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Terry Garland - Whistling in the Dark
- The downhome vibe of Terry Garland’s Whistling in the Dark goes from jolly to somewhat ominous at times. The timbre of his voice has a country quality and on certain tracks, listeners can hear the oomph in his voice. Even on the ambivalent tracks, his voice resonates undertones of acid and anger.
On the first track, there is guitar and harmonica work. There is a morose tone in Garland’s voice as he talks about how his girl operates and how she shouldn’t behave in a catty way around him, with lyrics like, “You know to get by in a big man's world you get bitchy. You wanna survive as a little girl to get bitchy. You learn from your momma but you're papa’s girl. You’re the teacher’s pet…All I want for you to understand is that you’re not livin' in a fairy land. I’ll be damned if you’re gonna get bitchy with me….I never complain you know it’s true but your bitchy. The one that you love is the one that I am.”
On the second track, the piano is introduced alongside the guitar for a softer rhythm. This song has Garland talking about how he has the world in the palm of his hand and is secure in the knowledge that his girl idolizes him beyond all reason, with lyrics such as, “I got the world, got it by the nuts. Because my girl loves me so much. Well I am gonna tell you what it’s all about. The way she loves me really knocks me out. Oh yeah. She never cries…She always tries to act just like a queen well she’s so fine gives me what I need. The little girl I swear can’t be beat.” The pluck behind Garland’s voice emotes the passion he feels for this lady and it is further echoed in the fervent instrument play.
The third track has what sounds like acoustic guitar and a more traditional country tone. On this song, Garland goes on about the passage of time, how it can slither up on you and steal prized aspects of your existence, with lyrics like, “Time rolls on…If pride holds true, it’ll ruin the things you do. There’s no reversal. There’s no time to cut and run…I got some news I feel like such a fool, it’s true I’d never lie to you.” This song is a superb model of adept acoustic guitar work as Garland really liberates his ability with a long solo that will make listeners get down and boogie.
The fourth track chronicles some of the petrifying happenings that have occurred in recent years—heinous things that people have done that have left permanent marks on their victims. Garland acridly catalogues these incidents in lyrics such as, “Snipers on the beltway, shootin’ just for fun. They're lookin’ through that rifle scope, they're hidin’ in the trunk. There’s a knapsack on the subway, pipe bomb on the road, people fallin’ all around just like domino. I tell you son, there’s too much blood. Well I’ve had enough of all this blood.” Garland is expressing his disdain for all the senseless violence that has taken place of late, by using examples such as the DC Sniper and suicide bombers, who left sacks of explosives, and it’s the innocent people whose blood is spilt for no logical reason. His voice has such disgust in it that listeners might remember the pain and fear they felt during these attacks, and feel the same distaste.
Terry Garland’s Whistling in the Dark has songs that chronicle the happenings in the world and in his own life. Some of the occurrences are positive and some are terrible, but through each track, Garland’s voice echoes the correct emotion.
Reviewer: Sari N. Kent
new
Reviewer's Rating: 8
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
Added: 20-Apr-2007
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