The year was 1988.
Sometimes when you go back into the shadowy past, lantern held high, you’ll come across books or movies or music that are best left alone in the darkness there. Protected in the hermetic environment of memory, else turned to dust in the starkly fluorescent present.
Other times, though, you’ll re-discover an item that not only survives the trip, but you’ll wonder why you left it behind. The Trinity Session album is one of those for me. (Check out The Trinity Session in iTunes.)
The 80s
In context, it was still the excessive 80s when this came out. Looking up 1988 on wikipedia reveals the last year of the Reagan presidency, the Iran-Iraq War ending, conflict between US and Iranian forces (including our shooting down of a passenger plane), George the First defeating Dukakis, the Soviet Union withdrawing from Afghanistan, terrorists blowing up all kinds of stuff including Flight 103 over Scotland. 1988 in music reveals both horrors and treasures. What stands out in my mind for those last years of the 80s, say beginning in 1987 with The Joshua Tree, is a reaction against the excess, the greed, the over-production, the assemblyline.
The albums released that year are mostly dreck, of course, but there are some gems
heralding a reaction that was hitting the mainstream—
Amidst all the noise, however, there emerged this amazing album, The Trinity Session by the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies. A gorgeous lead singer with a smoky voice deliberately held back and quiet, restrained guitars and percussion, a harmonica at times. And it was recorded live in a church (with a single mic if I remember correctly), giving it expansive tones despite the lack of production. There are cover songs and originals; perhaps the most famous was “Sweet Jane” from The Velvet Underground, which still gives me chills.
Looking back at that list of albums, I can find stuff I liked at the time that shall remain unnamed. But there are certain items that I can put on at the end of 2005 and find solace, meaning, resonance. In fact, even moreso with the intervening years of living and experience.
Sometimes, of course, nostalgia can be mistaken for quality — which explains my enjoyment of Best of the 80s compilations ;) (Even fast food tastes good occasionally.) But if you’re venturing into the past or decades into the future, it’s best to remember those items of true quality, and leave the fool’s gold in the darkness.
