CdeB Mailing List Review
Copyright (c) 1996, Steven Lynch
All rights reserved
Into The Light
Chris de Burgh
1986
A&M Records
"We may reach for the stars, and fall from the sky, Ooh in the darkest hour the spirit of man comes to life."
And thus is the feel of this inspirational album, released in 1986, that introduced me to the genius of Chris de Burgh. It is fine collection of some of Chris' most well known and romantic songs. It is a pleasant journey through war, love and hope.
This album continues to be my most frequently played Chris de Burgh CD as my wife loves it.
The first track is "Last Night". I love listening to this song while relaxing at home. I try to put myself there, which isn't hard with a song like this. To picture being part of the crowd in the mid-fourties waiting for the men of war to return. It has a mixture of celebration, "..they were dancing in the streets...Margarita..with her long black hair hanging down beneath the red light...", and sadness "..just staring at a photograph and she began to cry, for a boy left behind in the war..." It makes me appreciate a little more what war does to a community, as well as a country.
The next track, "Fire on the Water" holds a special place in my heart as it was the first Chris de Burgh song that I ever heard. I saw him perform it in a video and I couldn't take my eyes of the T.V. It is a passionate song with a raw edge that will keep it resounding in your head for days after listening to it.
"The Ballroom of Romance" is one of my wife's favorites. It is an upbeat, hard hitting song about a "local casanova" being picked up by the most beautiful woman in the room and spending the wee hours making love on the beach. I think possibly this fellow got a little of his own medicine in the end-the woman taking the initiative and then leaving him in the morning "..the last thing I remember was her kiss".
"The Lady in Red". This is probably the most well known of all Chris' music. It put him on the bestseller charts and is still a favorite of many. It is a revealing song where he tells his lady everything he is feeling in his heart when he regards her. He is clearly in love with her and wants her to know that he feels lucky that she is his. Always gets me to the dance floor, (and I hate to dance).
"Say Goodbye To It All". In this track Chris reverts back to the war theme with his "Part 2" to his popular "Borderline" When we last left our lovers, he was off to war and she had to stay behind. Now they are reunited "..long years since I left her at the borderline, how she found me, I'll never know, we decided there and then, to say good bye to it all." Later, married and expecting,they settle down near the beaches where some of the most bloody battles of WWII took place. A great song full of history and romance.
"The Spirit of Man" is my favorite track on the album and is one of my top 5 of all of Chris' songs. It is a great, inspirational song that will definitely lift you up if you are feeling down. It is about the struggle of life and the power we all have inside us to do great things. It is about human achievement and accomplishment. "Yea we work-aha-for that moment of elation" -You don't have to work for it-Just listen to this song!!
"Fatal Hesitation". This is truly a sad song about a fellow who couldn't, for whatever reason, tell the woman he loves that he loved her before she left and went home. Now it is too late "..but fatal hesitation, made me miss the show" He tries to convince himself that reading a little Shakespeare will help him get over her. We know it will not.
"One Word (Straight to the Heart)". This is a great song to listen to while doing as this fellow is-driving. He has come to the realization that he must tell his girl his feelings right away, this time with no hesitation. "..nothing is moving as I speed from town to town." The music in this song is perfect for the mood of the song-namely-urgent. It is fast and you sense this fellow's urgency to get his message to his girl. This was one of my favorites when I heard it performed live.
"Rosanna". Now if this song doesn't bring a tear to your eyes, especially if you are a parent, then you are a mighty cold person. It is Chris' own personal feelings that he had when he regards his first born. "I'll never forget when I saw you first, I thought that my heart would burst, with the love that I have." It is a testimonial to his love for his daughter. He tells how he will be there to experience everything in her life and assures her he will be there to shield her when life gets rough. It is basically what we all feel for our children, but Chris puts it best. Another of my all time favorites. It always gives me goosebumps.
"The Leader/The Vision/What About Me?". This is a trilogy and each part cleverly flows into the next. The Leader starts out in the battlefield before the fight, next in The Vision the tempo of the songs speeds up , this is a very uplifting and exciting part of the song with the exclamation "..and I saw fire from the sky, I saw fire, and I saw paradise." I am not sure totally what Chris was trying to outline here, but as usual Chris likes to leave us with something to think about in his final track. "What about me,and you, and the ones that we love...well what about us?" Again makes us think of the sensibilities and consequences of any type of war.
This is probably an album that many people bought when The Lady in Red hit he charts, and I hope that those who have a copy of it discovered the magic of Chris' music through this album and find it as pleasing a journey as I still do. I can't give this a rating, really, as I don't like to compare it with his early stuff nor do I want to contrast it with his latest releases. Suffice it to say that it is a great album with enough variety in content and sounds to please anyone. It will make you think, and who knows-You may learn something!!
File last modified on October 11th, 1996