The complete album:
Lyrics
calico
everyone is gone, now the chase is on, innocence must die
in a cloistered cove, there, behind the stove, where our clothes will
dry
numb as if anesthetized by forces like a purge andthen the surging
all of this occurs because the powerless must humble the emerging
as the fight is gone,mother looking on, panic in her eyes
pacing in the heat, of maddening defeat, tension in her sighs
waiting for the sinew to repair itself and then
hoping that the giant stranger finds the lord again
wondering instinctively if it can be presumed
that evil in this form can be consumed
and as i write this to you, begging you to keep me away for a while
and in my sullen darkness, cuts will heal but the healing repentance
won’t come
rag doll day
please do stay for rag doll day, the looky-loos careen
someone just found Tess’s body off the 219
her face was tight from all that fight and her blood was straight
caffeine,
they recognized those bedroom eyes and the skin of hookers green
her love disease was pleasing like her willingness to give it,
her lie was less disturbing than her willingness to live it
but i enjoyed the gentle rape of everything i thought i knew,
and there lies Tess, her tattered dress,miss her, i guess i do
the gift she gave was awkwardness you felt in your own space,
her tears were just as phony as the grin that they replaced,
she’d as soon be killing you with the kindnesses she’d spare,
it’s hard for me to reconcile but it’s harder still to care.
the vulture
the vulture descending on half-eaten prey
she nods and defers but has nothing to say
the vulture will improvise well-rehearsed lines
and offer up sagas of dead valentines
haven’t we met before, how did it go?
a dream made of paper a closing night show
a threnody written for souls made of stone
and there, his new friend, wishing she could be left alone
things get no better he’ll sulk but he’ll grin
and shows her his cards but he knows he wont win
and she is deflecting his witless crusade
her malice intensifies, interest fades
she couldn’t care less what he thought of her then
she stared her hole through him until he said ‘when’,
he leaves no impression that anyone sees
another blind suitor with dirt on his knees
who’s last shred of dignity juts in the breeze,
himself left to humor, himself left to please,
he leave no impression that anyone sees
do your dance
1 by land, 2 by sea
I on the opposite shore will be,
stand in line, now it’s time,
to see all the evidence of your crime
do you ever catch yourself
looking vainly at something else
here they come, there they go,
drunk on the elixir of the status quo
do your dance on an old wood floor,
dream of revolution ’til you dream no more
but it’s not as easy as it was before
but we’re all watching you
with a new day comes a seething rage,
but apathy takes over and you disengage,
nothing left to do for you but close your cage
we’re all watching you
straight to bed, rest your head,
disregard the funky jive that i just said,
the future lies, the past is cursed,
fame or forfeit, whichever goes first,
you’re like me, you hate yourself,
you hate the fake trophies on your big fake shelf,
you’re like me, your sunken face,
when daydreams drag you to that far off place…
diamonds
why are we afraid? do we think this plan we’ve made
will tumble to the ground
and everyone might hear the sound
of our hearts breaking in two
we took a chance, but what are we to do?
why are we a pair? i never thought that we’d compare,
is what you see in me, the thing that you want me to be?
you didn’t want me to change,
just knowing that you didn’t was so strange,
I looked within, and there you were, beside me,
Holding me close,
close to your heart,
nothing in the world will make us part
holding me close, close to your heart,
nothing in the world will make us part
your eyes are like diamonds, and your heart is made of gold,
love is growing in our souls
i looked to find a home, in crowded streets i stood alone,
waiting for your call, the answer was not far at all
’cause while i prayed for you to find me,
i looked within, and there you were, beside me…
the boy who reunited the beatles
the boy who reunited the beatles had barely turned 11 years old
he was binging on some frozen cuisine when
four strangers came in out of the cold,
lennon and his buddy mccartney, with harrison and starr right behind
as the boy wiped dirty hands on his trousers,
he asked the tallest “what’s on your mind?”
they told him they were tired of fighting
they told him they were lonely and sad
they told him they had music to make for him
but they didn’t know how things got so bad
they helped the boy to do all his dishes
they helped him do his homework and then
they waited for his recommendations
so they could be the beatles again
the boy looked at the sullen collective and told them that to fight was so wrong
the only way you’ll ever be beatles again was if you all agree to just get along
lennon, you be nice to mccartney,mccartney you be nicer to starr
and harrison be nicer to lennon, and ringo, you stay just as you are.
