Side one opens with "The Language of Love". As the first single, it reached number 14 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 11 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. This song has a nice up-tempo hook, between the guitars and the percussion, that immediately pulls me in.
The title track and B-side to the first and second singles, "Windows and Walls" is next. The slower accompaniment adds to the loneliness and isolation of this sad song about a woman who has grown old.
"The Loving Cup" talks about the ends that people go through to win at the game of love, to achieve that two-handled trophy (or a loving cup as they are sometimes called).
"Tucson, Arizona (Gazette)" is the longest track on the album, clocking in at over eight and a half minutes. It tells the tragic tale of Tony and Mary who are looking for an escape from the lives that had trapped them. The music on this one is perfect, from the acoustic guitar to the piano to the saxophone.
Side two begins with the mid-tempo break-up song "Let Her Go".
"Sweet Magnolia (and the Traveling Salesman)", the third single, reached number 36 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Fogelberg at the piano is a winning formula, and this song features exactly that.
The second single, the gentle "Believe in Me", stopped at number 48 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but it went all the way to number 1 on the Canadian and US Adult Contemporary charts. This one has a quiet inspirational quality to it.
The final track on the album is "Gone Too Far", light rocker.
I am pretty certain that I had not heard all of Windows and Walls until doing this review; I was not listening to a lot of soft rock in 1984. Still, it had a very familiar sound to it and I found that I really enjoyed it a lot. Dan Fogelberg is a fantastic songwriter, and he puts so much into each of these tracks. They are songs that touch upon everyday lives and are easily relatable. This is definitely one I want to add to my library so I can listen to again and again over the coming years.
Sure it's a tragic epic and "Tucson, Arizona" is only mentioned once in the lyrics, but that song is still a favorite here at The Hideaway.
ReplyDelete"The Language Of Love" gets a few plays here as well. It's one of Fogelberg's more rockin' songs fer shure.
The rest of the album? Meh, not so much.