Daniel Amos: Shotgun Angel (1977)

Tracks:  

1. Days and Nights
2. Black Gold Fever
3. Praise Song
4. Father's Arms
5. Meal
6. Shotgun Angel
7. Finale: Bereshith Overture
8. Lady Goodbye
9. The Whistler
10. He's Gonna Do a Number on You
11. Better
12. Sail Me Away
13. Posse in the Sky

In just a year, Daniel Amos had undergone some key changes that ultimately paid big dividends.  Steve Baxter had moved on and the Amos Gang brought in Mark Cook, a keyboard player with songwriting skills, and Ed McTaggart, their first and only permanent drummer for the next three decades.   More importantly, a slow mutation has already begun within the genetic code of the band.  They're still gospel-singing cowboys who preach the Word of God; but now they're mixing more California sunshine with the Texas tumbleweeds.  And they're developing an ambitious and artsy backbone that would only grow stronger in the future.  The first stage of the metamorphosis only took a year to be fleshed out in one of their best records, Shotgun Angel.

First of all, they're now playing a clever but radio-friendly version of California country-rock that maximizes the strengths of both styles: Tasteful, guitar-driven pop songs with the trademark DA harmonies, aggressive solos, and electric piano flourishes.  They've also lightened up on the preachy aspects of their first record, still singing Jesus music but now using metaphors and narratives to convey the message.  They've condensed the sermons into the two novelty numbers, "Black Gold Fever" and "Meal", the former a country boogie about oil, the latter a goofy pastiche of sound effects and weird chatter about food--spiritual, that is.  Both songs are banged out at ridiculously fast tempos--another advantage of having a full-time  drummer.  Thanks, Ed.

But there are also some truly beautiful moments.  The opening song, "Days and Nights" makes use of romantic metaphor in describing the sense of longing for heaven that permeates the album.  "Praise Song" is just as its title suggests, however, it's written in a minor key and played in a lush waltz time, so it's not exactly something that might be sung in a church setting.  

But the big hit off of the album was "Father's Arms," a brilliantly-constructed piece of late 70s pop that features driving beats, strings, and the first of Chamberlain's many great guitar solos.  Very much of its time, and yet timeless as well.  The title track is a trucker song written by Bill Sprouse, Jr., and DA polish it up and make it shine with harmonies and country rhythms, including an infectious coda that seems to go on forever.

Then the world literally comes to an end on the second half of the album.  The cowboys morph into a Western version of the Moody Blues and take on the book of Revelation.  Leading off with a "Finale" (?), a brief symphonic interlude leads to a series of songs about the last days.  "Lady Goodbye" bids farewell to the raptured church, and then the troubles come.  "The Whistler" tells of the coming of the Antichrist, "He's Gonna Do a Number on You" is about the Mark of the Beast, and "Better" exposes the delusion of wealth, peace, and safety in a post-apocalyptic world.  Kind of timely, really.  Then "Sail Me Away" is another beautiful ballad about the Second Coming and how believers must forsake everything to be with Christ.  As the ballad fades out, we hear bombs bursting and guns firing, and then Christ comes to pass final judgment on the evil, condemned world with His "Posse in the Sky."

This is the only place where I am disappointed with the album.  This is the climactic moment of history, the Final Judgment, Jesus Christ on a white horse leading legions of angels to destroy Satan's kingdom, and the band chooses to sing about this epic ending with...a melancholy cowboy ballad?  I mean, I wasn't expecting Led Zeppelin or "Nights in White Satin" or anything, but surely Terry and the guys could have come up with something more dramatic than a tune that clops along like "Peaceful Easy Feeling."  With lyrics like "And when the faithful disappear/The world will take it's final turns/The showdown's exactly what some fear/Millions die, the land is burned", the music needs to be more than just a country shuffle.  But then again, DA have always been a band that defies expectations; it would be like them to end the world with a little bit of sad romanticism.  

Several years later, DA would re-release the suite of songs as The Revelation, intermingling Scripture readings from Calvary Chapel pastor Chuck Smith.  They closed that album out with an excellent song called "Soon!" that would have fit perfectly at the end of Shotgun Angel.  But I guess they hadn't written that one yet.  Still, in spite of this letdown, the album still succeeds in that it shows a band willing to take chances, make solid contemporary music, and pay tribute to its roots while exploring new frontiers.  Most importantly, they show a glimpse of a World beyond this one that's vast and beautiful.