Grand. Epic. Perfect song to close SRO. Perfect song to end a rock show. They closed their encore with Angels & Fuselage at the Electric Factory in Philly last April. It was my first time hearing it live. I was sitting by myself in the balcony off to the Cooley side of the stage and I was able to name that tune in about 3 notes, all of 2 seconds. I just sat back, sipped on my jack and diet, big smile on my face. I knew I had about 10 minutes of rock and roll/dbt/guitar bliss coming my way.



Looking out the window, the trees are getting closer it seems.
Thinking bout you Darling.
Adding up the cost of these dreams.

Strapped to this projectile, just a blink ago I was back in school.
Smoking by the gym door, practicing my rock-star attitude

And I'm scared shitless of what's coming next.
I'm scared shitless, these angels I see in the trees are waiting for me.

The engines have stopped now. We all know we are going down. Last call for alcohol.
Sure wish I could have another round.

And I'm scared shitless of what's coming next.
Scared shitless, these angels I see in the trees are waiting for me.
Waiting for me.

Friends in the swamp.
Friends on the ground, in the trees.
Angels and fuselage.

a simply astonishing song.

the interpolation of guitar lines from Let There Be Rock is brilliant

One of the greatest songs I ever heard. You need to catch this one live to really understand how incredible it is.

Zip City wrote:
the interpolation of guitar lines from Let There Be Rock is brilliant

Will you elaborate on this, please?

weeny wrote:One of the greatest songs I ever heard. You need to catch this one live to really understand how incredible it is.

Zip City wrote:
the interpolation of guitar lines from Let There Be Rock is brilliant

Will you elaborate on this, please?

Listen to the 3 guitar melody line at the end of LTBR (the part with the canned applause under it) and compare it to the bass line/piano line near the end of Angels (right before the big, low piano chord)

Few songs have ever so perfectly captured their subject like this song. There is no doubt that this exactly what being in a crashing plane feels like.

Zip City wrote:

weeny wrote:One of the greatest songs I ever heard. You need to catch this one live to really understand how incredible it is.

Zip City wrote:
the interpolation of guitar lines from Let There Be Rock is brilliant

Will you elaborate on this, please?

Listen to the 3 guitar melody line at the end of LTBR (the part with the canned applause under it) and compare it to the bass line/piano line near the end of Angels (right before the big, low piano chord)

That is brilliant. Thank you. Learn something new everyday with this band.

weeny wrote:

Zip City wrote:
Listen to the 3 guitar melody line at the end of LTBR (the part with the canned applause under it) and compare it to the bass line/piano line near the end of Angels (right before the big, low piano chord)

That is brilliant. Thank you. Learn something new everyday with this band.

x2. Nice one Zip.

Zip City wrote:

weeny wrote:One of the greatest songs I ever heard. You need to catch this one live to really understand how incredible it is.

Zip City wrote:
the interpolation of guitar lines from Let There Be Rock is brilliant

Will you elaborate on this, please?

Listen to the 3 guitar melody line at the end of LTBR (the part with the canned applause under it) and compare it to the bass line/piano line near the end of Angels (right before the big, low piano chord)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the recurring use of musical movements a big part of what makes an opera an opera? You see it with the recurring riffs in Days of Graduation/Southern Thing, and Road Cases/Plastic Flowers. Just another example of the brilliance of this band, IMO.

[/quote]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the recurring use of musical movements a big part of what makes and opera an opera? You see it with the recurring riffs in Days of Graduation/Southern Thing, and Road Cases/Plastic Flowers. Just another example of the brilliance of this band, IMO.[/quote]

Wow. Never even thought about those musical parallels. That is a good assessment.

This bit always sends a cold, hard shiver up my spine:

The engines have stopped now. We all know we are going down. Last call for alcohol.
Sure wish I could have another round.

scotto wrote:This bit always sends a cold, hard shiver up my spine:

The engines have stopped now. We all know we are going down. Last call for alcohol.
Sure wish I could have another round.

yeah scotto, those lines are haunting and my favorite
especially after watching that L Skynard Behind the Music for the 10th time...

Probably my favorite DBT tune

Still wanting the acoustic version used in the Southern Rock Revolutions show on CMT

This is just an amazing song and the best show closer I've ever seen by anyone, ever. I've seen it live four times (twice with Kelly Hogan) and it gives me goosebumps every time. It's beautiful, harrowing and important in musical terms. In my top five of DBT tunes.

