Steve Young's records are always exercises in paradox and Switchblades of Love is no exception; perhaps it creates the rule. This album -- with a stellar cast that includes
Benmont Tench,
Katy Moffatt,
Steven Soles,
Van Dyke Parks,
David Miner, and
David Kemper, as well as
Young's guitar-slinging son,
Jubal -- is the most realized and perfectly executed record of his career. Its songs are about confrontation with the falsehood of self; mortality and how it cycles into the eternal; and responsibility, love, and violence -- oftentimes these themes collide within the same song, poetically, spiritually, and above all, humanly. There are few albums that kick into gear with the intensity that this one does. "Have a Laugh" is a mariachi-tinged folk song with an irresistible melody that philosophically spells out the importance of loving/exhibiting kindness toward ourselves by watching our minds and keeping a sense of humor about us at all times. Immediately after, he launches into the title track, a confrontation with the horrors and blessings we commit and give freely in the name of love.
Young sends the song out to both victims and perpetrators as well as lovers, and ultimately turns the responsibility for change upon himself: "Me I think I'm gonna go out and put my switchblades down/Way on down in the ground/No applause, there won't be a sound/Just a rusty spade down in that honest earth/I will bow down to the stars/And ask forgiveness for the scars/That I have made/In the name of love." With
Jubal's razor-wire soloing (this kid smokes) scorching the body of the tune, this isn't merely a hymn of atonement, it is a prophetic anthem of the human condition. Other standouts include "Angel of Lyon," a song about a man who gives up everything to follow a vision and regrets nothing, despite the fact that he gives up his life in order to find it. There's also a fine cover of Dave Olney's "If My Eyes Were Blind" and "Midnight Rail," where
Young makes his most autobiographical statement, yet tells the story of many more, "Well I am a midnight rider/I ride a midnight rail/And I've seen a glimpse of heaven/And at least half of hell," yet transforms this into a stunning paean to hope and goodwill.
Soles' guitars and Crowley's keyboards (mimicking bagpipes) entwine with
Young's baritone to create a textural grace. It needs to be said that like his other albums, Switchblades isn't an easy listen. As the critic and promoter Dave Brogren said: "Those looking for release here will be disappointed; they'll only be confronted with questions." That's about as fine an endorsement there is. ~ Thom Jurek