Top Ten Songs of 2011 – #7
Another year, another stellar Ron Sexsmith album that goes completely unnoticed by the general public.
What I find interesting is that when I look up reviews of Sexsmith’s work, invariably the critics heap him with praise and bemoan his lack of popularity. But come December, when it’s list-making time, I have yet to see Sexsmith’s Long Player Late Bloomer show up on anybody’s best-of.
Sexsmith is so unassuming, so quietly consistent and so outside of the Zeitgeist that he doesn’t leap out as representative of the previous year in music. He might have put out this terrific album in 2010, 2009 or 1999 for that matter. It’s just another in a long line of pitch-perfect pop records by the Canadian wallflower.
Their loss.
Long Player Late Bloomer is rich, nuanced and chock full of hooks — it may well be Sexsmith’s best album (but, then, so may a half dozen others). I could choose a handful of tracks for this list but I’m going with ‘Believe It When I See It,’ the song that grabbed me first and has refused to let go since.
And past the graveyard sign
We cast our wayward line
Inside a wishing well
We’ve just a wish and an empty vessel
A hole to fill with days
On a road where children stray
Then pray there is no hell
And as for heaven, well…
If seeing
If seeing is believing
I’ll believe it
Believe it when I see it
I’ll believe it when I see it
With my own two eyes
This ain’t no random shuffle
There’s reason in these rhymes
A season and a time
In a climate of fear and blood
In the tavern two men did scuffle
Their drunken battle moaned
They groaned like cattle groan
No diamonds here in the rough
And as for peace and love….
If seeing
If seeing is believing
I’ll believe it
Believe it when I see it
I’ll believe it when I see it
With my own two eyes
And when faced with a difficult decision
Would you listen to your heart or mind
We’re bound to waste all our free will and ambition
If we got no vision
And we got no spine
And as for peace of mind…
If seeing
If seeing is believing
I’ll believe it
Believe it when I see it
I’ll believe it when I see it
With my own two eyes
Meet Me In Montauk 
I say bring back those Sexsmith weekends immediately!
It is odd to me that Sexsmith can’t buy himself even a modest hit, particularly when a song like today’s isn’t really all that different than something you might hear from someone like Matt Kearney. Perhaps he’s just been around a bit too long or his music is a bit too safe or he just doesn’t have whatever odd bit of luck it takes to connect with a wider audience. But, as Amy has often said, at least he has enough fans to continue to have a record company back him and for him to put out his albums.
Now if only your blog could reach a wider audience, perhaps you could be that spark to help him take this song to number 1:)
I felt this song was the best of the past year-Ron consistently puts out great music-but this CD was his best! Check out the new Willie Nile as well-The Innocent Ones.
Best year for movies in a long time-Hugo and Tree of Life stand far above the rest.