I Love 54-40
NOTE: This entry has been republished from an older blog of mine, hence the date discrepancy
So guess what? 54-40, my all-time favourite band, is going to play a rock show of magnificent proportions on April 7, 2004. That’s this Wednesday! I will be there. They’re playing at Lee’s Palace, which incidentally, is one of my favourite places to see a band.
I found out about the show three Thursdays ago, just one day after regretting missing them play The Phoenix back in October. At that show, they apparently had some sort of special edition CD available with extra songs on it. I missed out. Not only on the CD but on seeing one hell of a rock show.
Never again! Yes, I think I’ve nailed down a good resolution: I’m never going to miss a 54-40 show in Toronto (and surrounding area) ever again. I owe it to myself, really.
For the past nine years, 54-40 has remained my favourite band. Whenever they have a new album out, I’m in the mall before the music store opens, waiting to buy it and I listen to it repeatedly for the next few months. In fact, I listen to about 3 or 4 different 54-40 albums every day.
I know many people have these albums, and that many of those people enjoy them. But I also know that there are thousands of people with dusty copies of Fight For Love and Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret who, unfortunately for them, will never realize the sincerity, the beauty, and the talent these albums embody.
There is no such thing as a bad 54-40 album. I love them all.
In Summer 1996, I chanced upon a mis-mailed package. It contained Trusted By Millions by 54-40. The package sat on the dining room table for weeks. We were going to take it back to the post office and have it sent back to Columbia House so we wouldn’t have to pay for it.
That never happened.
Instead, one day in my life, I decided to pick up the CD case and unwrap it. The faces of the band members on the cover looked alien to me. That was the point, though, because they’re vertically stretched. But up until I put that CD into my stereo, I had only ever listened to the likes of Snoop Doggy Dogg, Warren G, and Doctor Dre through those 60 watt speakers.
I pushed play. I didn’t immediately feel anything. The songs were catchy enough. I had just never listened to rock music intently before. Indeed, at this point in time I had about five CDs in my record collection. Three of them were hip hop and the other two were Star Wars soundtracks.
After I listened to the album for the first time, I decided it was not that bad, and kept it. I listened to it about three more times that day, just to make sure I’d made the right choice by not keeping it in its cardboard shipping box. By the end of the week, I was sure I did.
Over the next year, I bought all the 54-40 CDs I could find until I had all of them. By the time I did, I also had a somewhat respectable assortment of rock albums (Sloan, The Beatles, The Guess Who, T. Rex), leaving the gangsta rap behind me.
There’s something with 54-40’s music that I can emotionally connect with. I don’t know what it is, exactly. But it is something that makes me feel hope, angst, sorrow, love, and frustration. Above all, it makes me feel that no matter what happens, things will be fine.
For me, Since When is the best and most beautiful album ever recorded. From the introductory string section of In Your Image, I feel a great amount of warmth, comfort, and well-being. The song sets the tone from which the following songs grow.
The image I have right now’s a pretty good one,
I’ll make it up as I go along,
And I like it better, when I don’t even notice…
There’s something ethereal about Neil Osborne’s voice. It resounds of both yearning and content. Something about it, and its place as part of a greater whole, resonates not only my eardrums but also my heart and soul. In fact, I’m getting emotional even thinking about how emotional I get listening to it, which is something I can assure would never happen if I was talking about any other musician or band.
Each song on Since When stands well on its own, but when set in with the rest of the songs, they become much more than just an album. They flow seamlessly, almost effortlessly into each other. The title track is one of my favourite songs on the disc. The first time I heard it, I was driving to my job at the No Frills and it came on the radio. Without the DJ saying who it was, I knew it was 54-40. Weeks prior to that, I had heard they were coming out with a new album tentatively titled Heavy Mellow (a name later given to their awesome live album).
When I pulled up to work, I waited until the song was over so I could find out what its name was. Since When was in my head for the better part of that shift. The opening Rhodes piano riff is an amazing hook.
I bought Since When the day it came out, and immediately after had to drive to college to pay my tuition. I listened to it on the way. Initially I was very surprised. This was the same band that brought us straight-up rockers like She-La and Radio Luv Song! This new album was very different. Very un-rock, actually, despite the pop sensibilities of the title track and the alt country twang of Lost and Lazy.
I hesitate to associate Since When with a genre, to tell you the truth. Because it’s a 54-40 album and 54-40 is a rock band, one would be inclined to lump it under the rock category. It’s a very laid back album, but I wouldn’t put it under easy listening, either. After being around for well over 20 years, I think it’s time we all recognized that 54-40 are their own genre.
Now those of you who haven’t heard them are probably laughing at me, but it’s true! I can think of no band that has been around for so long without coming across as washed-up, crazy, desperate, or crappy. In fact, most old bands that are still around today are often a mix of these four characteristics. It’s sad, really. But it’s true. And it doesn’t mean I dislike these bands either. AC/DC’s still rockin’, as is Iron Maiden, The Rolling Stones, U2, The Guess Who (although they’ve taken a considerable break). But all these bands can be described with one or more of the aforementioned adjectives.
As a fan, I feel it’s my duty to tell people how good 54-40 is. But it’s something I find difficult to do. Because you can’t be told how good a band is by reading about them. Sure, you can have that curiosity spark and want to check them out, but that’s it. I can’t make anyone listen to anything they don’t want to listen to. But I believe that everyone should take a good listen to 54-40 and form his or her own opinions. 54-40 means a lot to me, and to their many loyal fans. But I’m sure we all appreciate them in our own ways.
If you’re interested in checking out 54-40, you can visit their website at www.5440.com, where you can listen to their latest album, Goodbye Flatland, in its entirety (http://www.5440.com/discography.html).
54-40 changed my life, and I feel indebted to them. I hope you end up liking them, too.
Thanks for reading. I love you all.