Unattended Symphony - Jon Smith’s Voyages
Track List:
Reptile
Just the Postman
Ticket Out
Waning Crescent
Ice Cream On The Beach (Part One)
Big Star
Baby Face
Ice Cream On the Beach (Part Two)
Percy’s Got A Brand New Wallet
Snow Over Brooklyn
Notes on the music:
So this pick was purely aesthetic. I was looking through the new release albums this morning and came across this one. From the cover it looked like an homage to 60’s psychedelia. I did watch the video for Reptile which further intrigued me so I decided to make this my listen for today. From my listens to the album I am confident in saying that he wants to pay respect to a lot of artists I also enjoy. I hear influences from Pink Floyd, Queen, Bowie, and The Beatles. There are various instruments played and the compositions are not like any traditional rock or pop band and are probably closer to jazz or musical theater.
After my 2nd listen I can confirm I really like this album. I hear so many influences from artists I like, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Elton John, Harry Chapin, Jim Croce, and more. I do not think that he copies or mimics the styles of any of these artists; however rather he takes bits and pieces from them and mixes them with his style which results in a thing of his own. This is art and not made to be purely disposable. This album reminds me a lot of Mr. Joe Jackson presents Max Champion in 'What A Racket!' which is another album I enjoyed immensely upon finding it shortly after release. Now I plan on trying to find some live performances of Jon Smith’s Voyages and see what else he has made.
Notes on individual Songs
Reptile
This song is playful, but sorta dark. It starts with a prophecy of sickly youth needing to be quarantined and discussions of vaccines that ultimately were drowned by wants and needs of the populace to be entertained. The narrator flippantly ignores this and says they will continue doing what makes them happy, which is surrounding themselves with things of comfort and discarding or excluding things that they do not want to see. I think that this is replaying the COVID pandemic, we were warned about it, everyone ended up having to shelter in place for a period of time. When the vaccine did come out after the first round it has been largely ignored by a lot of people, because they have other things they want to do and a lot of the precautions have fallen to the wayside. The narrator is so distracted by their own social media feeds and specially curated hits of dopamine that they don’t really care if the rest of humanity is cannibalizing itself out of boredom, they are happy.
Now we have the chorus, it calls the narrator a reptile. The human has devolved into a lesser form where they react to stimuli instinctively and not with reason and logic. This is training the human to become subservient to those pulling the strings.
Now a new verse, now the narrator's government is funding a war in trying to get more people subdued and into their control. The people who previously had been happy with their rediscovered freedom speak out against this. However, our narrator is still distracted by things and ignores them. This leads to a repeat of the chorus.
After the chorus the narrator is being overwhelmed by the powers that be and is being put into a cage with the rest of the populace.
I think that this song is a warning about fascism, and telling people not to ignore what you don’t like. If you see horrid things happening by groups of people telling the service that you saw it on that you don’t want to see it doesn’t stop it from happening. Real world problems need to be addressed.
I do not plan on a detailed analysis of each song with guesses at the meaning. I just happened to find the lyrics to this one and wanted to do some brain exercises.
Just the Postman
This song details the narrator getting older and finding that they are being told to change to try to succeed. I believe this may be specifically written about Jon Smith’s career. The chorus talks about anticipating the arrival of something but then being disappointed. The chorus ends with a disappointed sounding “I’m living the dream” He mentions that the doctor tells him to up his daily dose, maybe this is medicine for depression. Then we get a solo which is a different style, perhaps signifying an attempt to try something different. The song wraps again with the chorus which is unchanged, this could symbolize that even when he tries to change to succeed it doesn’t change. The statement “I’m living the dream” is not as melancholy as previously. The song fades.
Ticket Out
This song sounds more like Chicago with the horn section. I think that this song is about anxiety and depression. He equates them to a subway ride that he cannot exit, similar to the reported Hotel California. I think this is a really funky song and is just fun to listen to.
Waning Crescent
I really like the soundscape chosen for this, it’s reminiscent of the song “I’ve got a Name” by Croce. The song is a story of looking back in the past to predict the future and feeling that life is cyclical. The narrator has a bit of an existential crisis at the end of the song.
Ice Cream On The Beach (Part One)
It’s a ragtime interlude, with kazoo included. On my first listen I actually asked myself “What the fuck am I listening to?”
Big Star
JSV goes electric! I think there is a mellotron played in this one. This song describes an ambitious younger person who is trying to become famous, it details their hopes and dreams. They choose to just follow their dreams and ignore those around them.
Baby Face
This one has more of a ragtime feel. The vocals are much different and it talks about someone looking younger than they are and the various perils of looking younger than you are. It’s why I wear a beard. Sounds like a sax solo, it’s enjoyable, I like the echo with the electric guitar.
Ice Cream On the Beach (Part Two)
A different interlude now. This time with clarinet and french horn.
Percy’s Got A Brand New Wallet
A ballad? A song about wanting things you don’t need and how those wants and needs prevent you from experiencing life. The bridge is wild, is it called a bridge if the song doesn’t return to the original style and just ends?
Snow Over Brooklyn
Finally a bluesy sounding song! Not that I was expecting one but I felt the need to type something here. I really like the organ on this one. The song details daily life for the residents in NYC during a series of inclement weather events.