According to our "stats" we've seen it 10 times.
These are 2 of my favorites
from Asheville 07 half dirt underneath half rawk show


from the 09 Booker T and the DBT's show in Atlanta

Swamp wrote:from Asheville 07 half dirt underneath half rawk show

always loved this one. all time performance. think they're working some shit out? cooley gets nasty.

dime in the gutter wrote:

Swamp wrote:from Asheville 07 half dirt underneath half rawk show

always loved this one. all time performance. think they're working some shit out? cooley gets nasty.

filthy

Even though he wasn't on the plane Rickey Medlocke once told how fucked up a song like this is when it's about you. Angels resonates on levels I probably haven't thought about yet but the most obvious and base part I guess is standing there at the show not wanting the night to end and the whole "wish we could have one more round" part. How far did I go to get here for the rock? What did I give up? What did I miss out on? Was it worth it? Don't let if fucking end. There's always gonna be a last round,a last song,a last time,and I guess a last bird flying over some horizon(STICKING WITH THE THEME) and last person. You don't know when or who or where or what which gives the ever present more weight than anything if you are paying attention.
This is the best song I can think of about inching towards a slow moving finality even if slow moving means hundreds of miles an hour. It's also embedded with an incredible sense of humanity and finality with a worshipful sense of irreverence(the one more round part again). I'm working on a SRO essay for the homepage. Keep your eyes peeled for that on 9/11.

mark lynn wrote: This is the best song I can think of about inching towards a slow moving finality even if slow moving means hundreds of miles an hour.

YES. Can't wait for the essay, Mark. Great post.

mark lynn wrote:I'm working on a SRO essay for the homepage. Keep your eyes peeled for that on 9/11.

I know you're a scholar, but I hesitate to call you a gentleman. This could change 9/12.

As I listen to "Angels and Fuselage" I as a scholar can only think----Thanatopsis! "You and me loved our pills and our whiskey!"

mark lynn wrote:Even though he wasn't on the plane Rickey Medlocke once told how fucked up a song like this is when it's about you.

On our first cruise, Marina and I shared an elevator with Rickey and Johnny. As Rickey stepped in he stuck
his finger in my chest and said "killer band!" I had on my Blessing and a Curse shirt.
Then Johnny tried to feed us some bs that he had been driving the boat

I remember reading somewhere that Artimus Pyle was really touched by the song and the entire SRO album

Smitty wrote:I remember reading somewhere that Artimus Pyle was really touched by the song and the entire SRO album

It may have been mentioned on the DBTs list that he was in attendance at several shows in Asheville during this time period. If I'm not mistaken, he lives there.

first time i saw this live, i noticed lurleen texting someone that they were gonna do the "walk off stage" bit. had no idea what she was talking about. then i saw it . fuckin amazing.

Fool No Where wrote:first time i saw this live, i noticed lurleen texting someone that they were gonna do the "walk off stage" bit. had no idea what she was talking about. then i saw it . fuckin amazing.

I didn't know beforehand, just my psychic abilities kickin' in. I'd be willing to be that it was McKenzie I was texting. I always miss her most in Asheville!

Iowan wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the recurring use of musical movements a big part of what makes an opera an opera? You see it with the recurring riffs in Days of Graduation/Southern Thing, and Road Cases/Plastic Flowers. Just another example of the brilliance of this band, IMO.

Also the playing around of the "Sweet Home Alabama" riff all throughout the record, and "Freebird" at the end of "Greenville to Baton Rouge"

Tequila Cowboy wrote:This is just an amazing song and the best show closer I've ever seen by anyone, ever. I've seen it live four times (twice with Kelly Hogan) and it gives me goosebumps every time. It's beautiful, harrowing and important in musical terms. In my top five of DBT tunes.

Although I have never seen this live, I can imagine it is one hell of a closer, and definitely a top 10 DBT. But my all time closer is "brokedown palace"

hendooman wrote:

Tequila Cowboy wrote:This is just an amazing song and the best show closer I've ever seen by anyone, ever. I've seen it live four times (twice with Kelly Hogan) and it gives me goosebumps every time. It's beautiful, harrowing and important in musical terms. In my top five of DBT tunes.

Although I have never seen this live, I can imagine it is one hell of a closer, and definitely a top 10 DBT. But my all time closer is "brokedown palace"

Oh, that one is awfully good too. Wait til you see Angels & Fuselage until you make that final determination though!