Wake Up Dolores - Los Lobos

Wake Up Dolores - Los Lobos

2:55

Kiko, 1992

Written by David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez 

A folk-rock song with razor sharp guitars and a lyric that evokes ancient Aztec rituals ("Oh sacred night / On quetzal plumes / Of dying suns / And purple moons").  The voices are subdued, the words mysterious.  Where are they going at night on a hard rocky road?  Why is Dolores failing to wake, though they seem to be in flight?  The arrangement is halting, jittery; guitars and voices echo the lead vocal like a chorus of chanting ghosts as the final lines lapses into Nahuatl, saying something about moving on.  It's an ethereal, compelling track.

Back In the Good Old World (Gypsy) - Tom Waits

Back In the Good Old World (Gypsy) - Tom Waits

2:29

Night On Earth, 1992

Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan

Clunking, shambling percussion and bleating horns punctuate an accordion line as Waits growls out what appears to be a ghost's determination to return.  "On October's last I'll fly back home / Rolling down winding way." he avers.  He may return on Halloween but he longs for summer.  "And all I've got's a pocket full of flowers on my grave," the spirit rumbles.  It's a great song, but the production could be clearer; it's a muted sound, even compared to the Waltz version of the song on the same album.

Wargasm - L7

Wargasm - L7

2:42

Bricks Are Heavy, 1992

Written by Donita Sparks

This is the leading track off an album that is touted as one of the best "grunge" albums of all time, but I think it got that label simply be virtue of the era in which it was released.  This is white-hot punk rock, with clear vocals, machine-gun guitar, and breakneck tempo.  This is no mumbling, disaffected Nirvana, or a loutish, stumbling Soundgarden.  It's all snarling contempt and biting, even shocking lyrics: "Wargasm, wargasm, one two three / Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the amputee / Masturbate, watch it on TV."  Just like the Johnny Rotten of old, L7 are going to do their thing, state their case, and don't care if you don't like them.  

Queen Of Memphis - Confederate Railroad

Queen Of Memphis - Confederate Railroad

3:20

Confederate Railroad, 1992

Written by Dave Gibson and Kathy Louvin

I've never heard of this hit-making country band, but they served as the backing band for David Allen Coe and Johnny Paycheck.  That make this tidbit from Wikipedia all the more hilarious: "Lead vocalist Danny Shirley was the only band member to record any parts for the album. Shirley only performed lead vocals on the album. Session musicians played all the instruments on the album and performed all background vocals on the album."  They're a fake band!  Anyway, this song is a hummable number about a lost love, appealing to down-home nostalgia ("I saw stars dancing on the water / I heard Elvis singing 'Blue Suede Shoes'").  Bright piano lines and steel guitar keep your head bopping.

Chattahoochee - Alan Jackson

Chattahoochee - Alan Jackson

2:28

A Lot about Livin' (and a Little 'bout Love), 1992

Written by Alan Jackson, and Jim McBride

This song contains the album title, which I always like to find.  It's a song about being young, growing up, taking risks, and maybe learning something in a small town.  The Chattahoochee River flows in Georgia and forms part of the border between it and Alabama.  For a modern pop country song, it's fairly risqué: "Well way down yonder on the Chattahoochee / It gets hotter than a hoochie coochie."  Supposedly that's a dance, but come on.  In the song, the narrator is ready to get down with his lady, but she's not ready, so he "settled for a burger and a grape sno cone."  So wholesome!

Church - Lyle Lovett

Church- Lyle Lovett

6:01

Joshua Judges Ruth, 1992

Written by Lyle Lovett

By far the longest song covered on this blog so far, the previous record holder being Melanie's "Ring the Living Bell" at 5:04.  This is a story song, appropriately enough about a preacher who goes on with her sermon way too long.  So the narrator climbs up onto the balcony and shouts, "To the Lord let praises be / It's time for dinner now let's go eat / We've got some beans and some good cornbread."  Lovett's wry sense of humor and a rousing gospel chorus keep this song, like the cornbread, from going stale.