Prepare yourself to be mildly impressed with another
Soft-Psych masterpiece! Who is October
Country? What’s with the name and how
can a country be described by a month? Look at that cover. Is it
possible to have five stranger looking guys in one photo? Is that a Band-Aid on the girl’s finger? Who’s in charge here? It’s hard to tell with song names like
“Little Boy Smiling” and “My Girlfriend is a Witch,” if this album is going to
be light and sugary, or heavy and mind blowing. I’m not sure about you, but all these strange
things make me like this album even more. I know I’m being slightly/very irreverent here, but I really think there
is some exciting worthwhile music on this record. It’s just so easy to joke about Soft Psych
that I really can’t help myself.
The first thing that hits you on the opener, “October
Country,” is a nervous piano figure. It
reminds me of someone tapping their fingers on a table as they wait for bad
news. As quickly as the strings come in
to play the bass line your attention is diverted by a snare drum hit that
sounds like someone dropping a phone book in an empty gymnasium. The sound rises up with a poof like a rock
being thrown into a pit of ashes. The
vocals are interesting as well. It
sounds like boys and girls (teenagers?) singing together in unison. In contrast to the rest of the song, the
bridge swings quite a bit. The song is
only 2:37 minutes long, so you’re in, out, and ready to listen to the rest of
the songs, none of which crack the three minute mark.
“Painted Sky”
starts out with some great sounding electric harpsichord and a delightfully low
toned female voice. I just love how
simple the idea of painting the sky is. It’s just nice in that bright eyed, late 60’s, everything is going to be
okay kind of way. In that same vein you
also get “Little Boy Smiling” which expresses some complex thoughts about
seeing a small boy smiling. At first
glance the writer wonders if the boy is happy. In the second verse he wonders if the boy is really covering up some
sadness. The subject matter makes me
feel like I’m about 15 years old. There
is another jumpy, come out of nowhere bridge in this song as well. Hearing so many parts certainly makes me feel
like the writer had a surplus of ideas to explore and that usually keeps things
exciting for me. The little guitar
flourish as the end of the bridge (at about 1:21) makes me smile every time.
“Cowboys and Indians” is sometimes compared to the
Beach Boys track “Heroes and Villains,” although it is lyrically far less
oblique. It is however one of the few
songs mixed in mono, which is a Beach Boys trademark. I think it was a single so that probably
explains why. It really is the
barn-burner of the album and features a great organ solo.
“I Just Don’t Know” has some of the fastest sung vocal
I have ever heard. It’s one of those
songs that has not aged so well. I know
I wouldn't be able to play it for anyone without feeling a little cheesy. I don’t say that lightly either. I have an extremely high tolerance for
Soft-Psych, and even this one makes me blush. There is also a great horn section on this track that is panned hard
right in the mix. Can you imagine
calling in all those guys to play and record only to mix them all the way to
the right? It’s so weird and so
cool.
“My Girlfriend is a Witch” is another stand out
track. I guess the first thing I would
say is that I am glad the writer and his girlfriend haven’t gotten married yet. If you are taking the time to write a song concerning this, then I suggest you cut your losses and move
on. Any of your friends will tell you
that this is red flag. Do not by any
means as this song says, “become a warlock just for spite.” This will not serve you well long term. I would suggest putting a little distance
(perhaps a long weekend with the boys) between you and your
girlfriend/witch. Then, when you return
with a renewed sense of purpose, calmly break off the relationship and move
on.
Tones: The bass on “I Wish I was a Fire” is pretty great, especially because it is doubled in several places by a baritone saxophone. There is also an interesting phased effect on “She’s Been Away” that makes the snare drum sounds like it is being blown around by a gust of wind.
Cover Note: I have already poked
fun about this cover in the introduction and if you can believe it, I've still
got more jokes! Seriously, did bands in
the 60’s just sit around in the grass all the time? Also, it’s not fair to make fun of the dated
clothes, especially on the dudes, but nice "cinched at the waist" green shirt,
guy. I've got a bath robe that ties up the
same way and I just love it.
Price paid: I paid about $14.00 for this and I’m not
really sure why I paid so much. It was
for a brand new reissue that is very nice, but I just can’t remember why I was
drawn to this record. It has been well
over ten years since I bought this, and if you divide up the $14.00 by the amount
of times I’ve listen to the record (and take into consideration how much I’ve enjoyed
it) then it has been a good investment.
Bottom Line: I've joked a lot
about this album, but only because it is such a soft target. The truth is that this is a wonderful record
that I’m very happy to know about. I
never hear it talked about when I read about Soft-Psych, and that is
unfortunate because it really is a pleasure. If you have exhausted your late 60’s catalogs and want something fresh
yet familiar, then October Country is for you.