Title:The Operating Theater By: Dewan, Brian Released by: Instinct Records Released on: 2001 Rating (out of 10): 8 Date: 10/22/2001
More Masterfully Told Musical Tales
Brian Dewan’s first musical effort, Brian Dewan Tells the Story, introduced us to his powerful combination of compelling lyrics and stirring, innovative music. This second album is not startlingly different from the first, but thanks to the boundless variety of Dewan's subject matter, there are still plenty of new things to discover.
It is both more serious and sentimental than his first, full of righteous anger, but still containing plenty of dark humor. An example of the former can be found on the first track, “Where They Belong,” in which the gentle tune and quaintly domestic scenes depicted in parallel verses lead up to a sad little punchline.
On the next track, “The Human Heart,” Dewan combines both striking visual imagery and the metaphorical role of the heart as the seat of all emotion, just as he celebrated our thinking organ in “Feel The Brain” on the first album.
This is followed by “The Kids,” an amusing song of caution for us to beware the little folk who seem to be everywhere. The music has a tense, edgy rhythm, reflecting the paranoia any adult who has ever felt overwhelmed by a large brood of uncontrollable young ones can surely relate to. “Solomon Grundy,” the next song, is a faithful recitation of the poem, the first of two renditions of classic tales on the album.
Dewan doesn’t hesitate to address society’s most deeply rooted ills, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the next song, “Loathesome Idols.” It is broken into three verses in which the speaker rants about worshippers of an ancient idol “made of wood and bone,” then his son’s idolization of a rock star, then a golden idol in a museum.
The music gives his music a sense of emotional urgency, yet there is subtle irony in the fact that a song preaching against the evils of idol worship sounds very “classic rock,” with a recurring musical motif reminiscent of Iron Butterfly.
Luckily, the next song, “Rumplestiltskin,” is a simple, fun retelling of the well-known fairy tale, set to a driving beat. The name-guessing segments are reportedly a great deal of fun to hear live, and it is easy to see why.
Then there is “Cadavers,” a jaunty tune about, well, cadavers. The frightening thing is that the way the earth’s population is exploding, it may turn out to be more of a cautionary tale than a ghoulish fantasy.
Like Brian Dewan Tells the Story, The Operating Theater ends with a batch of songs that are short and sweet.
“The Trial” is a very reverent, religion-themed piece. Its slow, deliberate pace invites meditation on the consequences of both committing petty human crimes and breaking God’s laws, with only a slightly hopeful ending.
The somber mood is eased by the delightful “Flexible Flier,” perhaps the happiest song on The Operating Theater, celebrating the simple joys of this children’s toy from the young owner’s point of view.
“Sick Day” is about the pleasures of being able to spend a quiet, lazy day at home, even if it comes at the price of being sick, with a soothing, leisurely tune that matches the subject matter perfectly.
“Fruitless Labors,” again with religious overtones, addresses the fact that all the work we do in life will eventually be undone and is worthless, but we can take comfort in having heaven to look forward to.
Finally, “First Day of School” is the second song told from a child’s point of view, with a school singalong piano accompaniment and lyrics dripping of wide-eyed innocence.
It’s the kind of song you will find yourself humming hours and even days later, but if you do, don’t be embarrassed. Part of the magic of Brian Dewan’s style is that, like any great storyteller, even after bringing you down to the pits of despair, loneliness, and even terror, he can leave you feeling as if we’ve just been tucked in and assured that all is once again right with the world, at least until tomorrow.
