Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2005…
#6 – The Forgotten Arm – Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann’s fifth solo release is a concept album about a romance between Vietnam vet boxer John and his girlfriend Caroline. Set in the 70s, it depicts the couple’s struggle with John’s alcoholism.
Though the songs shape the narrative, they are general enough to work as standalone tracks, and Mann serves up a great batch of her signature melancholy mid-tempo pop.
Once in awhile it hits me that I’ve been writing this blog for a damn long time.
When ‘Dear John,’ the opening track of Aimee Mann’s excellent concept album The Forgotten Arm, came up as today’s random iTunes selection, I figured I’d featured the record, if not this song, before.
And sure enough, I did… five and a half years ago.
While Lost in Space was an unofficial concept album, Aimee Mann’s next release, 2005’s The Forgotten Arm, was the real deal. Set in the 1970s, it’s the story of an alcoholic boxer and Vietnam vet, John, and the woman he loves, Caroline. The songs track their ups and downs and explore the destructive nature of alcoholism on a relationship.
The album’s packaging is particularly lovely, the song lyrics presented in chapter form alongside beautiful colored sketches of John and Caroline. And though the songs are traditionally structured, the lyrics are written out as prose. Regardless of sound, this is one of the best looking CDs in my collection.
Meet Me In Montauk 