Comment:

110 minutes long. "I saw the cities of many men and learned their manners." Homer's Odyssey. I have traversed the large metropolis that is Toronto many times. By car, foot, cab, subway, bus, streetcar. There is a never ending array of sights and things to do in a big city. This album tries to capture a day in the life (albeit a busy day) of a person in the city. The first side opens with dreams and the end of them (Uptwon), dawn break (Dawn), getting out into the city (In the City), the manic rush to work (Cars), entering the great beast (Metropolis), the deconstruction and athropomorphism of it (Subdivisions), the feeling of being small and insignificant (Side Streets, with motorcycle effects), the mad lunacy that goes on in a city (Ghetto Defendant & Inoculated City), a break from it all (Street Dance), reflections on the day (It's Hard to Be A Saint In the City), and the beginning of twilight (Starless, a city sky is starless). The second side represents the nightlife of the city (Downtown), the beginning of twilight (Twilight), what happens as the night grows near (Freaks Come Out At Night), the full bore of night downtown (Neon Lights, the full 9 minute version), the lonely people that work at night (The Night Watch), the random fights and murders that happen (Street Fight), cruising the streets and going clubing (Da Funk, with street sounds), the perils of public transportation and gangs (Down in the Tube Station at Midnight, with tube effects), the melancholy mood that abounds during the dead of night (Blade Runner Blues), the illusion of companionship in a lonely city (Dirty Women), and the final trek home (Main Title (from Taxi Driver). The album cover is a piece of concept art from Blade Runner. Unless you have been living in a cave, most will know the second image is a famous piece from Metropolis. I think I will go out now, and watch some neon lights...

Feedback: