Song: Ocean (Video)

"Boundless waves and bountiful dreams within your reach
look beyond the city strife confusing the life you lead"

Executive Summary: simple, soaring singalong
Arrangement: acoustic
Lead vocal: Shelley
Wild card: delicate mando solo by Chris, and crowd particiption in some versions
Download mp3 or flac

Lazy Porch Dogs 1995-10-20 WOW Hall, Eugene OR. from WOW Hall Archive on Vimeo.

Man, this one's so sweet I'm not even gonna try to tell you. There it is. Check it out.

Big ups to James for the video hookup. We'll work on more as time permits.

Song: Victim of Circumstance

"I'm here as promised, if not as foreseen"

Executive summary: Jambay's version of a slow blues, I guess
Arrangement: electric
Lead vocal: Shelley
Wild card: perfectly smooth acceleration from a crawl to a gallop
Download mp3 or flac

Victim of Circumstance is an oddball even among Jambay songs, an extended, grueling tension and release exercise that builds in a long, smoldering burn from a plodding pulse to a blazing peak and then drops suddenly back. It seethes with emotion, sketched out in two minimalist verses of alienated desire. Like many of the best Jambay songs the match between the lyrics and music is amazingly apt, and so the whole is incredibly expressive without saying too much. I will follow this example tonight.

Song: Passion Play

"The problem with passion, it slips away
I guarantee you'll want it back someday "

Executive summary: ripping rocker with great lyrics.
Arrangement: electric
Lead vocal: Shelley
Wild card: the whole lyric, which is one of their best.
Download mp3 or flac

A song that came into rotation relatively late, as far as I can tell, Passion Play quickly established itself as a potent rocker and was often found in featured setlist slots (closers, encores) throughout the last year or so of the band's career. It's built on Mike's insistent, driving bass line, Shelley's intense delivery of the incredible lyric, and the full-band build and explosion towards the end.

With such a perfect match of words and music, I think Passion Play holds up as one of their very best songs.

"If you're sick and tired of all the compromise and all the lies behind
Count yourself a step ahead, at least you're not yet brain-dead"

Song: Free Harmony

"Shockwaves from my landing echo far and wide"

Executive: sublime, heartfelt acoustic gem
Arrangement: acoustic
Lead vocal: Shelley
Wild card: Mike on mandolin
Download mp3 or flac

Since this little website is named after this song, I reckon I'd better make it the first song I review, right? It makes sense, too, because Free Harmony is one of those "statement of purpose" songs some bands have that encapsulates some their best qualities: in this case, an effortlessly flowing melody and arrangement, earnestly spiritual lyric, heartfelt performance, and Mike's elegant mandolin part.