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Rating: 1979: "Flag". An hybrid album between the pure singer-songwriter style of the '70s and the more pop style of a seasoned entertainer of the '80s. The first track "Company Man" is a classic Taylor song, which doesn't particularly thrill but doesn't disappoint either, with a classic Taylor opening: a few plucked strings and then a sweet and velvety vocal melody that paces the song… The first five seconds are enough for us to exclaim: 'It's the same good old James!'. The second track is also nice: "Johhny Comes back".
The same cannot be said for the third track, perhaps the worst piece in the artist’s entire discography: the remake of "Day Tripper". Annoying sound, completely lost the charm of the original, James's splendid voice here really has nothing to say. Fortunately, the album recovers in the second half. In "B. S. U. R." a contagious and truly engaging chorus bursts forth, dealing with the theme of the difficult expression of one's personality, masked by an unreal facade. Wonderful "Millworker", a fantastic song with a tear-jerking melody, about the resigned life of a widow, condemned to the monotony, toil, and tedium of her work to feed her children: "Then it's me and my machine... for the rest of the morning... for the rest of the afternoon... for the rest of my life". Yet another great song with great lyrics: the concluding "Sleep Come Free Me", where a murderous prisoner finds sleep as his only refuge and momentary freedom.
Besides the aforementioned, noteworthy are: "Up On the Roof" by Gerry Goffin and Carol King, "Rainy Day Man" (already included in a different version on the artist's first album), and lastly the delicate, soft and subtly melancholic "Chanson Française". It's not Taylor's best, but his human and musical sensitivity, in some pieces, emerges, making them unforgettable.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
07 B.S.U.R. (03:23)
She's been holding on too long Hoping I'm gonna change Giving it up just a little bit more Each time I come home Looking and acting strange Putting her down for putting up with me (Chorus) Be as you are As you see as I am I am Be as you are As you see as I am I am Do you think you might improve me Trying to take control Watching every little thing I do Just like a bleeding movie Just like a leading role Mama, this ain't me and I don't Believe that's you - Chorus - First you make believe I believe the things That you make believe And I'm bound to let you down Then it's I who have been deceiving Purposely misleading And all along you believed in me So we circle around one another Playing a [not "I"] guessing game Strangers at this masquerade Pretending to know each other We strain to catch a name And never see the mistakes we must have made - Chorus -
09 Millworker (03:52)
Now my grandfather was a sailor
He blew in off the water
My father was a farmer
And I, his only daughter
Took up with a no good millworking man
From Massachusetts
Who dies from too much whiskey
And leaves me these three faces to feed
Millwork ain't easy
Millwork ain't hard
Millwork it ain't nothing
But an awful boring job
I'm waiting (on) a daydream
To take me through the morning
And put me in my coffee break
Where I can have a sandwich
And remember
Then it's me and my machine
For the rest of the morning
(and) the rest of the afternoon
And the rest of my life
Now my mind begins to wander
To the days back on the farm
I can see my father smiling at me
Swinging on his arm
I can hear my granddad's stories
Of the storms out on Lake Eerie
Where vessels and cargos and fortunes
And sailors' lives were lost
(Yeah), but it's my life has been wasted
And I have been the fool
To let this manufacturer
Use my body for a tool
(I'll) ride home in the evening
Staring at my hands
Swearing by my sorrow that a young girl
Ought to stand a better chance
So may I work the mills just as long as I am able
And never meet the man whose name is on the label
(still it's)me and my machine
For the rest of the morning
And the rest of the afternoon (and on and on and on...)
for the rest of my life
10 Up on the Roof (04:21)
When this old world starts a getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I'm gonna climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below, it don't bother me
No no no
So when I come home feeling tired and beat
I'll go up where the air is fresh and sweet for me now
I'get far away from the husteling crowd
And all that rat race noise down in the street
Oh on the roof, that's the only place that I know
Look at the city baby
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Lets go up on my roof
And at night the stars, they put on a show for free
And darlin' you can share it all with me
Hear what I say
Keep on tellin' you that
Right smack dab in the middle of town
I've found a paradise just about trouble proof
And if this old world starts a getting you down
Well there's room enough for two up on my roof
Up on the roof
Up on the roof
Up on the roof, ohh
Everything is alright
Everything is alright
Come on
Put down what your doing tonight
And climb up the stairs and then you'll see me
We got the stars up above us and the city lights below
ohh ohhh ohhh
Up on the roof
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