REVIEW: Chagall Guevara — Halcyon Days (LP)
Chagall Guevara made their way out of Nashville, Music City U.S.A., as a rock band in a time when such things did not happen. Cowboy hat-clad balladeers and suburban honky-tonkers like George Strait and their female counterparts were the kings and queens of Nashville in those days, but Chagall Guevara trusted they’d make it through, and their faith was rewarded. Fickle public taste and the winds of fortune, however, turned on the band just as quickly as it had filled their sails, so consider Halcyon Days a much delayed second voyage.
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The journey begins with “Resurrection #9”. Chagall puts a premium on coming out of the gate with a roar, but there’s a message here. It’s a potpourri of messages, sort of stream of consciousness in its build, but never nonsensical. Vocalist Steve Taylor has a voice with some miles on it but it fills the songs with added character rather than sounding like hearing a buzzsaw. I like the understated reference to rock history with its echo of The Beatles’ “Revolution #9” and it’s these little brushes of self-referential humor that help Chagall stand out from the rest.
“Got Any Change?” hews relatively close to the same rock and roll pedigree of the first track but lightens the attack a little. Supporting vocals are Chagall’s key tool for doing so, but front man Steve Taylor’s voice seldom needs backing. It’s an obviously limited instrument in some ways, but there’s inherent flexibility remaining from his youth that lets him take on a variety of “roles”. What he never had or lost is replaced now by a well-rounded emotional connection with the music. In this case, it’s gritty and ultra-convincing.
I wish we had a straight vocal performance from Taylor during the song “Surrender”. The effects are an unnecessary distraction though, thankfully, they never put a bullet in the back of the song’s head. It’s the best all-out rocker yet for Halcyon Days and the band, even on a recording, cooks. “Goldfingers” has an emphatic chorus that’s undeniable and several colorful touches, small and more, than color exotic shades into the song’s tapestry. It’s that chorus, however, that you’ll keep coming back to and Taylor’s lung-busting vocals sound like someone singing for their lives.
I expected something different than what I got with “Halcyon Days”, the album opener, but I’m not complaining. Chagall plays a little game of musical peekaboo with listeners before finding the song’s measure as a blues-rock number with a long hard-hitting swing. His almost metronomic reliability is a boon for the music here and elsewhere. “Treasure of the Broken Land” ends the album covered in dust and the sun in their eyes. It’s hard to not have visions of gas stations flashing by in the night and endless miles crossed when you hear this song and the poetic conceits Taylor and his cohorts work into the song; The band’s guitar tandem of Dave Perkins and Lynn Nichols shines brightest. Halcyon Days is an album that sparkles overall and will likely remain a jewel in the band’s crown for decades to come.
Colin Jordan
