Song of the Day #1,081: ‘Talkin’ New York’ – Bob Dylan
Song of the Day #1,080: ‘Brandy Alexander’ – Ron Sexsmith
One of the nice touches on Ron Sexsmith’s Exit Strategy of the Soul was the addition of a Cuban jazz horn ensemble.
This might seem incongruous with Sexsmith’s usual style — he’s not exactly Buena Vista Social Club material — but it works surprisingly well.
These horn parts didn’t inform the writing of the album but were added to the recorded tracks later to flesh out the sound. Sometimes, when you have a classic three-minute pop singer-songwriter like Sexsmith, it takes just a dash of flavor to really elevate the material.
Song of the Day #1,079: ‘Ghost of a Chance’ – Ron Sexsmith
In 2008, Ron Sexsmith released Exit Strategy of the Soul, probably his most lovely album to date, sonically. The record opens with an instrumental track called ‘Spiritude,’ a beautiful piece on piano and strings that really sets the mood for the sublime set to come. The similar closing track, ‘Dawn Anna,’ is even prettier.
In between is Sexsmith’s most spiritual group of songs. Tracks such as ‘This Is How I Know,’ in which Sexsmith sings “out of nothing came the miracle that loved us into being” sent me searching to see if this guy is a Christian rocker in disguise. But I found an interview in which he says he’s spiritual but not religious, and feels that organized religion often does more harm than good. I can live with that.
