It’s been more than a year since I last contributed to my Decades series. To refresh your memory, this is where I highlight albums from a specific year across four decades. I started with 1972 before covering 1982, 1992 and 2002, then moved to 1970, 1980 and 1990. Which brings me to 2000.
As always, I will feature my own top five albums of the year before exploring songs from ten celebrated albums I’ve never heard. All clear?
My #5 album of 2000 is (Breach), the third album by The Wallflowers. This album was released four years after the band’s breakthrough, Bringing Down the Horse, and while it didn’t reach that record’s commercial heights (nothing by the band ever would), it is the better album.
A mix of up-tempo rockers and lovely acoustic ballads, (Breach) showcases the band’s strengths, from Jakob Dylan’s evocative lyrics and husky vocals to the tight instrumentation and infectious melodies. There’s nothing as instantly hooky as ‘One Headlight’ here but every song is a winner. ‘Hand Me Down’ seems to address Dylan’s growing up in his famous father’s shadow, ‘Murder 101’ is a muscular rocker featuring backing vocals by Elvis Costello, ‘Up From Under’ is a lovely and melancholy weeper that’s easily among the band’s best work.
(Breach) was very well-received by critics but managed only a fraction of the previous album’s sales. The band faded into relative obscurity in subsequent years, with the next three albums each performing worse than the last. It’s a shame to see a talented band devolve into little more than one-hit wonder status.
We did not pull through
You shouldn’t blame me
I don’t blame you
Now what else did you think that I would do?
Ooooh as if it wasn’t hard enough
I’m so tired of waking up feeling bad
You haven’t been the kind of place I have
Could it hurt you now to let this pass?
Oooooh as if it wasn’t hard enough
You want to make it so much harder
Now in another world I could learn to forget
But ’til then I’m here making room for new regrets
Now some flowers they never bloom
And some flowers just bloom dead
The way you make me feel I could collapse
An epidemic I cannot outlast
How could you feel used when I feel trapped?
Ooooh as if it wasn’t hard enough
And just as my conscience starts to clear
I drag the river and you’re still there
The way I bring you down could not compare
Ooooh as if it wasn’t hard enough
You want to make it so much harder
Now in another world I could learn to forget
But ’til then I’m here making room for new regrets
Now some flowers they never bloom
And some flowers just bloom dead
Now some flowers they never bloom
And some flowers just bloom dead
The way I sleep this bed just can’t be made
I pull the covers up around my head
Now when I think of me I think of somebody else instead
As if it wasn’t hard enough
You’re gonna make it so much harder
Now in another world I could learn to forget
But ’til then I’m here making room for new regrets
Now some flowers they never bloom
And some flowers just bloom dead
Now some flowers they never bloom
And some flowers they just bloom dead
Didn’t Jakob go solo at some point? Hopefully, we haven’t heard the last of him as I really like his sound.
Yes, he released two very good acoustic solo albums, the second one back in 2010. Word is he has an album of covers on the way soon.