I think whether or not the artist will be so forthcoming with acknowledging it, in some capacity every musician wants to make their version of “Pink Floyd’s The Wall”. I mean, why not right? It’s an artistic opus. The kind of album that even if the musician never crafted any more music right after that, would be the definitive thesis statement on not only their personal identity but their professional music identity. There’s a big difference between making an “honest” song, and being “honest” on the said song. New York-based singer/songwriter Chris St. John has come as close as I think any real musician can get to making their “The Wall”. I’ll be very forthcoming in saying that this is an incredibly dense album, for both better and worse.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/chrisstjohnmusic/?tn-str=k*F
“The Wall” is a masterpiece, yes, but it’s also a tad on the long side. I’m Dreaming, the album by St. John suffers slightly from the same affliction, but honestly, it’s pretty hard to care when you take into account just how astounding this album is. Pulling from country, rock, and flourishes of world music, St. John crafts a lengthy narrative. A compilation of moments that seamlessly feed into one another revealing both sides of great happiness and devastating heartbreak. In a lot of ways, it’s an album that would actually lend itself very well to a film adaptation, or even a visual album akin to Daft Punk’s Discovery album. It’s sweeping in a cinematic scope with vivid textures that St. John weaves in his lyrics whether describing mundane things like water and wind but also the tenderness of touch and one track using a damn near inspired usage of the replication of breathing.
It’s slightly subversive with how the album starts with an almost tongue-in-cheek parody of Country music with the opener “I Need a Horse”. It has this chipper sing-songy quality that charms you over quickly, but it also lulls you into a false sense of security before the album takes a running start to just utterly devastate you. Whether it’s St. John delving into his depression and subsequent addiction and recovery, or the heart-shattering revelation of a 23 and me test he received, the album consistently keeps you on your toes that when a truly happy song arrives, like “Looking at the Sky” which has St. John ruminating on the innocence of watching his child look at a sky after being born, you breathe a genuine sigh of relief. The album never devolves into being punishingly dark, and I’d argue there are darker introspective songs than lighter fare, but it’s the chronicle of a man’s life filled with the realities of light and dark.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-2021-Chris-St-John/dp/B092DXVDLT
The production on the album can’t be understated with incredibly harmonies from female backing vocals, the aforementioned sampling of breathing and the sounds of a hospital, and we’re even treated to a moment of pure instrumental, with a separate one that acts almost as the closing credits of the album. St. John has crafted a masterpiece of sorts that will be an emotional highpoint for the rest of his career, and provide a catharsis for those addicted to the power of empathy in music.
Claire Uebelacker