I first heard James in Singapore, at 1 AM, about four months
before it was released on Ex Cops’ True Hallucinations album. How did this amazing event come to pass? Let’s just say that being an
outer-edge-of-the-solar-system-hanger-on for an indie band with an unreleased
album has its perks. If you have a very
loose definition of “perks.”
The "dancer" in the Transformer Man video is Nils Lofgren of Grin and later the E Street Band. He does not remind me of the dancer in the Separator video.
Backslash-7 rating for James, Separator, and the rest of True Hallucinations: Three sides of the triangle!!!
At the time, I didn't know the song was “James.” It was just “that song at 04:33” on a very
large MP3 file called TH ALBUM. But
whatever it was, it had me doing the Cat Dance in my hotel room. James is great Pop Music and there’s nothing
wrong with that. Somewhere down in the
mix, Phil Spector is pounding a grand piano.
Separator is a true Pop Masterpiece. I didn't recognize that at first. Hey, I'm slow! But I want the record to show that on January 25 I emailed Ex Cops' manager and informed him that Separator is the best song on the album. The following week, having been reassured of the song's quality, Ex Cops released the Separator video to the public.
Initially, I was drawn to the album’s uptempo songs like James, Ken, and Broken Chinese Chairz. You know, the Cat Dance songs. But I started listening to Separator over and over. The subtle complexity of the arrangement revealed something new with each listen. Then I found myself hitting the replay button because I was trying to figure out where I had heard it before.
Initially, I was drawn to the album’s uptempo songs like James, Ken, and Broken Chinese Chairz. You know, the Cat Dance songs. But I started listening to Separator over and over. The subtle complexity of the arrangement revealed something new with each listen. Then I found myself hitting the replay button because I was trying to figure out where I had heard it before.
True Hallucinations has been described, unfairly, as a tour
through Brian Harding’s iPod. Reviewers
have focused as much on Influences as on the songs themselves. A certain amount of Influence Peddling cannot be helped. The creation of music
will always involve recycling, and improving upon, established themes and
ideas. Just ask George Harrison’s
ghost. With My Sweet Lord, George subconsciously
ripped off He’s So Fine when he thought he was consciously ripping off Oh Happy
Day. But then, George’s mental hard
drive was always in need of a good defragging.
The songs on True Hallucinations sound
After many listens,
I decided Separator was pinging on Transformer Man, from Neil
Young’s long-out-of-print Trans album. I
had not heard Transformer Man in over twenty years. But after finding it on YouTube, I realized
that I need to join George Harrison's ghost in the Brain Defragmentation ward. What the heck was I thinking? Does Separator’s guitar riff borrow a few notes from the little
“doot doot doo-doots” in Transformer Man?
Is it that one weird chord change?
I dunno!!! It’s best to not think
about these things too much.
The "dancer" in the Transformer Man video is Nils Lofgren of Grin and later the E Street Band. He does not remind me of the dancer in the Separator video.
Backslash-7 rating for James, Separator, and the rest of True Hallucinations: Three sides of the triangle!!!