Johnquest- #13 - RAINTOWN by DEACON BLUE

RAINTOWN | DEACON BLUE

I’m sure I’ve heard these guys’ band mentioned at some point, in some context. They seem mysteriously familiar, albeit in a way I cannot articulate. I think they’re just around. They’re named after a Steely Dan song, which is always a plus. My usual habit of “reading the wiki page for it to find out what the original track listing was” has revealed to me that this is a concept album! Cool.

…I don’t know how or to what extent this will influence my review or my thoughts. That’s the unfun part about writing these before I’ve listened. It’s habit ATP and just part of the site’s structure but sometimes. Sometimes I wish I had more to say.

as per usual- Only the eleven songs on the original release will be listed here. No bonus trax, sorry folks. I also… like, have no idea what order I’d do them in if I did because good lord there are so many different track listings.

OVERALL VERDICT:

This is an album for people who like to think and listen and nod their heads and go “mmm…” It’s sophisticated. It’s an album for the pensive types who live in rainy cities. It’s good to listen to, too- but it’s not a particularly active album. It’s something you listen to lying in the bath while contemplating your love life. It’s not an album for doing most things to. I’d imagine if you’re in the right headspace it’s earth shattering.

It is kind of a landscape of an album, if that makes any sense. It sounds like what it’s about, the overtones of class and money and living in a titular raintown. It’s an excellent series of vignettes with a bit of a romantic throughline. I don’t know if I’ll come back to this one but I didn’t turn into a raging asshole which, alongside the fact it’s not wet wet wet, should be proof enough that I like it WAY MORE than I did WWW.

TRACK BY TRACK:

1. Born In A Storm gives the album a good thoughtful start. It’s slow and short and beautiful and at least features so much emotion in such a short period. It’s so pensive. And angry? There is a decision coming and I expect it is “Will you live your life or live something else/let others live it for you instead?”

2. Raintown has a beautiful buildup from the past song- legitimately, Brain Damage -> Eclipse shit. I fully did not realize it was a new song. And it has synth, of course, to remind us that yes, it is the eighties. Everyone in this song has a beautiful voice. The main guy’s is like a smooth metal pipe. Like, unbelievable smooth. Silver tongue means something else but his voice feels the way those words would if they had no other meaning. It also sets the scene quite well! And adds extra openerness. It provokes a sort of left-behind feeling. By others, by society, no way up no way on. Wonderful. Waiting on someone to help you not feel so SHITTY. I know Glasgow is not anything like My Zone in terms of weather but it relates. Def’ a universal experience.

3. Ragman Has some good plinky/plonky piano and synth. It is sweeping! Listen to that backing synth. Whoosh whoosh. And the guitar! The guitarrrr!!!. It sounds so good. The piano? Have you heard that piano? It is so wonderful. It is just so good. And here our presumed heroes meet. Presumably. I could be wrong about so much already. But LORD the music is good. Christ, it’s incredible. SO FUCKING EIGHTIES. It’s a walk down a cruddy street in music form. I feel like a lot of the things I say in these reviews are stupid but we’re under 1% in so everyone should expect my inanity levels to only increase from here on out. I may have a problem.

4. He Looks Like Spencer Tracy Now makes me worry I might be illiterate in the great language of “concept album.” I don’t think this is about the same guy (the supposed “ragman”) as the last song. But I’m stupid so what do I know. Anyways, it’s about war and destruction and observing it and being complicit in it and guilt and a guy who worked on the atom bomb that his hiroshima. It’s very pensive and dour and given the subject matter there are very few other things I’d want it to be about. It paints an interesting picture. It just kind of does its own thing in the grand scheme of the album. It fits here tonally, and I’d expect that’s why it’s here? Maybe I’m wrong.

5. Loaded features our earlier hero spiralling into love over his rich lady friend. To me, it reads as about how her higher class and whatnot while letting her live carefree and happy, laughing with friends and ranting and raving about shit, also alienate her from our main guy. It’s a very “Common People” song. I have to explain I don’t need to explain what I mean to you if you’re reading this. It has some more delightful piano and appropriate vocals- I particularly love the background lady’s babyish voice. It helps characterize the other lady, I would say. VAY BEFITTING. Seriously, though. The piano is kickass.

6. When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring) feels like, if it has a music video, it must have some crazy camera shots and washed out colours and w/e. It’s about our guy pursuing her further, more of a love song than the last one. It’s a little dreary? To me, at least. It’s a yearning song it’s a song about yearning. I don’t really enjoy those the same way I’d imagine most people don’t enjoy yearning. It’s about laying around and being into a lady. It’s bittersweet and i’m sure it’s for someone- just maybe not me.

7 . Chocolate Girl is about someone else entirely. It’s about a monetarily-minded working guy who’s got a lover who he treats like shit. Well maybe not like shit but not well. Come on, man, quit being so dehumanizing. I know you’re probably rich and removed from reality but it’s very easy to not be a douche. This song is nice to listen to! It has a chorus that sticks around in your head. Still not my usual tone but this one’s a song that’s good. It has value. And I don’t, like, hate the song before this but it’s just…. So nothing. And this song is something! Allan’s relationship is getting worse all the time. Stop telling your fuckbuddies about your wife, man. That’s gotta be so awkward for them. And poor chocolate girl. It’s a good song, anyhow.

8. Dignity Is about a lower class person who’s a good person. Like most people. He’s not got the money necessary to live the high life (like the speaker, here) but he’s still a good person. It’s got some driven lower-tone piano. It’s about the speaker becoming the more removed one- but he’s still got his wits about him to not go rich-nutjob-crazy. It’s an agreeable anecdote, and a pretty good song. The “set it up again” bit sounds so good. I like it when this guy gets angry! And yells! He should do that more.

9. The Very Thing is a song of idealism and human collaboration. Of people working together to build a better work. And it SOUNDS beautiful too! The time in the album where it comes makes it feel very, very earned. It drags you out of the earlier depression but it’s not, like, unaware of its own idealism. It’s a pipe dream and it knows it is. And lord, lord it is nice to listen to. There’s a good plonky piano bit in there before the big piano bit that I REALLY, REALLY dig. A synth tuned low is the most wonderful thing. I hope I used all of those words correctly. I don’t know shit about music, really. But you’ve probably already noticed that.

10. Love’s Great Fears Is about… what it is about. It’s about love’s great fears. It’s about knowing your honeymoon phase is coming to an end and that sending you spiralling out of said honeymoon phase. It’s a very 80s song. The vocals, the synth, all that stuff. It’s something that even non-lovers can relate to- and CHRIST IT IS BEAUTIFUL.

11. Town To Be Blamed hurts. Just, christ, it hurts. The vocalist is agonized. . AND IT SOUNDS SO GOOD. I said earlier i like when he yells and gets angry and I’m not sure he’s angry here but he sure is yelling and it sure does sound good. It’s this town… I can’t leave and this is just how it is. It is a sound of pain and woe and ourghhhhhh. It’s a good ending. It’s painful but at least they have each other. It seems to be the only real thing in their lives and even then maybe not quite. It’s AGONIZING. It’s WONDERFUL.

If you like this Album, you might also like: going for walks in the rain or by the ocean or when it is overcast or any and all combinations of the above.

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