Al Stewart - (A Child's View Of) The Eisenhower Years

Al is always fun, and this one has the added plus of hitting home. I was born in the Eisenhower years, and Al has the uncanny ability to bring those memories up to the forefront – recalling the cars my dad drove, the primitive TV we watched, etc. Nicely done. The Ear Of The Night starts off as a beautiful instrumental, but part way through this hilarious line joins the party: “you put your tongue in the ear of the night.” Once you get by the humor, the song has a serious message in line with the concept of the album. I’m also shouting out Elvis At The Wheel because it reminds me of what we’ve lost as a society the past 10 years. “There’s an independent bookstore, the last one that remains. All the others you might look for have been eaten by the chains.” I guess it’s simply time for those of us with good memories of all the mom & pop stores that were a joy to visit to just leave the earth and find our peace in eternity. I’m reasonably sure there’s no Starbucks or canned cake icing in heaven. The arrangements sound just like Al Stewart, with tasty guitar work and memorable background flavorings. Al Stewart

Eisenhower Field Day - On In Stereo

“We are talking to each other. We are adding to the clatter. We are dissonance together, but it’s just the noise that matters. On in stereo. A chance to feel alive.” This high-energy wake me up song is a short story about a trip a family is taking to a funeral. One of the characters drank too much, all the characters over-talk to try to fill the void of their feelings. I really like the way the narrator explains the events in small vignettes of the day. On the drive home the character that had a bit too much to drink will “be crying for the widow, her head against the window.” Good work. The shoutouts also have stories worth listening to. Shoutouts for Flatlands (“there we are, well rehearsed and thirsty”), Brave Daughters (“our thoughts have stretched and yawned”), and Pardon My Strangeness (“I am a tangle of weakness and lies”). Eisenhower Field Day

Eisenhower Field Day on Eartaste

Eisenhower Field Day - Driving To China

I love surprises. When I hear a 3-piece (bass, drums guitar) group has made an instrumental, I expect surf. Well, how about some good, danceable rock and roll, with some excellent picking and hard driving bass & drums? That’s what Eisenhower Field Day has pulled off – fully complementing the home-made shrimp stir fry I mixed up tonight, with a touch of pineapple for seasoning. You’ll have to ask the group what China has to do with anything. As long as I’m shaking my booty, I could care less. Eisenhower Field Day