Two Albums
There is may be no poet who has never written about love. This is the only theme which always remains topical. And this is the theme which unites two different singers and songwriters, Etta James and Emmylou Harris.
The styles of these singers are quite different. Etta James performs R&B, jazz, rock7 roll and American blues. She is the winner of many music awards, but her album At last is the one that made her famous. The style of this music is R&B. Though released in 1941, the song At Last is still played on oldies radio stations.
The words of the song are quite simple but touching: “The life is like a song”. It is about the experience of love that has at last come and changed the heroine’s life. The words are very romantic and naïve: “And here we are in heaven for you are mine…” It is pure love with no fears, which is full of hope and devotion. The voice is deep and joyous. The next song which I would like to analyze is All I could Do Was Cry. It is about women’s experience of love too, but the mood is absolutely different now, the music is in minor key. This is a song about separation. The heroine is losing the man she loves. She is sure that her life has come to an end because the man of her dream has married another woman. The repetition of the world cry adds to the atmosphere of hopelessness and despair.
The other album under analysis, Wrecking Ball, is absolutely different in style. The singer, Emmylou Harris, is known for her country and bluegrass music, but this album has some features which make it different from all her works. It is difficult to judge on whether the music is country or popular one; the style is rather a mix of country and poetical oriented popular music. Only some of the songs are demos; they are mixes of compositions which were recorded at Nashville Woodland studios.
What makes this album resembling At Last is the emotional experience of a woman in love. The song Goodbye is a heroine’s recollection of happy days that she spent with her love. In this song the word cry is repeated too. She is thinking about the happy moments they have spent together, but she cannot remember if they said goodbye. These words made the whole impression more dramatic, because for the heroine the story is not over yet, but she knows that her feeling is hopeless.
One more song from this album, May This Be Love, presents the listener an absolutely different mood. The music, the voice and the lyrics create a feeling of happiness and joy. The heroine is sure that “Nothing can go wrong”.
These works were performed in different time, and their genres are different. But both of them are about women’s experience of love, which is extremely touching. So love is the topic which is burning in all times.
A Question for the Class
I would like to discuss the meaning of titles in both albums. What do they mean? What is meant by Wrecking Ball? If it is used to describe love, why does the songwriter uses the words with negative connotation?