David Ackles
American Gothic

There is no doubt that David Ackles represented an anomaly for his time. This is evident from his eponymous debut album: each song is marked by a baritone that whispers with the sorrow of a condemned man (see "What a happy day," well, one sees such a title and expects a song sung with enthusiasm, but no...), accompanied by a solemn organ, a piano that maneuvers through non-virtuosic yet not banal scores, an electric guitar that yearns more for sweetness than roughness (exemplary in this is the ethereal solo that "sublimates" the finale of the splendid "Down River"), and finally, concerning a story that, by focusing on the everyday, reveals an uncommon depth.

Unfortunately, uniqueness does not always "pay off." A musical personality different from the multitude deserves to be explored, the listener must "venture" into their songs, grasping the details and nuances. Unfortunately, not everyone who listens to music wants to "delve deeper"; they approach songs as if they were products to be consumed quickly and "offhand." The talented Ackles has always written eclectic, deep, and "elegiac" songs (sometimes even capable of being ironic), and this, of course, did not "pay off." He is one of those who sold a few hundred records in life, composing objectively good music, and who is still waiting to be rediscovered. Ackles will never be known to the general public, but if fate is kind to him, at least post-mortem (yes, he died in 2001 from cancer), it will re-evaluate him for a significant number of ears that love the noblest songwriter music. Such an eventuality, that is, to be brought back to light after decades of obscurity, is something that has not seldomly happened, so I hope it happens for Mr. Ackles as well. In the meantime, I'm trying to make a small contribution to ensure that this can happen.

The American singer-songwriter in question boasts a brief but dense career: four records, the first published in 1968 (at thirty-one years old, another peculiarity in an era full of stars but also anti-divas who, even before reaching the third decade of life, had already flooded us with pearls), the last in 1973. Each of them, in my opinion, is at least excellent. What brought the curtain down on his professional career as a musician is the hostility towards the recording industry, and certainly not the lack of commercial success (something his music never aspired to).

The best legacy is undoubtedly "American Gothic," released in 1972. Those who have listened to it know it is a masterpiece and that it represents a notable episode in the ocean of 20th-century American music. The melodies are splendid, the arrangements unfold refined and orchestral (a piece of information: the orchestra is directed by Robert Kirby, a guy who honed with his skill the songs from the debut album of... that's it, the more informed know whom and what I am referring to!) and nod to Kurt Weill (our man, who has stopped releasing albums but not continuing to cultivate his passion for music in private, in old age will direct "The Threepenny Opera" in some Californian theater), to the American masters of the "cultivated song" (Gershwin, Carmichael, Berlin, etc.), but also to folk, jazz, and gospel, and the lyrics deserve at least a glance.

The title track is already a gem: the piano "leads the dance," then winds its way into the brass, and finally, Ackles’ declamatory voice leads us into the depths of a married couple's unhappiness (specifically, it talks about a wife filling her farmer husband with betrayals, of which he must withstand in silence, "praying to God to survive another week"). Then comes the turn of a wonderful piano ballad: "Love's Enough," on the transience of love. In my opinion, it's another masterpiece within the masterpiece. On the same wavelength, steeped in romance and regrets, is "One Night Stand." Much darker and more vibrant is "Ballad of the ship state." Another notable piece is "Oh California" (it would fit well in Randy Newman's repertoire, another somewhat overlooked master), dealing with an individual's return to sunny California after wandering all over the nation. One listen is enough to remember the instrumental finale, somewhat solemn, somewhat humorous. Another highlight of the work is "Another Friday Night," the story of someone hoping to redeem themselves from everyday boredom, still believing in their dreams despite everything. Musically speaking, one first encounters a very delicate intro based on the sweetest piano and the "sighs" of the trumpets, then Ackles’ whispered voice which, however, in the gentle rise of the "instrumental frame" during the chorus, gains strength. A demonstration of eclecticism is the autobiographical gospel of "Family Band," where the narrator seeks hope in memories of the distant past (and thus it is discovered that Ackles grew up in a family of musicians only, educated in the Christian faith). It is followed by two episodes where the music, always chameleonic in accommodating the moods of the song's protagonists, serves as a backdrop to raw and bitter lyrics: "Midnight Carousel" and "Blues For Billy Whitecloud," the latter about a Native American who plants a bomb inside his former high school. A thoughtful and absorbed elegy is "Waiting for the moving van." The task of closing an album that borders on perfection falls to "Montana Song," another gem, which is the longest episode and represents the "synthesis" of everything previously listened to and read: humor and bitterness, regret and sweetness, hope and disappointment, loss and discovery, endurance and collapse, and so on.

Some may blame me for the excessive length of the piece, and for this, I ask for forgiveness. However, it seemed right to me to give much space to a humble and talented American singer-songwriter who received less than he gave.