Tag: Music

You may be familiar with the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. But did you know that this musical was originally a cantata written for an English boys’ school? I was fortunate enough to grow up on the 1971 Scepter Records release, and I listened to it so much that at one point I could practically sing the whole thing through from beginning to end without referring to the lyrics. Of course, the cantata is much shorter than the musical. The version I first knew did not yet include “One More Angel in Heaven,” “Grovel, Grovel,” or “Benjamin Calypso,” and many songs were shorter than their counterparts in the musical. (Note: The original 1971 recording does not have a track listing, but that was added when the album was converted to MP3. According to the MP3 version’s track listing, “One More Angel in Heaven” and “Benjamin Calypso” are on the album, but I assure you that they aren’t.)

The differences between the early recording and the musical go far beyond length. In the older version, the accents are British, a boys’ choir plays a major role, and many of the songs have a distinctly ’60s feel that isn’t present in the modern musical. Compare the “Go, Go, Go Joseph” sample from the 1971 recording, complete with electric guitar and Hammond organ, to the version from the 1999 movie. While the musical tries to evoke the ’60s in the setting and costumes, the original version feels far more authentic… because it is.

The cantata is raw and, if you buy the MP3 album, you get treated to breaks between tracks that remind you that this originally came from an LP. But I far prefer the freshness of this early version to the slick Broadway production. After all, if you’re going to listen to something with the word “technicolor” in it, it might as well have the groovy vibe that word brings to mind.

This week, return to the early days of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Take some time to at least sample the Scepter album, and consider buying a track or even the whole album.

If the name “Bruce Cockburn” doesn’t bring certain songs to mind, take some time this week to sample his music. He’s prolific, original, and a brilliant lyricist and musician… my favorite singer-songwriter, hands down. U2 gave him a nod in “God, Part II” when they (mis)quoted possibly the best line from all of his lyrics:

“Heard a singer on the radio
late last night;
He says he’s gonna kick the darkness
‘Til it bleeds daylight.”

(The actual line, from his 1984 song “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” is “Got to kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight.”)

Bruce bares his soul through his music. He rages. He lusts. He hopes. Even before I really became aware of him, I’d heard one of his most famous songs, “If I Had a Rocket Launcher,” which seethes with anger at injustice.

“On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation — or some less humane fate.
Cry for Guatemala, with a corpse in every gate.
If I had a rocket launcher…I would not hesitate.”

This song, like much of his work, was borne from his own experience — in this case, he was inspired by a visit to a Guatemalan refugee camp in 1983. Bruce is well traveled, and he’s written lots of songs about different places around the world, including Central America, Mozambique, and Nepal.

Bruce considered himself to be a Christian for many years, and that, too, seeped out in songs like “Cry of a Tiny Babe,” as well as influencing his concern for justice and the environment. Be warned, though: His songs are not the stuff you’ll hear on your local Christian station. Bruce isn’t afraid of swearing if he thinks it will help him make his point, and his songs sometimes frankly treat topics like sex and violence.

“When two lovers really love, there’s nothing there
But this suddenly compact universe of skin and breath and hair.”
— from “The Coldest Night of the Year”

While most of Bruce’s music is heartfelt, he isn’t above a little silliness. He’s covered Eric Idle’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” and he pokes fun at our fear of death in his own song, “Anything Can Happen.”

“I could have been hit by a falling pane of glass.
You could have had shark teeth write ‘finit.’
We could have been nailed by some vigilante type
In a case of mistaken identity – obviously.”

I love Neil Gaiman’s quip, “Picking five favorite books is like picking the five body parts you’d most like not to lose.” I feel this way about many things, including picking my favorite songs by Bruce. I can say confidently that one of them is “Tibetan Side of Town” from Big Circumstance. Every time I listen to that song (and I listen to it a lot), I take a motorcycle ride through Kathmandu.

“Through rutted winding streets of Kathmandu,
Dodging crowded humans cows dogs rickshaws –
Storefronts constellated pools of bluewhite
Bright against darkening walls…”

You can find 13 of Bruce’s songs on his VEVO channel on YouTube.