Album Reviews
New Sound Volume 2 Number 4 Holiday 1986
by Doug LaBudde
Fearful Symmetry, the fourth and last volume of the Alarma! Chronicles, will unfortunately go unnoticed by most CCM listeners. First, there's the poetic and somewhat mystical quality to the lyrics which can't be easily understood and second, DA continues to explore new and exotic territory - many folks would just call it weird.
The album's title comes from a line in the English poet William Blake's "The Tyger:" "What immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?" This "Symmetry" might be described as the creative tension between good and evil within us all.
As with the other Alarma! records, reading the accompanying story line helps one understand the songs a little better. Blake's influences on Terry Taylor's songwriting are quite evident even by a quick scan of the titles: "Sleep Silent Child" (A vision of Heaven), and "When Moonlight Sleeps (On the Frosted Hill)," a song of service and dedication to God.
The themes adressed include an awareness of personal sin ("A Sigh for You"), the struggle of faith ("Strong Points, Weak Points"), and conversion ("The Pool"). In many of his songs, Taylor chooses to utilize imagery from nature and instills a dream-like quality to his verses, again tipping his hat to Blake.
The other-worldliness of the lyrics is set to a number of distinctive musical styles: new wave/salsa ("Neverland Ballroom"), pleasant pop ("A Sigh for You"), dreamy synths ("Sleep Silent Child"), and punked-out country & western ("Sudden Heaven"). Certainly noone can accuse Daniel Amos of being boring.
The most touching song is the closing, "Beautiful One." A wonderful ballad almost in the Lennon/McCartney tradition, "Beautiful One" is sung by Taylor in a gentle falsetto. It represents the end of the journey for the Alarma! pilgrim:
The Night above me whispers low
And I have many miles to go
I will not wake until I know
The Beautiful One
Awake the dreamer
In the arms of the beautiful one
Few songs have captured the believer's final goal with such inspiration.
So end the Alarma! Chronicles. Terry Taylor and the rest of the the band (including new guitarist Greg Flesch), have followed a literary path that parallels that of Blake's nearly 200 years ago. That they've accomplished this with so much musical originiality almost assures their being ingnored - or avoided - as Blake was in his day. That would be an artistic crime. The extra effort required to listen to and understand DA's music is a richly rewarding experience.
Harvest Rock Syndicate 1986
4 1/2 points out of 5
by ?
It is usually not possible for the listening public to know in advance what the next DA product is going to be like. Not two albums have been the same. The fact that DA's latest effort on Frontline Records, Fearful Symmetry, the fourth volume in the Alarma! Chronicles, continues this tradition is no surprise.
On the surface, Fearful Symmetry, appears to be a fairly simple album. Each song comes across musically straightforward, yet just beneath this calm surface runs a current of amazing intricacy. These ten tunes which seem so simple are alive and teeming with complexity.
Terry Taylor, who is vocalist in addition to his work on guitars and synths, composed or co-composed all ten tunes and wrote all the lyrics. Taylor's penchant for sarcasm and obscurity is near legendary. On Fearful Symmetry his pen and wit are as sharp as ever. The puzzle for you and me to figure outis just what is the Fearful Symmetry which binds all these songs together. The most likely possibility which presents itself is that of darkness and light. That is to say that for every truth there is a lie. For every strong point there is a weak point.
As one example, there is "Neverland Ballroom". Musically it is a dance tune. Very upbeat. Very quirky. A song you might like to hear when you are out at a party. Lyrically, however, the song is a strong warning against temptation. The things that often look so appealing yet are full of death and destruction lead straight to the "Neverland Ballroom." "Won't see the sun again," the prophet sings, "once they dance the Neverland Ballroom."
Another example of the Fearful Symmetry of our lives is the tragically beautiful "Sleep Silent Child." Here DA tells us of the death of a child. Not the usual pop tune fare. Yet even in the death of the child there is a solemn, sober, sad kind of joy as the child steals away "to starry fields . . . another bright heart in God's embrace." The song begins in a cacophony of drums and voices. From the chaos emerges the parent's voice with his words of sorrow and joy. DA faces honestly the pain of death, yet not without hope.
Nearly every tune on Fearful Symmetry in some way deals with the darkness of our lives. Be it sin ("A Sigh for You"), pain of death ("Sleep Silent Child"), doubt ("Strong Points, Weak Points"), or perverting and misrepresenting the gospel ("Instruction Thru Film"). Every theme is dealt with openly. At the same time there is never any doubt about the fact that the members of DA are Christian believers. Their faith infuses even the darkest fears and doubts with assurance and hope. The end result is that both sides of the coin are affirmed as realities in the lives of believers. It is no empty chatter for DA to tell us that God is present even in the worst moments. They give us a sense that they have been through the fire and they know what they are saying.
Most DA albums in the past basically have been Terry Taylor products. He often wrote lyrics and composed music for most if not all the songs on an album. With Fearful Symmetry, DA breaks into a new direction. All the players play more than one instrument. Ed McTaggart plays drums, as wonderfully and solidly as always, but also contributes on percussion and synthesizers.
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