The 1980 Listening Post - Legend (OK) - Legend

 Reviewed by Kelly Hoben

Released: 1980 Legend (OK) Legend Genre: Southern Rock Rating: 1.9 out of 5 Highlights: (skilled lead guitar) Lowlight: Carolina (a boring ballad that like every other song is just way too long) The optimistic opening of Legend inspires me to crack open a cold one and don my jorts for some fun in the sun. But this song, like the rest of the album, quickly overwhelms with too much speed, too many instruments, and too many notes. The vocals are unfortunately crystal clear. I find myself enjoying the long instrumental parts despite the excessive noodling more than the amateurish lyrics and vocals that often fall flat. Legend tries desperately to emulate the big hitters of 70’s southern rock, and the fun guitar solos are generally impressive. But the speedy, mechanical rhythm puts no swing in my denim cut-offs. I don’t know if it was the knowledge that ‘The Reason Why’ is the last song on the album and freedom was growing closer with every second, but I found the first half of this song pleasantly nostalgic. It reminds me of being too little to see into the front seat of an Oldsmobile where a cracked window lets cold air and cigarette smoke whip across my face. It’s past my bedtime, and we’re passing under streetlamps whose beams periodically change the inside of my eyelids from black to orange. Then with just one beat of warning, the song erupts into fast, senseless rock, and I imagine my little eyes popping open to behold the golden arches on the side of the road. One of the grown-ups twists the volume knob to the left and refuses my request for a drive-through Happy Meal. I sink back down into the giant seat and let the streetlights wash over me as the radio crackles. How much longer until we are home? The plain lyrics of the album express yearning to find freedom, to shake the memories of a failed love, or to elude death by running away on horses and trains. The desperation of both the sentiments and the music is contained in limited dynamics and lack of nuance. It rushes forth without understanding how to escape itself. Billy Joe Stange has commented on YouTube in a way that suggests even he nearly forgot the album existed, but that he believes in his heart there’s something in it for listeners of today to enjoy, and judging by the remarks of other commenters, there is. But overall, I can’t say that I count myself among those listeners.