Someone on here a bit ago asked me if I would write and post a review of Grey, once I got it. I actually started listening to it streaming long before the CD and vinyl arrived, but it felt rather poetic to wait to comment on it, until after I had the physical media.
Going to meander through the songs, out of order.
I read or saw an interview where Kiefer said he thought this album was more autobiographical than his others, less him "telling stories."
I disagree. I also started streaming a MASSIVE playlist of every song he's released, organized by album. To give a more informed response to this one, and just because. It's not a hardship to listen to his voice pumping through the speakers in my car LET me tell you WHAT. 🤣
There seemed to be a fair amount of lyrics that at least feel autobiographical or MIGHT be, throughout his body of work (I say this obviously without knowing him). Whereas others stand out as more blatantly "fictional."
And Grey includes two songs that seem like storytelling tracks. "American Farmer" and "Rage in Me." At least, I rather HOPE "Rage in Me" isn't about himself. Because DAMN. There's a lyric about you better run because he's reaching for his g*n, etc. (Trying to avoid getting flagged there.)
I didn't really have any strong feelings about "American Farmer" either way, but you maybe get the sense he relates to the idea of this character. Life not panning out quite as hoped. Worn down by circumstance.
Which may sound outrageous on the surface, but SUPPOSEDLY, according to an anonymous source close to him who gave an interview to Yahoo, he does feel like the current trajectory of his acting career isn't what he'd hoped for. That he'd wanted the staying power of his father. Not to find that people seem overall to care less about what he has to say now, than they did when he was in his twenties, etc.
Something like that.
But I suppose all that should be taken with a heap of salt.
Overall, the album is stylistically a fun mix. I found some of the vocals to have a gritty quality I associate with blues. There are some songs that definitely lean further into country, twang and all. "Simpler Time" feels very country to me. Not that I'm an expert on the genre. Just the vibe I get.
The lyrics to that one sometimes hit me wrong, because I feel like the "good old days" weren't so great, for a lot of people. LGBTIQA+ people included. It's maybe kind of a sheltered point of view to adopt.
But we'll let that go. While there are some lyrical references to life being simpler politically, etc., it seems MOSTLY about memories of a childhood in small towns.
The track I linked here is one of my favorites, along with "Goodbye California." And the California one, I shared when it released prior to the rest of the album, because I loved it so damn much.
"Goodbye California" I would say leans classic rock. The guitar stylistically reminds me a little of Tom Petty songs. Still twangy but not as country about it? And I couldn't resist it, given my own (albeit somewhat sheltered) nostalgia for my time in Los Angeles.
He mentions the Starlight in two songs, "Goodbye California," and "Starlight." It seems likely those bits are from his life. And I did read somewhere he was leaving California and moving to upstate New York.
"Starlight" is so bittersweet. He sounds so world-weary.
Very emotive piano, if I'm hearing correctly.
"Down Below." Yowza, that one is a lot of fun. It feels very Southern Gothic. The tone of the vocals and the lyrics lend themselves to multiple interpretations. Is the woman leading him "down below" a supernatural being? Or is that just a metaphor?
He mentions his soul, meeting her at the crossroads, etc. Whereas at first, the lyrics reflect passionate love, like the "down below" is purely erotic. Or literal, about the banks of the nearby water. Or both. I dig that kind of slight ooky-spooky-but-still-sexy. I guess depending on how you interpret that song, it could go either way-- potentially autobiographical or fictive.
"Cruel World" is very much what you might expect by the name. Like a lyrical self-unaliving letter. Euphemism again to hopefully not get flagged by tumblr. Again, I HOPE this one isn't fully from his heart. Because that would make me INCREDIBLY sad.
Not that I fail to understand how you can simultaneously be loved by so so many people and still question the meaning or the point of your existence. I get that. SO very much.
I just hate to think of someone I admire going through it.
The album title ties into the lyrics to "Third Time's a Charm." About the sky turning back to "grey," as the sun is coming up, maybe hidden behind cloud cover, or just that gray pre-dawn light, and the streetlights just "died."
There's so much sad longing in this one. Maybe lyrically not so complex, but the concrete images and the sound of it are so incredibly beautiful. Very vivid lyrically, even if seemingly more literal. You can picture the scene he's painting with the vocals.
I found myself singing along to "The Bottle Let Me Down," after work today. I don't drink at this point. But there's a relatable element to that whole "can't drink you off my mind" trope, regardless. For me, anyway.
I think I only ever tried to drink my way over someone on one occasion. It was just never my poison of choice. Unrequited love, bitter memories, regrets... these I think are still pretty universal, however one tries to cope.
It's a catchy song. I think this one might feel the bluesiest to me. The chorus is so compelling. There may be some truth in this one, too, but I don't want to get too far into all that. We all have our flaws. Our weaknesses. Our addictions.
OH the other thing I wanted to comment on... some of the songs have a backup chorus that evokes something like gospel music. "The Bottle Let Me Down" is one of those. As is "Rage in Me."
The bluesy/kind of Tom Petty-ish tracks might be more along the lines of what within his work is labelled "Americana," which I will admit I am rather fuzzy on, as far as defining features of the genre. But in case you know more about it than I do, I'm including that observation.
I think I shared "Come Back Down" when this album first went live on Spotify. That one is pretty great, too. A hint of country twang to the guitar. Intense disillusionment. A feeling of great emotional exhaustion.
This album feels very heavy, overall. Gorgeous, but often sad.
But I'm really grateful I was able to pick up a copy, special edition with the autographed art card, no less. It was worth it. And if the more tragic lyrics were pretty true to life, I hope creating the album brought him some peace.
