Greetings,
I don't know if I mentioned this, but I have been working on a collection of songs based on my favorite book. Well, I was working on it, then I stopped, now I'm working on it again. Anyway, I love when people create art that is inspired by other works of art. I'd say it keeps us all connected in a way. So, I wanted to talk about an album that has some literary inspiration attached to it, Rabbits on The Run. Yay! Bunnies!
Rabbits on the Run is a 2011 album from Vanessa Carlton. I was pretty intrigued about this one as soon as I heard about it, and with each new bit of information, that intensified. First off, I do enjoy the music of Vanessa Carlton. She always seemed very organic with the music she created, and I liked that. Second, as I mentioned, she had said that she was inspired (am I using that word too much?) by two books. One of them was A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, which I've never read and probably never will, and the other was Watership Down by Richard Adams, which I don't think I've read, but I've definitely seen that scary cartoon movie, though. But anyway, that's why there are "rabbits" in the title. Works for me. She also had a very specific sound for this project, very dreamlike, and she got Steve Osborne to produce it. He also worked with U2 and A-ha in the past. If you look online, you'll probably be able to find this great interview she did which I've seen called "The Four Elements of Rabbits on the Run", where she talks about her decisions, like using a children's choir and recording to record to actual, physical tape, something practically unheard of these days. What's that you say, youngsters? What is tape? Ask your parents. Now let's talk about the music.
The first single was "Carousel" and it's technically the titular track, since it has "rabbits on the run" in its lyrics. It's definitely one of my favorite tracks and a perfect way to kick off the album. Another of my favorite songs is "London". It starts off so softly and because of the way it puts you in that aforementioned dreamy state, you think it's gonna stay that way. But it kicks in to high . . . well, highER gear later, when we get one of the best lyrics I've ever heard: "You've got a knife-throwing kind of love". WHAT! Bring it! Anyway, "Hear the Bells" is another highlight, staying with the same musical theme, and the lyrics are quite visually stimulating. As are the ones on "Marching Line" and the simple piano work in the beginning fits it so well, along with the drumming which gives us the feel of a soft and subtle march. And the final track, "In the End" is relatively short with very few lyrics, but they do pack a punch regardless.
Now, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a song that, in hind sight, ends up being kind of funny. Not "Funny Ha Ha" but more "Funny Ironic". It's a song called "I Don't Wanna Be a Bride", and it's about exactly what you think it's about. I even saw Vanessa in an interview wherein she said that she supports brides and she supports marriage, but she just didn't want it for herself. Well, the joke's on everyone, because she ended up becoming a bride a few years back. Now she has a husband and a beautiful baby and WHY DID YOU LIE TO US, VANESSA!?!? Just kidding! Actually, I kind of like how the whole thing shows how we can change over time, that we're not stuck in one place with one way of approaching life.
In conclusion, I do recommend Rabbits on the Run. You can really hear that all the special care she took in recording it and all the creative decisions she made really paid off. It feels like a very personal album that she didn't necessarily make for her fans. Let me explain that. Obviously, she wanted to make something great for us, which she did, but often times, an artist can get bogged down too much in what other people are going to think. Here, Vanessa just made the album that she wanted to make, from her heart, from her soul and from her life. Thankfully, that ended up being something that we could all enjoy heartily. Yes, I said heartily.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
