Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1996…
#8 – Bringing Down the Horse – The Wallflowers
The mid-90s was the greatest time for alt-rock bands with a pop sensibility and one of my favorites was The Wallflowers. The band got a lot of press because lead singer Jakob Dylan was Bob’s son, but their self-titled 1992 debut didn’t make much of a splash.
That changed with sophomore release Bringing Down the Horse, which went 4X Platinum and spawned radio hits in ‘6th Avenue Heartache,’ ‘One Headlight,’ and ‘The Difference.’ ‘One Headlight’ even won the band a pair of Grammys.
This is a tight but rootsy album with enough lyrical complexity to back up the idea that Bob Dylan’s kid is the songwriter. Jakob’s voice is similar to his dad’s, but with more range, and he brings a rough weariness to these melancholy songs.
The Wallflowers would go on to make an even better album in 2000’s (Breach), and this record and that one solidify them as one of the best bands of their era.
The sirens ring, the shots ring out
A stranger cries, he screams out loud
I had my world strapped against my back
I held my hands, never knew how to act
[Chorus]
And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in
6th Avenue heartache
[Verse 2]
Below me was a homeless man
Singin’ songs I knew complete
On the steps alone, his guitar in hand
It’s fifty years, stood where he stands
[Chorus]
And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in
6th Avenue heartache
And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in
6th Avenue heartache (Heartache)
[Verse 3]
Now walkin’ home on those streets
The river winds, they move my feet
Subway steam, like silhouettes in dreams
They stood by me (They stood by me, they stood by me)
Just like moonbeams (Oh oh)
[Chorus]
And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in (Yeah)
6th Avenue heartache (6th Avenue heartache), heartache
And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in (Yeah)
6th Avenue heartache
(6th, 6th Avenue heartache)
[Bridge]
Look out the window, down upon that street
And gone like a midnight was that man
But I see his six strings (La la-la-la la-la la-la)
Laid against that wall (La la-la-la la-la la-la)
And all his things (La la-la-la la-la la-la)
They all look so small (La la-la-la la-la la-la)
I got my fingers crossed (La la-la-la la-la la-la)
On a shooting star (La la-la-la la-la la-la)
Just like me (La la-la-la la-la la-la)
Just moved on (La la-la-la la-la la-la)
[Chorus]
And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in
6th Avenue heartache (6th Avenue heartache), heartache
And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in (Yeah)
6th Avenue heartache
(6th, 6th Avenue heartache)
Now it’s drawn me in (Haa)
And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in (Yeah)
6th Avenue heartache (6th Avenue heartache), heartache
Meet Me In Montauk 