Spanish train and other stories --- Chris de Burgh --- 1975 (A&M)
My favourite and without doubt the best of Chris de Burgh's early albums (see my review of “Crusader” for a rant and diatribe on his later material), “Spanish Train”, as it is generally known, is a great album, but it does suffer from a few duff tracks. Only his second album, it broke him wide open commercially, spawning the massive hit and perennial Christmas tune, “A spaceman came travelling”, as well as the uproarious “Patricia the stripper”. And just like that, Chris was a household name, and could do no wrong.
But it's the opener, and title track, that truly shows de Burgh at his very best. A slow-paced tune with more than a little Spanish guitar, castanets and violins, it's the tale of the Devil trying to take souls and God fighting him, and the Spanish train in the title is the train that will ferry the dead to Hell, in an update of the Greek myth of Charon, boatman of the River Styx. It's a powerful song, mostly sung almost in a murmur by de Burgh, except for the chorus, where he gets quite animated. It's a real storyteller's song, and a complete triumph on every level.
“Lonely sky” comes in as probably the second-best track on the album (no prizes for guessing the standout!), a mournful, piano-driven song of loss and longing, with some lovely choral touches. At times it sounds like there's mandolin in there as well, but I don't see it credited on the album. Nevertheless, some lovely orchestral arrangements on a fine song. “This song for you” shows, for me, a slight dip in quality next, with its First World War theme, accordion and piano driven and sounding very twenties, the sort of song that might be sung at one of those godawful “knees-up”s that the English are/were so fond of (we call it a sing-song, but I still hate them).
To give Chris de Burgh credit, he writes every song on the album himself, and also plays guitar as well as piano on two tracks, this being one of them, and he knows how to write a good song, as evidenced by the two opening tracks, but personally I hate “Patricia the stripper”, which maintains the 1920s theme with a very vaudeville/Oscar Wilde-type narrative in the lyric, which is, not surprisingly, about a girl who strips for a living. It was a big hit, and is one of the songs he always performs live --- or performed, I'm not sure if he does live appearances anymore --- but it just never hit a chord with me.
Of course, the next track is known to just about everyone (and quite possibly hated by some, in the same way that Slades “Merry Christmas everybody” can be), as one of the overplayed songs you hear on the radio and TV at Christmas: in fact, expect to hear some Djs spin it anytime soon --- only eighty shopping days left, you know! To be fair, it's a great song, if a little simplistic, with its tale of the alien who comes to Earth and promises to return again in 2000 years. Its infectious chorus is hard to resist, and the verses are sung with quiet reverence by Chris, with fairly minimal instrumentation, the band really only kicking in fully at the chorus. Trust me, if you haven't heard “A spaceman came travelling” before, you soon will. As mentioned, it was the song that gave de Burgh his first worldwide hit, and set him on the path to international stardom.
As so often happens with albums, there is a “tipping point”, and for me this is it on “Spanish train”. The next few songs are okay, but nothing special, certainly nothing like the calibre of the previous tracks. “I'm going home” is a pleasant ditty, recounting the joy at returning from foreign parts, and is probably one of the faster tracks on the album, with some nice keys and the odd jerky guitar solo (!), while “The painter” is a stark tale of suspicion, betrayal and revenge, played out against a very minimal melody, and an almost spoken vocal, closer to poetry than song, until the chorus when it becomes a sort of jazzy/boogie tune. De Burgh is at his most manic on this song, almost spitting out the lines as he grins like a lunatic, promising
”I swear I'll take care/ Of that painter!" A good sax line helps the melody along with almost New Orleans jazz and be-bop.
Things slow down then for “Old friend”, an introspective little song about friendship and memories, carried mostly on de Burgh's acoustic guitar. The song gathers a little more speed near the end, becoming a shade like previous track “This song for you”, and ends on a jaunty acoustic line, with nice backing vocals.
The album ends strongly, as it begun, with two tracks to close it. The first being the excellent mediaeval fairy tale “The tower”, another acoustic offering about a man who imprisons a woman in his castle but cannot secure her love. The rhythm of the song is almost lyrical poetry, and it's a lovely song, handled with clear and precise vocals from Chris. The finale comes with “Just another poor boy”, a thinly-disguised story of a Jesus figure and the woman who falls in love with him. It's powerful, emotional, evocative and impressive, with the end lines ringing in the ears long after the song has faded away:
”Accusing him of spreading lies and hate/ His public meetings were a danger to the State/ Some soldier said 'Who was he, anyway?”” Simple, powerful, and in many ways a chilling end to an album which begins with a battle between God and the Devil, and ends with the return of the Saviour.
As I say, “Spanish train” is not flawless. It suffers from some poor tracks, especially near the end, but the sheer quality of the better tracks bolster up the weaker ones, and it's the likes of the title track, “Lonely sky”, “The tower” and “Just another poor boy” that you're left with remembrances of. Oh yeah, and that spaceman!
After this album, Chris de Burgh went from strength to strength, becoming a
bona fide pop star, not only in his native Ireland, but all over the world. He became known for deep, thoughtful love songs as well as powerful statements in song, and successful album followed successful album. Up until that fateful day when he composed that thrice-accursed “Lady in red”, and became forevermore extricated with that song. After that, a large percentage of the public could only ever see him as “the guy who wrote that song”, and though his album sales didn't suffer, I believe his artistic integrity did, and for me, he was never again the man he had been in the seventies and eighties.
“Spanish train” is something of a time capsule, an artist of unparalleled talent caught at the very cusp of his creative flair and genius, as he reached for, and achieved, the fame he so richly deserved.
TRACKLISTING
1. Spanish train
2. Lonely sky
3. This song for you
4. Patricia the stripper
5. A spaceman came travelling
6. I'm going home
7. The painter
8. Old friend
9. The tower
10. Just another poor boy
Suggested further listening: "Crusader”, “Eastern wind”, “The getaway”, “At the end of a perfect day”, “Man on the line”