INSPIRED BY THOMAS COLE'S
"THE COURSE OF EMPIRE"
MR HUNTER
This is the second album of jamband Mr Hunter, inspired by Thomas Cole's "The Course of Empire".
With five dynamically different tracks, each based on one of the five paintings in the series, Mr Hunter provides a contemporary and particularly fresh American view of Thomas Cole's ideas he wished to depict in these paintings, the songs written by lead guitarist Chris Marcus.
The first song "The Savage State" is a positive, upbeat rock song basically talking about the freedoms of life in general, that connected with the savage state seems to suggest to me that rights of freedom are as natural as the world around us, which makes a good nod towards the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
The second song "The Arcadian or Pastoral state" is a more romantic approach to the ideals of the land of "arcadia" a connection of man and nature working in unity through farming and domestication, creating in ways a paradise, a new Garden of Eden, which may also have links to the Mormon ideas of America being one of the locations of the Garden of Eden according to this recently created religion. It has a long romantic connection to the land, in a way that sounds almost country and western, which is in tune with the western being the modernised version of a pastoral.
The third song "Consummation of Empire" is a more funky jazz-like rendition of protest against the rise of American Imperialism, with debt and military forces piling up, ultimately saying in its own lyrics "This empire's gone too far". With the modern idea of American Imperialism still a major issue with many countries today, particularly in this age of Globalization, the fact that Americans themselves feel critical about their government nods back to Thomas Cole himself and his criticism of the Jacksonites creating a more imperialistic world back in the 1820s and 1830s. But the fact that Americans criticise their government's imperialistic actions under freedom of speech and freedom of the press is itself a unique American freedom which is not just to criticise but even burn the American Flag if an individual felt compelled to do so. Not that I'm saying Mr Hunter is anywhere near this extremity of behaviour, but in light of development of American society since Thomas Cole's time, I find it extremely relevant that this criticism continues in order to make a more free American society.
The fourth song "Destruction" begins as a melodic almost ballad-like piano before becoming a now more darker serious bluesy-rock ballad, with the lamenting lyrics about the potential downfall of American Civilization with particular interest in the effects upon the next generation. This almost protest in a post Occupy 2011 movement, and the aftermath of the 2008 GFC, we see the sadness of those who have lost their homes, lost their family through the War on Terror, and a loss of meaning through global capitalist materialism and consumerism, that America's future could well indeed be very bleak, and that people needed to try a new avenue, speaking to me of not only American dependency on oil, and attempts to change it like The Venus Project, or other recent movements like Zeitgeist, or 911 Truth Movement trying to change American imperialistic ideas before it's too late.
The fifth song "Desolation" is an acoustic guitar, marching drum and organ requiem for a country that has fallen. It's guitar seems to suggest the Western roots, organs it's Gospel and religious roots, the drums its military might, the piano its art, the lyrics its people, giving a funeral ode for a country and in doing so ask for repentance and forgiveness, and what will the next generation do in this world. The song speaks of a possible ending for an otherwise great nation and what one day may be a choice between that and a return to going back to Arcadia, which to me speaks of a more sustainable relationship of America to not only nature in general, but with its own inner nature and goals and those of collective humanity.
In all, this is a brilliant and moving composition and performance of contemporary music by a modern jamband Mr Hunter. I'm sure that Americans and people of all nations will want to listen to this, not only as a recognition of history, but perhaps the chance for us all to change our ways before its too late.
- Review and personal interpretations are the thoughts of Matthew David Bowron and may not be those of Mr Hunter.
For those who wish to find out more look at: http://mrhunterband.com/the-course-of-empire-2/
And look for Mr Hunter on YouTube to see and hear a recorded performance of the album and hear recorded versions of these songs mentioned above along with works from their first album The First Chapter.
To find out more about Chris Marcus and his ideas go to www.arcadiaeconomics.com
