Internal Turntable Ride

A friend turned me on to Shawn Colvin way back before she was a big going concern. He’d heard her do Shotgun Down the Avalanche, accompanied by her own guitar playing alone, live on ‘ZBC out of Boston College. A-MAZING, totally brill!

I couldn’t wait for her first album to come out but was triple plus bummed when I brought home the album (remember vinyl?) and slapped it on the turntable. Sadly, like so many other beautiful clean pure, telling voices before her (Hello, Jennifer Warnes, Julie Driscoll, Judy Collins anyone?) the record company buried her under a ton of accompaniment. It would’ve been better/truer and far more magical with just her and her guitar.

Similarly maybe, is Richard Thompson’s song 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. I first heard him perform this at the Berklee Performance Center, acoustic, in 1991 — it hadn’t been recorded yet. I was blown away.

Even now I can clearly hear him singing/telling/seducing:

Said Red Molly to James that's a fine motorbike
A girl could feel special on any such like
Said James to Red Molly, well my hat's off to you
It's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952
And I've seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme
And he pulled her on behind
And down to Box Hill they did ride

Thompson’s guitar playing is astounding — close your eyes and you’re sure there’s 2 people playing (Leo Kotke — same thing. He's a finger picking god). Mind you, the man’s done fab stuff with his various bands but it was just him and the guitar alone on Vincent Black Lightning that pushed me over into total aural orgasm.

Now, before you go thinking that I’m some folkie purist, a dense bit of orchestration can be slammingly inspiring. Think (hear!) the B side of Abby Road — with that final, sherberty, palette cleansing piffle ‘Her Majesty.’ NIN’s The Downward Spiral — the whole damned album. Ornette Coleman — Tone Dialing.

Jesus, what heavens these people created! Yeah, you oughta take a trip inside my head some time — I've got a SOLID jukebox.