--- Bill Douglas wrote: > Quit picking on poor 'Mother' already! For a minute there I thought Norman Bates had posted to the list. While "mother" is not my favorite song on the album, I can't listen to the album without it. When I first heard it I thought What is this? It was jarring and exciting at the same time. It would drive me crazy when friends would skip Mother and Miss Gradenko, for me it was all part of the whole excellent album. Nice points about Mr. Waits also. michael vg > > To really appreciate Andy Summers' song "Mother," one needs to be aware of the influence, and, > in this case, it harks back to the two albums Summers did with Robert Fripp. > > These albums - "I Advance Masked" and "Bewitched" - came out on A&M without any fanfare, but > for a high-school kid looking for something new to listen to from any of the Police members, > they were very well received, especially since I was also digging the recent King Crimson > revival around the same time. Atmospheric, experimental, quirky and weird, these records were. > Oh, well...beats Journey. > > Anyway, when I first heard 'Mother' on SYNCHRONICITY, I was as startled as anyone else who > heard the song, but what immediately occurred to me on that listen was that Andy had written > something that felt like a tip of the hat to his recent collaborator, and I've loved the song > ever since. > > My guess is that most people really have issue with Andy's vocal on the track, but for someone > who also enjoys Tom Waits, the vocal performance here only adds character to the chaotic nature > of the song, and makes the following 'Miss Gradenko' (with its own guitar solo eerily similar to > something Mr. Fripp might have played) sound better than it probably would without its presence. > To me, these songs are joined at the hip because of all these factors, and I wouldn't have 'em > any other way. > > Even without the later addition of 'Murder By Numbers' to the track listing, I would contend > that, pound for pound, The Police's SYNCHRONICITY album is one of the top 3 best albums of the > '80's. There's not a wasted moment on the record to be found - top-flight songs, arrangements > and production from a band at the height of their powers. > > Your mileage may vary. > > BD > > > --------------------------------- > Need Mail bonding? > Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users. > "Posting every day with nothing to say is some kind of badge of honor." B.S. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather