about
Sometime in early January 1984 the Palisades entered Opus One for the last time. Though the Last Polka (1/21/84) had yet to occur, the band was by now officially over. The band may have been over, but there was still one more late period song I very much wanted to record for posterity – the subliminally intricate and quasi mystical song “The Loner”.
Recording wise, it’s my first journey into the mystical, and though the lyrics are pretty much standard fare for that particular period in my life, the roller coaster, yet to the ear, seamless arrangement, belies a complexity not previously heard in my songs.
Beyond the voluminous amount of chords and key changes, the arrangement includes an early attempt at a dream sequence, complete with drifting flowing chords, a BASS solo(!), and wanna be ethereal ‘aahs’. Throughout the song there’s also a preponderance of mysterious voices muttering, whispering, groaning, breathing, and even a mimicking of back masking right before the close of the song. I recorded this scratch vocal in the control booth without headphones, and that is why the live speakers squeal and squawk occasionally with feedback.
The instrumentation was rushed (no doubt because of my limited budget) and recorded in one night, including JD’s overdubbed riff guitars, but nothing is as rushed as Larry’s timing at the very beginning of the song. Larry’s timing had improved impressively since the old days, but I guess he wasn’t over the rhythmic monkey yet. Larry gradually slows (and so evenly it almost sounds like it was arranged that way – perhaps it was?) the beat down to the proper tempo before entering the first verse, and once a hold of it, hangs on pretty steady from there. As a recording, it’s not nearly as compelling as “Let the Young Live”, and doesn’t come close to the cosmic potential I was hoping for, but it’s certainly an early signpost for the future and a harbinger of things to come.
Again, no multi track was found so we must settle for the Opus mix direct from cassette. I think a re-recording of this song will give it its true “cosmic” justice.
lyrics
Watch the way he walks, he’s got the upper hand
Sparks fly, electric air and the bashing of the band
The pretty maids are out and the dance floor’s hot
If you can breath in here
Lord it ain’t hot enough
(chorus) He has no clicks or cons, he runs with no ones’ crowd
It’s in his eyes what others say out loud
And no one knows for sure if he is saint or sin
He lets them knock but let’s no one in
The posers dress in flash and practice high class trash
Yet he’s always heard without speaking a word
No obligations here and no attachments to fear
There’s only one thing sure
And that is nothing’s sure
(chorus)
And where he walks is where the fire’s blown
Comes in himself but never leaves alone
His stare hypnotize and seduce the careless eye
Your heart and brain are stung into thinking he’s the one
But pretty baby don’t get too close
Cause there’s a fire he’s yet to reveal
And you won’t be the first to learn
How long it takes for burns to heal………..
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