Sinister: The Capeman

[DOUDIE at xxx.com]

I thought I would post a more in depth review I wrote of this record now that
Mark brought it up as I agree that it is a very significant release in the
year of music that is 1997:

 I find it astounding that an artist in their mid to late fifties can
continue to forge a career that is relevant AND productive of great work.
 Take a look at Paul Simon's peers:  Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor,
Van Morrison, Roger McGuinn,  etc.  I
don't think anyone can argue that those artists are putting out work of a
quality on par with their 60's work.  Part of this is due simply to singing
voice, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, for example, simply can't sing like
they used to.  Anyway, I don't want to go on and on with these
comparisons, but upon hearing Capeman and realizing the tremendous
amount of work that went into the realization of this music, it just makes
me wonder why age decimates the careers of some geniuses and pushes
others onto new levels of greatness.

Part of that feeling comes simply from the sound of this CD.  While you
can tell at first listen that this record was recorded in the 90's, it isn't
tied
to its time period the way classic records aren't.  One of the wonderful
things about music is that it can exist outside of time, and one of the
marks of a great record is its ability to do so.  For example, the doo wop
doesn't sound like "90's doo wop" it sounds legitimate and real, even
though doo wop is not a common musical idiom anymore.

It is difficult for me to listen to any record without focusing in on the
vocals and they sound excellent on SFTC, not only in performance but in
how they were recorded.  Want proof?  Play Graceland, Rhythm of the
Saints and SFTC back to back.  Throughout the record, you hear that
familiar voice a voice that I bet all of you couldn't recall a time in your
life
when you hadn't heard it, and you hear it in a crystal clear fashion, thus
really making this feel like a worthy addition to an already prolific career.

The music is nothing to balk at either:  from the ecstatic celebration at
the close of "Born in Puerto Rico", to the sinister piano that kicks off
Vampires, to the Rhythm of the Saints-ish guitar that drives "Trailways
Bus"... these are just great sounding moments, highlights from a great
record.  I guess the engineer deserves some credit for this but anyway, I
would be curious to hear some other opinions about the sound of the
record.

The more I listen to SFTC, the more it begins to feel like an album
instead of a mere snippet from a larger project.  I grew more accustomed
to "Satin Summer Nights", "Sunday Afternoon" and "Time is an Ocean",
the three songs that scream out Broadway to me.  "Born in Puerto Rico",
"Adios Hermanos", "Vampires", "Trailways Bus" are classics in the canon
of someone who may have already the market cornered on classic songs.
The songs all establish a connection to Salvador Agron, without glorfying
him for committing murder, which I think was ultimately a tightrope
struggle in forging his story.

As well as musical, there are some incredibly moving lyrical moments on
this record (leaving me a bit surprised upon reading some murmurings
that these lyrics are somehow less poignant than Simon's previous work).
The "No one knows you like I do, No one knows your heart like I do" lyric
in "Born in Puerto Rico" backed up with that heart wrenching flute, the
beautifully sung "If I traveled the whole world, You guys would still be on
my case" lyric in "Trailways Bus", and  the "I think you'd have to be Jesus
on the cross, to open your heart after such a loss" in "Can I Forgive
Him?".  These are just a few examples of lyrical beauty.

Okay enough raving... Is this a perfect record?  No.  I don't think that was
its intent.  It is so diverse and ranging in its scope and discontinuous in
its performances (meaning not having the same singer on each track,
etc.) that I have a hard time imagining a listener loving every song all the
way through.  Nonetheless, I don't think that was its aim and there
certainly isn't anything difficult to listen to on it.  I don't really
understand the inclusion of Virgil, the country-ish song narrated by a
prison guard, but maybe his character is more essential to the plot than I
realize.

Anyway, I hope I haven't rambled on too long, I hope to hear more and
more opinions as people grow more familiar with this record (and yes I
have repeatedly used the term record because referring to a work of
music as a CD will never seem right to me).

steve matrick
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