Marrying Walter Payton

Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10

Well, I am still ever-so-grateful that these It’s a Beautiful Day albums were uploaded onto Rhapsody … It wasn’t so long ago that occurred, too (I, remember quite fondly, that I shouted an exclamation of happiness that day) … but … they were missing a track! Fortunately it was the 53-second one, and I could listen to 30 seconds of it on Amazon.

…So… this review is ‘incomplete,’ but … not really …

Anyway, a band member left since the release of their phenomenal debut and … well, the band’s still quite good. The compositions are all solid, the instrumentals are still brilliant … this isn’t a prog-rock album, but it’s still got its foot firmly planted in art-rock while trying out various musical styles for size, most notably Americana. There’s also 20’s-style jazz … placid lounge music … chantings … regular rock’n’roll … and a few instances of classical music in the same general vein as their debut. Very few of these songs have that ambitious spirit of It’s a Beautiful Day, but they all were crafted with great care.

My favorite song is one of the classical music ones! “Do You Remember the Sun!!!!!” … That said, it’s among the most out of place songs on here, because it’s the least straightforward of the bunch. But the arrangements are breathtaking!

The most out-of-place song in here (upon first listen, anyway) is easily “Hoedown.” The first time I listened to the album, I turned it off and thought, “geez, this band went down the crap-chute!” … But, really, if you must perform a hillbilly barn dance, then this band figured out how to do it … give it all your instrumental prowess and have a freaking good time with it … and that’s just what they’ll do!

They go a bit too far with “Galileo,” which is a song with echoey instrumentals (meant to have a cosmic effect) and a monologue … The Moody Blues sucked when they tried to pull crap like that, but … It’s a Beautiful Day gets away with it as good as anyone. That said, it’s probably the worst song on here!

…But all these songs are good. Seriously, if you’re at all interested in music (which, if you’re reading this page, the answer is probably ‘yes’), then you really ought to check out this band. Very nice music…

Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10 (Charming, happy, unpretentious, diverse, artistic, timeless…)

Average Song Score: 9.1 (Great songs from beginning to end. The compositions are all good, the tunes are excellent, and … something that escapes most “art-rock” people of the day … there’s naught an ounce of self-importance.)

Album Tilt: 9.0 (Diversity keeps it interesting … although the addition of “Hoedown” was hard for me to swallow at first. Nevertheless, every style of music they try on here, they end up succeeding at.)

Artist Rating: 9.0 (Again, every style they try is a success for them. They don’t keep up with the ambitiousness spirit that graced the band’s eponymous debut, but this is very pleasant and straightforward.)

Track Reviews

Don and Dewey 9.5/10

…Fan fiction by a guy named Don (i.e. me) and his adventures with Melvil Dewey looking up books in the public library … Actually, this is an It’s a Beautiful Day song. Contrary to popular myth, this album was released in 1970, twelve years before Don Ignacio was born. Therefore, this song could not be about me and Melvil Dewey. So, please stop spreading the rumors. … Actually, this song probably isn’t about anything considering that it’s an INSTRUMENTAL! … Yeah, no lyrics! … Instead of being a classical music-ish hippie dork-fest like they would have made in 1969, this has more rock spirit and American flavor. (I guess that’s what happens when that one chick named Linda leaves the band.) Anyway, this is a good instrumental with a very strong theme and freakifiably enjoyable. I don’t even miss “White Bird.”

The Dolphins 9/10

Oh, man! This is American music! Gag me! (…Sorry… I don’t know why I generally dislike traditional music from my own stupid country.) This song has a strong country flavor (or … maybe to be more exact … Americana flavor in the same vein as The Band). The melody’s pretty good and the harmonies are excellent (they don’t deter in quality from this band’s previous albums). The instrumentation is sweet and gorgeous … and doesn’t make me want to throw up, since I’m an avid hater of country music.

Essence of Now 9/10

Well, much of the soul of the old band might have left when “Linda” left (…sorry about putting her name in quotes, but I seriously have no clue what this chick did, other than she left the band and the band quit being so ambitious…). The songs are still composed magnificently! And, hey! This is decidedly a prog-rock song, anyway! It’s very quiet and it rambles … doesn’t quite best acts like King Crimson in their peaks, but this remains pretty freaking excellent. And it’s only three minutes long … all prog needed to be, I s’pose.

Hoedown 8/10

This song really pissed me off the first time I listened to this. The song is exactly as the title says it is: a hoedown. … Hillbillies pluckin’ their banjos, clappin’ hands, hootin’, and havin’ a merry old time. It’s exceptionally and strongly performed, however, and it’s hardly pretentious … Only two and a half minutes, it can’t actually do harm, anyway.

Soapstone Mountain 9.5/10

More of a straight-rock thing that also happens to capture a very bright side of Americana. Of course, the melody is well written and the straightforwardness of it makes it quite a charming song. … Maybe that’s why nobody actually liked this band back when they were actually cutting albums … they’re so straightforward and … honestly, you can’t actually tell that this came from 1970.

Waiting for the Song

…Fifty-three seconds and there’s this echoey, Medieval chanting… (For some reason, Rhapsody doesn’t have this track on the album … I listened to a 30-second snippet of it on Amazon, just so that I know it doesn’t completely ruin the album or anything, but … anyway, I won’t score it to be fair.)

Let a Woman Flow 9/10

…The chanting, evidentially, leads into this song! … And this is a very happy, very pleasant, low-key loungey-type song that makes me long for those quiet summer days in the Bahamas … even though I’ve never been to the Bahamas. It’s pleasant and the tune is good, so … I like it!!

It Comes Right Down to You 9.5/10

Back to the ole’ timey music … Again, the melody is so utterly strong, I remained awed that they didn’t gain more recognition back in the day (…It’s the band name all the way…). This is 20s style jazz (with elements of country) that doesn’t make me want to puke. Yay! … They’re better at this old-timey music than Paul McCartney … by a hair.

Good Lovin’ 9/10

Back to the rock music!!!!! Even with some harmonica!!!! … Yayyyy!!! … It’s very good, too, and straightforward. They’ve got some nice licks going with them guitars and … it shows that they really enjoyed making music and wasn’t so caught up in trying to make hits or “important pieces of art” that plagued and continues to plague the mentality of soooooooo many artists.

Galileo 8/10

…GALILEO FIGARO! … Sorry … This track starts out with some quiet, echoey guitar chords and some poetry-type stuff being read off about the stars and stuff. … Yeah, the band finally starts wading into the category of “pretentious music,” but … whatever. It’s the first time it’s obvious in the album, but … who cares? This is the 10th track! After a minute or so of the talking, a military-esque drum beat pipes up and other instruments start playing. And then more talking… This song is rooted in “progressive rock,” because it’s orchestral in quality. Due to its running length (less than three minutes), this can’t be confused as filler … but that also doesn’t mean I have to like it! It is rather pretty though. They pulled this off better than most other bands could, I’d imagine … if the other bands really wanted to.

Do You Remember the Sun? 10/10

…Awwwwwww! What a pretty song! … Definitely farther rooted in the progressive veins of the band’s debut, and keeping up with the orchestral notes of “Galileo.” It’s a very lovely composition with beautiful instruments (highlighted by some verrrrrrrrrry pretty violins) and a pretty good tune. The vocal harmonies remind us pleasantly of the band’s debut … All that considered, this really isn’t a straightforward song … some moments in the song are discomforting (in an artistically successful way) and maybe even frightening. Anyway, this was an ideal album-closer.

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