2. $545.78
I'm temporarily back in Massachusetts to sell my car. It figures, as soon as I got to Louisiana I found a buyer. Oh, well. Uncie Gary hooked me up with a US Airways buddy pass and I was on my way.
On to the next song...
I really struggled trying to rank these last few songs. Nowhere was the struggle tougher than for the top spot. Ultimately, I decided to go with my first impression and put $545.78 at number 2. This song was written during the infamous creative burst at Cape Cod where half of the William Donovan Junior songs were written in one shot. This was the best of the bunch.
The song details a pivotal turning point in the life of William Donovan Junior. His wife is murdered by an intruder while he was away. The intruder gets away with $545.78 and Mrs. Donovan Junior's wedding ring.
I don't know that the lyrics are really the best. They could probably be better. But it doesn't matter. Joshua's guitar work is fantastic. It hits the perfect balance between rock-pop, sentimentality, anguish, and release. It's hard to explain. When I listen back to it I find that it's the guitar, not the words, especially in the climax of the song, that ends up making me emotional. Unparalleled.
This song has become somewhat of a legend in my own book. After we returned from Cape Cod we sat down to make our acoustic recordings of everything we had written. When we got to this song we nailed it on the first take. I don't believe the song has ever been recorded again. In fact, for the longest time, the song wasn't even played again. Though the recording is far from "perfect" in a technical sense, it was truly perfect in the scope of this song. The music and vocals were so emotional, so true, that I knew they would never be matched again and therefore the song shouldn't be tainted by further attempts at playing it. To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if Joshua didn't even know how to play it any more. I still stand by the original recording and believe that if this song is ever to be released, it should be this original version.
I will not record this song again. I love it too much.
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1 comment:
Wow, I was ready to not expect another TMINM post for five months. It's actually one of the simplest songs ever written. It's just a matter of infusing emotion into the style of playing. It was a dual effort, and you were right there with the vocals, as spot on as ever, perhaps. You could say that this song was as good acting as we've ever done.
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