David Sancious’ Eyes Wide Open is a wondrous and hybrid record that infuses funk, pop, rock, blues, jazz, and prog into a warm (to quote Paul Simon) “bridge over troubled waters.” And, writing from my basement in the midst of this coronaviral mess, this album is a godsend.
E Pluribus Unum, indeed. This is a record that breathes the very American dream that sings, “out of many, one.”
A bit of history: David Sancious was in the early Bruce Springsteen band, so he knows how to E Street shuffle. And he’s played with Eric Clapton, Sting, and Peter Gabriel. ‘Nuff said!
The first song, “Eyes Wide Open,” simply pulses dance-floor steps and then delivers the reality-checked message of “You can kiss my alternative facts.” This digs an even deeper funk rock keyboard and guitar groove than the Talking Heads’ Remain in Light album.
“In the Middle of the Night” has a slow throb with a lovely piano ride. But the song is almost confessional in its soul. It’s an American confessional that begs forgiveness because “in the middle of the night, we don’t sleep so well.” And, a few notes of “the Star-Spangled Banner” dot the final punctuated penance of the song.
A great big bass note (and some political commentary) introduces “Urban Psalm #3” and evokes the absolute beauty of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” with the chant “We are here, we’ve been here, we ain’t leaving,” and Martin Luther King’s superimposed words that will always say, “The mind is the standard of the man.” It’s a tough, melodic, and important moment.
And “If” begins with an “Excuse me, I have a question” voice that blurs into a fluid bluesy rollercoaster ride whose late-night dampened passion juxtaposes the poetic and philosophic lyrics that ask, “If the tears won’t leave your eyes,” “If the sun fell from the sky,” and “If you could choose the color of your skin.” This is a beautiful album that sings beautiful words.
Just a comment: All of my overseas heroes like John Martyn, Stevie Winwood, Eric Clapton, Mark (not Marc!)-Almond, Deacon Blue, and (to be really esoteric) Finland’s Jukka Gustavson (of Wigwam fame!) who attempted to replicate American soul, blues, and funk, would have loved to cut this record. By the way, fans of later Steely Dan will find a lot to love in these grooves.
And, then, quite frankly, after all the vocal tunes, David Sancious’ Eyes Wide Open gets really interesting, with four instrumental pieces that cover a lot of musical ground with very human footprints. “Flip It” just cuts deep bluesy guitar bits that bite with gritty keyboards, which to these Midwestern Anglophile ears (who once lived for the next Ten Years After album), echo the sound of Savoy Brown’s “Waiting in the Bamboo Groove,” a tune that (the great) Kim Simmons sent out with love and respect to (the even greater) Albert Collins. Lots of fire here.
“The Treehouse” drips with Earthy piano notes that usher in a dark dirt bass, which then erupts into the vast horizon of the wonderful folk jazz (and everything) band Oregon. “December” pulses with precise keyboards while an acoustic guitar dances amid the tension. And then an accordion melts the difference between the two. This is a universe away from anything else on the record.
By the way, Eyes Wide Open has nothing to do with fusion. This is an album of great songs and melodic instrumental pieces. And, just so you know, I concur with Mark Radcliffe’s comment in his book Reelin’ in the Years that asks: “How many times, outside of secure psychiatric institutions, has someone said out loud: ‘What this party needs is a bit of jazz fusion to liven things up.’”
That said, the final tune, “War in Heaven,” struggles with the complexities of life, music, the human heart, and just about everything else. A sax roams the tough horizon, while the percussion denounces rhythm, and then it all becomes a dense march into a defiant exclamation point aimed at all those “troubled waters” over which David Sancious’ music builds, thankfully, a very modern musical “bridge.”
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