For the Beauty of Wynona

Two years - no blogs. Why? Because it is hard to find the time? Probably. But even more because there hasn't been a passion to get it going. But - on my way home from work on Friday, I listened to NPR as usual, and they featured the writer of the blog Total Music Geek and his ranking of 20 James Bond theme songs. After reading his blog, I realized exactly what I need to do. He has been writing about songs that he wants to highlight, often with a focus on musical, lyrical, and production aspects, and often in a historical perspective. About a decade ago, I used to do something similar on the radio, working at Studentradioen i Bergen. My weekly show was Undertoner - which was turned into Coda, where I over the course of a year explored the history of rock music. Before then, I also hosted a rock show at Radio Ung in Trondheim (Flazz, which turned into Metal Rendez-Vous, which became Madhouse in its final incarnation) over a five year span from 1985-1990 (I was 18 when the radio station had to call it a day). 

Anyway, thanks to Total Music Geek I realized that this blog could be a great way for me to continue exploring (and exploiting) my passion for music of any and all kind - so here it goes, my first attempt in a long time...

When I first saw Daniel Lanois' For The Beauty of Wynona in the music stores, there was a poster with the cover artwork on it, and the naked girl with the knife looked pretty edgy to me. All I knew about him at the time was that he produced U2 and other great artists - and he did that exceedingly well (after all, this was a couple of years after Achtung Baby! was released, an album I still consider groundbreaking). Anyway, I didn't buy the album until I saw it in the clearance bin in a gas station a few years later. I played it through, and wasn't necessarily all that impressed, but the title track was spectacular, and I kept rewinding my tape to listen to it over and over again. 

The song is deceptively simple. It is designed around a G-major chord, which is kept througout the entire verse and bridge with tension being built around the chord. This tension is finally released by the C-major chord that finally that introduces the chorus. A single guitar and a drum loop start the song out, with more guitars, percussion and layers of feedback being added to create a tension that to me is unbelievably cathartic. There are no flashy solos - the electric guitar part has taken a page from the Neil Young one-note solo, and keeps adding to the tension as the song nears the end. If play this song at full volume, I end up both physically and mentally worn out at the end from the varying tensions that are being built - and after the final chorus, there is no additional release - it is all built around the G-major chord. On the album, the song is followed by the quiet and laid-back ballad Rocky World, which gives the ability to breathe normally back to me again. 

I know that my words can't do the song justice, so I would love for you to hear it. However, the only version I have found of it is by Dave Matthews Band. It is a good version, but it belies the droning quality of the original. Download the song (legally, of course) or buy the album - but you should hear this song.