Review: Restless Soul New Release by the Proclaimers - Page 2

Of course not all love is between people. "I'm Gone" is a tongue in cheek peon to the simple pleasure of drinking just one too many on occasion. While lyrics such as "All of my fear and most of my pain ran hand in hand to catch the last train…" are a clear indication of the escapist quality of drinking to excess, the song is also a healthy contrast to the puritanical attitude that having more than two drinks makes you an alcoholic.

For those of you looking for the anthem like songs of the Proclaimers' past, "D .I. Y." will fit the bill. D. I. Y. is the British acronym for do it yourself. Here the Reid brothers are instructing all those who either manufacture weapons or send people off to war to just show us how it's done and kill themselves.

" Warmongers kill yourselves, Demonstrate the power of the product that you're trying to sell. Gun wavers shoot yourselves, make a big hole in your head with a shiny shell". "D. I. Y." Restless Soul, The Proclaimers

Not since Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" have I heard such a ringing condemnation of both the armament industry and those old people who have no trouble sending people half their age off to die in battle. The sentiment of "maybe there would be less war in the world if those who did the ordering and building actually experienced it" is an old one, but one that bears repetition.

The disc ends with two songs dealing with death and mortality. "Now and Then" is about the brothers' father who died a couple of years ago. It talks about how once the rawness of new grief wears off one still has moments of regret.

"If I cry, you just smile and sigh, I never said goodbye, I never will", those lines sum up the spirit of the song; not wanting to forget somebody is one thing, but holding on to grief serves no purpose. It's also indicative of the nature of the whole album - simple, real emotions served up in a matter of fact manner; as opposed to the melodrama of most pop music.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the forthcoming book What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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