Phone" are both funny and cynical pieces that were recorded live at The Bottom Line in New York.
 
With wry wit, she's full of humorous lines like "The air that you're breathing's been re-circulating since Orville and Wilbur were boys..." And the song is nice respite even though it was dropped from her set list for quite some time following 9/11. “Alice" describes a hardworking Minnesota campground host and hotel desk clerk who is full of wanderlust. An instrumental, "Clearwater, Florida," allows Cheryl to showcase her fine and delicate fingerpicking.

Somewhat of a concept album, "Defying Gravity" has a more laid-back and somber tone than some previous releases. She seems more serene, thoughtful and introspective with this project. Tasteful use of guitar, percussion, bass, vibes and keyboards permeates the instrumentation.

"Defying Gravity" is a very strong album with plenty of good lyrics and music to ponder. After listening to a nostalgic closing piece like "Blessed," one will want to reflect upon their own childhood memories and of Jesus and his love. Cheryl Wheeler succeeds in motivating, inspiring and entertaining us with her music. And doesn’t every struggling singer/songwriter have a goal of “defying gravity” to succeed in a rough musical environment? Well she clearly has, and now it’s clearer why she may have titled her 2005 album for that Jesse Winchester cover.     

Nonsense: Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding

Jesse Winchester: Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding

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The CD this song is on was released in 2009... so it's technically too new, according to our blog guidelines of 2000 and older - however, the story is the oldest in the world (boy meets girl, falls in love and vows to stay together forever)... as is the sweet-and-wise tone of the voice of the man singing...

I'd heard lots about Jesse Winchester over the years but hadn't paid too much attention - when LD at The Adios Lounge (also a Star Maker Machine contributor) posted about this song last New Year's Eve, I had my epiphany moment...

The tune is gorgeous unto itself... but the proverbial icing is during the YouTube video of the Spectacle (hosted by Elvis Costello on the Sundance channel) segment, when a single teardrop courses down the cheek of Neko Case - that, my friends, is the power of music...

P.S. This only whetted my appetite for Spectacle, and I made a point to catch up on all the back episodes as well as watch from that time forward - boyhowdy also had his eye on posting this song this week, but chivalrously bowed out (thanks, bh... and LD!)...

Thanks and Appreciation: Thanks To You

Jesse Winchester: Thanks To You

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Emmylou Harris: Thanks To You

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Chris Smither: Thanks To You

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I encountered this song as a 1997 cover in the hands of ragged folk-blues guitarist Chris Smither, who plays the song out as a rapid-fire wail of almost proud self-pity and heaven-sent salvation, a ray of light sparking down from heaven to save the narrative sinner.

But curiosity brought me in search of the source, and as fans of the prolific and well-covered songwriter Jesse Winchester might have predicted, the 1988 original is nothing like the cover.

Oh, sure, it's still blues. But this tune comes from the other end of the genre, where the blues - and its image of heaven as an eventual comfort for even the worst of sinners - are something smooth and sultry, framed in dustbowl Americana production, and veritably dripping in gospel harmonies and slow, southern slide guitar. From the subtle bounce of the intro synth to the final fade-out, this is an image of heaven as seen through a boozehound's haze, a slow credit-roll from a frozen eternity in a terminal flophouse before a life spent in the dismal dark fades eternally into the light.

Meanwhile, of course, Emmylou Harris splits the difference, bringing in a sultry yet ever-so-slightly-uptempo country gospel barroom americana blues ballad that still retains the keys, and those glorious gospel harmonies. The 1993 date on Emmylou's cover, and the slightly more upbeat pace, suggests that Smither must have heard both before going his own inimitable way.

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Afterthought: we've given thanks to family and friends a lot this week, and deservedly so. We're a lucky bunch here on Star Maker, in no small part because we have this community to carry our voices and conversations; we owe a debt of thanks to each other, and to you, the reader, as much as we do our immediate loved ones.

But though my sense of heaven is a bit personal and vague these days, I was a sinner like so many of us, for much of my life. And like so many of us, I suspect, I owe thanks to the universe, the goddess, God, the everything - whatever you call it - for always offering that sense of comfort, and always being there for me, waiting patiently until I, too, saw the light. Even if it took music, love, friends, family, and so many other vehicles for me to find it when I needed it so much.

Thanks, universe. Thanks, everyone. To you, and to yours.

Winter Wonderland: Snow

Jesse Winchester: Snow

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My esteemed colleague Darius recently tackled a Jesse Winchester song (Just Like New) in these pages, asking to be guided through more of his work. So I - amongst others - told him to buy the self-titled debut from ´70 first. Here´s my chance to illustrate, as that great Robbie Robertson-produced and Todd Rundgren-engineered album has got a song called Snow on it.

Like Ali, Winchester had ´nothing against no Viet Cong´ and to dodge the draft the Memphis-bred musician crossed the border in ´67 to Montreal, where he found himself struggling with the fierce climate. As Winchester became a Canadian citizen in ´73, he must have gotten used to the winter wonderland up north pretty fast. But then again, maybe he simply bought heavy hip boots, a furry hat, long-john underwear and acquired a layer of protective fat...

"I was tuning in the six o'clock newscast, and the weather man mentioned snow
As soon as I heard that four-letter word, I was making my plans to go...
If I was a bird I would fly back South, a bear I would go to sleep
Anything rather than hang around here, when the snow starts getting deep..."

As a bonus, here´s an short and sweet acoustic early demo of the song.

Jesse Winchester: Snow

Leftovers (Cars): Elvis Presley’s Cadillac Edition

One of the things I love about being involved in SMM is discovering new music. Usually, this happens because my fellow Starmakers are a great resource for wonderful music I’ve never heard, (thank you all!), and I try to return the favor with my own posts. But sometimes one of my own posts indirectly leads me to something new. This is the greatest reward of all. This post will illustrate what I mean.

Jesse Winchester: Just Like New

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During Cars week, I posted a set of songs about Cadillacs. One of the responses to that post was a comment from pilk00, who suggested that I would like “Just Like New” by Jesse Winchester. I’ve kept that suggestion in mind ever since, and now was the time to act on it. And pilk, you were right.

Jesse Winchester is an artist I had heard of, but never heard. He fled the United States to escape the draft during the Vietnam War, and as a result, he cannot tour in this country. This is why Winchester is not better known here. Now that I have heard him, I would love to be guided through more of his work by someone who is familiar with it. Comments, please.

John Hiatt: Tennessee Plates

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This song was one I wanted to post during Cars week, but I ran out of time. It’s just as well, because it makes the perfect companion for “Just Like New”.

Jesse Winchester describes feelings about Elvis Presley’s Cadillac that border on worship. John Hiatt tells us what happens when these feelings are taken to extremes. If you’ve never heard this before, I hope I haven’t given too much away.


If you enjoy this post, save a big thank you for pilk00. And pilk, if you’re still out there, let me know you’re listening.