Monday, February 18, 2019

The 1984 Listening Post - Spear of Destiny - One Eyed Jacks

Spear of Destiny - One Eyed Jacks


#179
1984 Housekeeping
Spear of Destiny
One Eyed Jacks
4.5 out of 5


Highlights:
Rainmaker
Young Men
Don’t Turn Away
Liberator

That’s the great thing about this project. It isn’t about just going through the year and reviewing every record. It’s about finding the things I didn’t know existed, missed me, stuff I ignored or didn’t have the money to try. 
I loved The Alarm. How did I not hear Spear of Destiny? They take the mid-19th century American sound of conflict and somehow give it almost as much or more urgency than The Alarm or U2 and yet…where were they on this scene? This might sound weird but if Nick Cave fronted those bands it might sound a bit like this. Not in vocal style but in a heart wrenching, soul on fire way. “Turn Me Away” being the apex of this for me.
“Liberator” is what Violent Femmes’s Hallowed Ground could’ve sounded like if Gordon Gano was older and British. And that’s just side one. The second one is more reflective and less bombastic (if you can call “Playground of the Rich” anything but bombastic…) but it aims straight for the should and nails it every time. 
 I want Spear of Destiny to cover Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. And vice versa. 

This gets me right in my anarcho-patriotic heart. 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBJ7ztNazTVDxLeUm79DyySWabTBUh_I4

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