Song: Meet James Ensor
Album: John Henry
Release Date: 1994
Apologies for the missing song on Tuesday; I went to write yesterday’s song and realized I had never published “Indiana Wants Me”. Because I was tired, I simply published that review and called it a day. It’s been a long week…
Anyways, it’s time to celebrate a certain someone who TMBG has brought to many people’s attention, one Mr. James Ensor! A Belgian painter out of Ostend, he was an eccentric impressionist and widely celebrated. However, as impressionism became more commonplace, he was forgotten about. Still, his legacy lives on in his art and in this song. Let’s get this over with.
Moments of Interest: In a similar fashion to “James K. Polk”, “Meet James Ensor” is essentially a musical biography about an important-yet-relatively-obscure historical figure. The styles of music differ wildly, though; while “James K. Polk” is much more stately and rickety-sounding, “Meet James Ensor” is cheery, upbeat, and includes much more vivid imagery than the eleventh president’s song. With two guitars, both acoustic and electric, and an accordion sprucing up the place, this track is one of the bounciest off of John Henry. Also, due to it’s short nature and fast pace, it just flies by. That fast pace is due in no small part to Doherty’s drum work, with 32nd notes just filling up the background with drum noise and speeding the song along. The accordion also plays a great part in this song: it naturally sounds pretty eccentric, playing into Ensor’s own personality, and in this context provides both a cheery atmosphere and some European vibes — what with it being an accordion. Of course, we can’t finish this section without mentioning the guitar work. From the acoustic guitar’s helpful background strumming during the verses to the electric guitar’s solo in the back-end of the song, the guitar plays a small-yet-significant role. In both places, it adds just that little bit o’ spice.
Favorite Aspect: I think that I’ll go with the vocals. I didn’t talk about them, so here’s a description: Flans sounds super cheerful and energetic, and the harmonies provided by his doppelganger fit perfectly into the joyful sound of the song. I also think that his pronunciations and super clean, and he really enunciates every word with a vigor that could rival Ensor’s own!
Score: This has always been a personal favorite, not due to how good it is but really just because I enjoy the fun lyrics and spritely instruments. This is not the best off of John Henry by any means, but it at least deserves a 8/10, don’t y’all think? At any rate, I hope you have a good day (or night), and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Upcoming: West Virginia [State Songs]
