Strong Alternative Pop
Posted August 10, 2008
By dlhawkins,
Cornerstone Music Festival, 1994. I already owned Jimmy Abegg's first album and his work with Charlie Peacock and Vector. Not sure about this, but it may have been my very first Cornerstone (I would have been 33). Anyway, one day I was walking through the product tent and there sat Jimmy at his booth. We chatted and I bought "Secrets," which I added to the roughly dozen CDs of new music acquired at the fest.
In the mornings I would listen to my new purchases before heading off to concerts or seminars. For some reason, I never got around to "Secrets." The fest ended and I packed everything into my aging gray Mazda pickup. On the front seat, stacked precariously on top of whatever I didn't want to get wet, was my jam box. Somewhere between Bushnell, Illinois and Dallas, Jimmy's new album went into the player.
First up was "Perfect World," which would become my second favorite on the record. Lyrically, Jimmy catalogs how things would be in a perfect world, and is then loudly reminded by a chorus of voices that "This ain't no perfect world." It's a creative way to express the longing for Heaven, and you can hear Jimmy in the background saying, "This ain't the way it ought to be." There's a wistfulness to it, and you start to appreciate Jimmy's heart based on the things he wants in his perfect world. Musically it's an upbeat alternative pop piece that's fun to sing along with.
So I'm driving and listening, and the album is enjoyable and keeping me interested and awake. "Sweet Angel" impresses me with its prominent guitar line in the opening. "If You Only Knew" is a father's wish, based on his own pain, for his children to stay innocent and guard their hearts until marriage. "I Believe" is a well-done statement of faith and priorities set to a catchy melody, again in an alt pop vein. Finally I arrive at song 12, "The Dream."
Completely different from any of the other songs, I'm instantly captured by the unusual instrumentation and pulsing vibe. The music flows and ebbs and sets a strong dream-stage for what follows. Into the surge and swell of music comes Jimmy's voice narrating a dream he had. This is cool stuff, and as the tale unfolds I find myself more and more identifying with the story. The thumbnail is that Jimmy and his family are camping in the wilderness and see a train coming from a long way off. They understand that it's the train they have to be on, so they run to meet it. But the train is going way too fast, and there is no way they can catch it. It's hopeless.
Then, in a dream stop, the train comes to rest right where they are, and they realize that it was coming for them all along. As they are invited onboard, they see that the train is full of "the crippled, the blind, the poor in spirit, the meek, the last, the lost fools dressed in rags." And there, on an empty row or seats, are the names of Jimmy and his family.
As a father with four children, I immediately connected with the idea that a my main job is to make sure all of my family know and love God and make it to Heaven. It's my fundamental purpose. This song impacted me deeply with its picture of finding all their names engraved on the seats. Still on the highway, my eyes were watering by this time and I had to pull over so I could sob in earnest.
Maybe only fathers will relate, but the anticipation of that moment on the train, and all the fear for your children that precedes it, taps an emotional well for me every time I hear this six minute ride.
The final words of the song are Jimmy talking about stretching a canvas to paint something now that he's on the train and safe. His subjects include "Humans dancing. People embracing. Or maybe just a train. Lush, green, blue. Maybe with babies and bright colors. Yeah, babies and flowers. Little babies, and big flowers." It's a painting I want to see. It's a dream I want to be part of. View All Music And Book Reviews By dlhawkins | View dlhawkins's Profile
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