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Sally Timms
In the World of Him
Touch and Go
By Marianne Ebertowski
 In
the world of him
Girly men waltz sweetly
Across the borders of skin
Latex icons line the walls
Like toy soldiers in a sex army
Up Uncle Norbert's skirt
A patriotic wind blows
Stiffening his mighty sword
Jesus waits behind the counter
For the soldiers to return
From a long march to Bethlehem
(Johnny Dowd: "139 Hernalser Gürtel")
If the above lyrics shock you, read no further and don't try
to listen to this album: it may seriously damage your health;
if they at least make you curious, join me on this
strange trip through a world of war and pain and anxiety, the
"world of him" as described by other men, but interpreted
by a woman. The woman who also contributes one self-written
song is Leeds ex-pat and Chicago resident since many years, Sally
Timms. Timms, who immigrated from the declining industrial landscape
of West Yorkshire to the "convention city of the world"
in the early nineties as part of the Mekons' punk collective,
is dedicated to two kinds of music: punk/agit-pop and country
(alt. or.-less.). In 1998, she put out a cover album with pure
country music (Cowboy Sally's Twilight's Lament for Lost
Buckaroos).
Her new cover album is a lot more daring. Not only musically,
where it ranges from country to punk to electronic bleeps to
pre-WWII European cabaret music, but most of all because of her
endeavor to interpret the songs from under a man's skin. Unfortunately,
what promises to be a travel to the "heart of darkness,"
quickly turns into a rather confusing and not always profoundly
interesting excursion. Rather than whispering "the horror,"
you are tempted to scream "so what?" Many times and
mostly that is because Timm's choice of songs is either predictable
(more of the same, i.e. Mekons and Langford) or so off-the-wall
that you ask yourself why on earth she is taking you to a place
like this.
For example, Jon Langford's "Sentimental Marching Song"
shocks and awes the listener with rather unusual weapons of mass
entertainment like a toy store xylorimba followed by a threatening
layer of guitar feedback and lap-top generated beats. Above
that wall of noise Timms breathes "are all men the same,
born to brutalize?" Now this is a pretty harsh statement,
but keep in mind that it's a man asking the question after all.
Still, what does this all mean against the knowledge that more
and more women apparently feel "born to brutalize"
as well? So, what is the point of the song in this context?
That some men start asking this question whereas women tend to
remain in self-denial? Now, that would be an interesting
conclusion.
From "Sentimental Marching Song" to the Mekons classic
"Corporal Chalkie," is not a long way. Of course, you
can ask yourself why Timms would want to record this well-known
song on which she has already sung lead, but it has to be said
that her vocal interpretation, a husky, intense Marianne Faithful-like
rendition is nothing short of brilliant. After that, the trip
through the world of him starts to get exhausting and dangerous
as we cautiously wade through the electronically created bubbling
mud on Mark Eitzel's "God's Eternal Love." "Your
death is only the key to their future and your children are just
pigs they will roast." No embedded journalism here, this
is an uncensored observation from the trenches. Can we take
more of this?
Maybe not, but that should not be a reason to enter shallow
ground. Sean Garrison's "High Dosage" remains bleak
and forgettable and, unfortunately, that's the same for Johnny
Dowd's "139 Hernalser Gürtel." Dowd who is also
the co-producer of this album and plays electric guitar on it,
deserves better, but you could say that's his own fault
The real surprise is the choice of "Fools We Are As Men"
written by no one else than alt.country icon Ryan Adams. It
may not be Adam's strongest song, it may not even be particularly
about men, but Sally Timm's breathy interpretation is wonderful
and it's a relief to hear a purely acoustic song (just guitar
and accordion) among all the laptop-created noises. After that,
the bleep goes on with the Mekons playing their own song "Bomb."
This is a rather boring protest song that drags its tired ass
through well-covered cliché land. Come back, Phil Ochs,
all is forgotten! "Things are better now we have the bomb,"
like, yeah, which bomb are we talking about and, by the way,
what has this got to do with "the world of him?" Bombs
may be smart these days, but they still can't make a difference
between genders.
Another surprise and highlight of the album is Kevin Coyne's
"I'm Just a Man," a song written in the seventies by
a man who is probably not very well known in the States, but
who has been a cult hero in the UK and the rest of Europe for
a long time. It's a beautiful love song with staggering slide
guitar delivered by Johnny Dowd, where a man tries to explain
why he refuses marriage.
It's not that I even want to marry you
Because marrying you would mean
That I have to chain you
Chain you not choose you.
Maybe that's a very seventies way of thinking, it's still
worthwhile to consider. It could cut down the amount of divorces
for a good deal, but, again, why is this song so typical for
"the world of him"?
The closer "Little Tommy Tucker," written by Sally
Timms is as uncanny as "Candy Man" (the movie). You
know it's "just a story," but you don't dare to look
into the mirror and speak out loud. It's a horrifying tale,
but couldn't it have been just as well "Little Evie Tucker?"
I rest confused, but that's okay, I can live with that. In
the World of Him comes out too lightweight for the heavy
endeavor it pretends to be. Still, it provides food for thought
and it would be worthwhile to repeat this exercise with a collection
of more appropriate songs. It would also be interesting to see
a man having a go at "the world of her" and I think
I know just the guy to be trusted with it: Mr. Johnny Dowd!
http://www.billions.com/artists/sallyt
http://www.tgrec.com
Contact Marianne Ebertowski at ebertowski-at-rockzilla.net
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