All At Sea
Speaking of Jamie Cullum…
I rarely talk on the phone in the car. Actually, I rarely talk on the phone at all. It takes too long to get too little information. But that’s not why I don’t talk in the car. And it’s not that I’m worried about accidents. It’s just that my time in my car is my own. In my own little bubble. Where I can drift away to the music.
And I don’t understand people playing their CDs, hooking up their iPods, my car is where I want to hear something new, where I can dedicate enough time and concentration to get completely turned on.
I know you hate terrestrial radio. And that the signal is not ubiquitous. That’s why satellite triumphs.
Today I heard "Hold Me Tight" from "Red Rose Speedway". I wished they continued the medley all the way through "Power Cut", but alas, they did not. Still, it was great to hear this deep gem.
But two hours later, when I was through with my appointment, I found myself gridlocked on the San Diego Freeway pushing the XM buttons. And having pushed the rock buttons between 40 and 50 and finding nothing satiating, I twisted the dial one station up from the Loft, to listen to the Coffee House, which as far as I can tell is live renditions of soft rock hits. Or maybe soft rock renditions of hard rock hits. Or both.
And it was there that I heard this ethereal number. That melded perfectly with the setting sun on my left and the full moon rising on my right. My troubles drifted away.
Great songs seem to be written effortlessly. As if the composer has put in so many hours that he can lay down perfection upon inspiration. "All At Sea" flowed so perfectly, sans edges, yet fully taking flight, I got the impression it was written in fifteen minutes.
Like "Satisfaction".
But "All At Sea" is more akin to Steely Dan than the Rolling Stones. Not that it’s much like Becker/Fagen music. It too is jazzy, but a bit more subtle. "All At Sea" sneaks up on you, like the alcohol in the drink you sip by the waterside at dusk.
Fully realized, "All At Sea" sounded both brand new and like I’d known it forever. I needed to hear it immediately when I got home.
The studio take of "All At Sea" is a bit more polished, a bit more produced, but it retains the essence. Of a song you listen to in your house, with a bounce in your step, that you want to go hear live, not standing packed in with other people, but sitting down, where you can levitate from your seat and enjoy the music.
It’s dreamy, it’s jazzy, "All At Sea" is great.
