We
traveled through our Oboe-in-Indie phase at the start of last year. The standout
song was “Twist In My Sobriety” by Tanita Tikaram. That song dates back
to 1988. It was significantly more successful in Europe than in the U.S. “Our
bad!”
Another
strong oboe-featured song was released after our oboe phase came to a peaceful
end, because the number of songs proved to be more limited than even bagpipe-featured
tracks. “The Hearing” is a creative masterpiece. It borrows from the Spaghetti
Western genre (unmistakable at 3:49), includes instruments seldom used by Indie
artists, and is found as track 15 of a concept album tracking the life of an
oil baron. In explaining the album, “Blue Horse Opera,” Rick
Maddocks said:
The album was inspired by the climate emergency and spaghetti-western soundtracks. This song cycle is not an opera opera—it's a horse opera, as in the old slang term for a western film. The songs and instrumentals fuse folk, indie, classical, americana and country music, evoking vast, surreal landscapes and some surprises along the way. “BLUE HORSE OPERA” imagines a world upside down in which the blinding deserts of spaghetti westerns have become the Canadian oil sands. A cinematic narrative unfolds against this backdrop, exploring environmental and emotional depths.”
The album was inspired by the climate emergency and spaghetti-western soundtracks. This song cycle is not an opera opera—it's a horse opera, as in the old slang term for a western film. The songs and instrumentals fuse folk, indie, classical, americana and country music, evoking vast, surreal landscapes and some surprises along the way. “BLUE HORSE OPERA” imagines a world upside down in which the blinding deserts of spaghetti westerns have become the Canadian oil sands. A cinematic narrative unfolds against this backdrop, exploring environmental and emotional depths.”
Regarding "The Hearing," the song "is an invocation ...a
ghostly testimony in the desert, where the spirits of former oil workers are
given a hearing before the fossil-fuel powers that be (or that used to be). We
hear from both sides. The song features an eclectic collision of sounds, from
synth to oboe to lap steel to trumpet to soprano vocals to flamenco stomps."
Contributions
to the album included the following musicians: JP Carter - trumpet; Dory Hayley
- soprano vocals; Stephen Lyons - drums; Liam MacDonald - percussion; Geronimo
Mendoza - oboe and English horn; James Meger - bass; Tyson Naylor -
keyboards and accordion; Dayna Szyndrowski - flamenco dance; Jon Wood -
electric guitar, banjo and lap steel; Joshua Zubot - violin; Leah Abramson and
Julia Ulehla - backing vocals.
“The
Hearing” by Rick Maddocks
Website: https://bluehorseopera.com/
Lyrics of “The Hearing” by Rick Maddocks
We, the undersigned, accepted each term and condition
Little did we know then, we’d be standing before this commission
We went where money was, even if it meant the middle of nowhere
You sold us plastic homes; they were identical but for the number
Please let the record show
We gave them all a place to go
We were as you are now; we scratched and clawed and we tended our corners
We dug up all the dark; you got your silver and we became mourners
Be careful what you say and do
Be careful what you’re thinking too
We sleep in the dust
Everything in this country must
You think you own this land
You’ll die with your heads in the sand
In the sand
Taló los arboles; y en la arena cruzó una raya
A woman on a horse rides down a highway surrounded by fire
You pay off every ghost to disappear where there once were forests
There’s nothing left here now; nothing but ruins and disaster tourists
Silence in the hall
Or we’ll line you up against the wall
And to the members of the press
I’ve nothing to deny or confess
Hark, the trumpets sound
We hear them deep underground
Wind whips up the dust
The storm it will rise with us...rise with us...
We, the undersigned, accepted each term and condition
Little did we know then, we’d be standing before this commission
We went where money was, even if it meant the middle of nowhere
You sold us plastic homes; they were identical but for the number
Please let the record show
We gave them all a place to go
We were as you are now; we scratched and clawed and we tended our corners
We dug up all the dark; you got your silver and we became mourners
Be careful what you say and do
Be careful what you’re thinking too
We sleep in the dust
Everything in this country must
You think you own this land
You’ll die with your heads in the sand
In the sand
Taló los arboles; y en la arena cruzó una raya
A woman on a horse rides down a highway surrounded by fire
You pay off every ghost to disappear where there once were forests
There’s nothing left here now; nothing but ruins and disaster tourists
Silence in the hall
Or we’ll line you up against the wall
And to the members of the press
I’ve nothing to deny or confess
Hark, the trumpets sound
We hear them deep underground
Wind whips up the dust
The storm it will rise with us...rise with us...
“Twist In My Sobriety”
by Tanita Tikaram
Lyrics of “Twist In My Sobriety” by Tanita
Tikaram
All God's children need travelling shoes
Drive your problems from here
All good people read good books
Now your conscience is clear
I hear you talk, girl
Now your conscience is clear
In the morning when I wipe my brow
Wipe the miles away
I like to think I can be so willed
And never do what you say
I'll never hear you
And never do what you say
Look, my eyes are just holograms
Look, your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
We just poked a little empty pie
For the fun that people had at night
Late at night don't need hostility
Timid smile and pause to free
I don't care about their different thoughts
Different thoughts are good for me
Up in arms and chaste and whole
All God's children took their toll
Look, my eyes are just holograms
Look, your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
Cup of tea, take time to think, yeah
Time to risk a life, a life, a life
Sweet and handsome
Soft and porky
You pig out 'til you've seen the light
Pig out 'til you've seen the light
Half the people read the papers
Read them good and well
Pretty people, nervous people
People have got to sell
News you have to sell
Look, my eyes are just holograms
Look, your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
Look, my eyes are just holograms
Look, your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
All God's children need travelling shoes
Drive your problems from here
All good people read good books
Now your conscience is clear
I hear you talk, girl
Now your conscience is clear
In the morning when I wipe my brow
Wipe the miles away
I like to think I can be so willed
And never do what you say
I'll never hear you
And never do what you say
Look, my eyes are just holograms
Look, your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
We just poked a little empty pie
For the fun that people had at night
Late at night don't need hostility
Timid smile and pause to free
I don't care about their different thoughts
Different thoughts are good for me
Up in arms and chaste and whole
All God's children took their toll
Look, my eyes are just holograms
Look, your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
Cup of tea, take time to think, yeah
Time to risk a life, a life, a life
Sweet and handsome
Soft and porky
You pig out 'til you've seen the light
Pig out 'til you've seen the light
Half the people read the papers
Read them good and well
Pretty people, nervous people
People have got to sell
News you have to sell
Look, my eyes are just holograms
Look, your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
Look, my eyes are just holograms
Look, your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
