I Must Confess, St. Ace is Amazing
John Wesley Harding is the best singer/songwriter you've
never heard of
by Jessica Liese '01
Arts & Entertainment Editor
The Mount Holyoke News
September 14, 2000
Over the course of an eleven-year career, he has collaborated and performed with such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Steve Earle and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. You may have heard his song "I'm Wrong About Everything" on the soundtrack to the recent John Cusack comedy High Fidelity. A dynamic presence on the stage, he has performed all over the world, including several gigs at the Iron Horse in Northampton.
Despite all of these distinctions, John Wesley Harding has kept a relatively low profile in the music world. This talented musician has not received half the credit he deserves. His latest album, The Confessions of St. Ace, is one more in a long line of excellent recordings that will hopefully garner a few new converts as well as paint a silly, dreamlike grin on the faces of longtime fans.
The name "John Wesley Harding" recalls a classic Bob Dylan album (Wes, as fans and friends call him, was christened Wesley Harding Stace and did indeed take his stage name from Dylan's song), and there are definitely shades of Dylan in his brutally honest, melody-rich creations. However, Wes' songs also contain a spcial form of glib self-deprecation and dark humor that appeals to the intelligent skeptic in all of us.
This is Wes' eighth album, released on his new label, Mammoth Records, on August 29th. St. Ace, a play on his given name, is a pleasing blend of ballads and rock songs, of gallows humor and heart-wrenching solemnity.
Once you've inserted the CD and pressed the play button, it becomes clear that Wes is no ordinary singer-songwriter. No other album has ever been as rife with obscure references to Greek mythology, the Bible, 80s club culture, The Canterbury Tales and the Confessions of St. Augustine. His clever, irreverent lyrics cover the tired topics of love and loss with fresh cynicism, sprinkled throughout with such well-crafted couplets as "Now I'm as good as Ebenezer after his conversion/I'd give all my goods away with no coercion/I'd give almost anything/just to hear the hum of your wings."
In "Goth Girl," he paints a witty picture of a typical suburban teenage rebel, a consumer of black vinyl and heavy eye makeup who has attracted his unrequited affections: "You can try to hide behind your bangs/as you sit there on the wall and bare your fangs at men like me/but one day I'm gonna kiss the lipstick off your mouth." One begins to suspect that any battle of wits with Wes would be a losing one.
Wes has always flavored his songs with his dark sense of humor, from his first single, 1989's "The Devil in Me" from Here Comes the Groom, which reminds the truly geeky among us of a young Warren Zevon. But St. Ace is the first time the humor has truly pointed inward. Wes mixes deeply serious emotions with self-deprecating wisecracks midsong. After his most recent two albums, one of which consisted excluively of folk covers, this is a welcome peek inside his head.
There are really no awful or even mediorcre songs on this album, but the standout is the heartbreakingly beautiful "Too Much into Nothing". Wes addresses the common theme of overanalyzing to the point of obsession with a fresh succinctness. "Am I reading too much into the things you do?/And do they mean the same to you?/Am I reading too much into nothing?" he sings. Most of us have all been there at some point. Chances are you too will find yourself wondering who this Wes guy is and how he knows so much about your life.
But Wes doesn't just spin tales of lost and unrequited love. He covers nearly every aspect of human relationships and separation, from death ("People Love to Watch You Die") to distance ("Our Lady of the Highways") to unplanned pregnancy ("Bad Dream Baby").
It's rare to find an album with such intelligently written lyrics. It's even rarer for that album to be as strong where the music is concerned. But melodically, some tunes on St. Ace are catchy and practically beg to be sung along with, while others just exude a calming, reflective presence. Wes has a beautiful singing voice that is difficult to describe. Sincere and strong, it possesses a down-to-earth countrylike richness and a slight accent that faintly betrays his British roots. It is a perfect showcase for his lyrics.
I highly recommend this album to fans of any kind of rock. Whether you prefer lighthearted pop, mournful ballads, or lyrics that border on poetry, The Confessions of St. Ace will defintely earn a place of honor on your CD shelf.