the boy who reunited the beatles
he made them yell and scream in delight
the answer had eluded them until that moment
but the boys advice had made it all right
and lennon screamed “i love you mccartney”
and everything was just like before,
and mccartney could be heard to exclaim as he left
“i don’t have to be in wings anymore”
all we’ll ever be
oh, to touch that porcelain, so ever pure and light and sweet,
at once i am in pieces, and still at once i am complete
and if i dare to touch your face, a sweet, benign embrace,
or maybe we are all we’ll ever be
i have been so lonely here, lonely like a floating seed,
that searches skies and bravely tries to get the only thing it needs
and if i reach out for your hand do you think you’d understand
or maybe we are all we’ll ever be
so in the darkness, the danger pulses and leads us to the stage
we lean upon the curtains drawn and slowly leave our cage
there will be nothing to it, close your eyes and we’ll get thru it
oh to feel the sighs of kisses join our single silhouette
just to feel the breath of life and sins in dreams without regret
shall we linger in the bliss of forbidden happiness?
or maybe we are all we’ll ever be
i’m so big
i’m so big i can’t move no more
it used to be that i would glide into a room as if a king
it used to be that i could throw my weight around inside the ring
But now my bittersweet miasma isnt charming anything
one more down one more to go, let the madness go
i’m so real i can’t dream no more
the spirit taken to a place where it can smother progeny,
the tacky shackles of a life that never rose above the sea,
into the black abyss a comedy becomes a tragedy,
One more down, one more to go, let the madness flow
i’m so wise i can’t think no more
Promise rings, angel’s wings, in the end forget these things
they betray,mist away, like how i hurt you today
Have mercy on this old boy, i’ve got some entertainment that you
might enjoy,
My wallet’s kinda skinny and my waist is wide, so open up the door
and stick your head inside
impervious
what’s that siren blaring from behind?
peace for the body but murder on the mind,
tell me lover, who is there to love,
friends and enemies, neither close enough
Ssometimes i wish that i could stand the rain,
impervious to pain like you,
sometimes i wish that I could move the pawns around the board,
never accused, but never ignored,
always boring but never bored.
like you
red light, green light, what’s it gonna be?
yeah, you’re cheap, but never are you free,
tell me lover, why the secret sign?
what’s that siren blaring from behind?
always someone watching for you, hoping you’ll see them back,
no one there to scrape your surface, no one to attack,
everything is safe and warm inside the house you made,
give your guest a hope in hell, then wonder why he stayed,
weeding out the ones that may not have you may be hard,
maybe if you climb atop of all the bodies you discard…
all the walls
in late, dusky hours, we close up like flowers, and rise up like towers,
when all the walls come down,
in early day rising,it’s not so surprising, you’ve killed the uprising. and
an the walls come down, down, down.
sunny days like this one were made for smoking too much. and
dimming your eyes,
when the street’s too hot for bare feet. and the neighbors you greet are
funny and wise.
and the street that you grew up on is only just the center of your world,
simultaneous smile-gasm paired with every flag unfurled.
when it feels like you’re breathing in the candy, of ancient yard bazaar,
and crippled cherry cars,
you will know that you’re of it now, not merely in, don’t look so stupid
and surprised
and the street that you grew up on is just another corner of your world,
unsolicited glee-rection, this day is perfection, you cannot ask for
more…
harder
was there anything my father told me that I still remember now?
the neals should never get their hopes too high because they fall apart somehow
oh father, that’s what he said, and that cold morning, they found him dead
that’s the day my mother kissed my head and had me stay across the street,
i guess to keep me from my joking ways as she would struggle to her feet,
a shroud of turin, a stranger’s bed, done up in urine, done up in red,
even then, knowing better than to let my joy abound,
finally free, with the drunk who used to hurt us in the ground
rape you shape you like a piece of clay until you’re something others need,
there was a spark that lived in rain and darkness, like a cut that does not bleed,
or so I thought so, I could not know,
i knew so little, but there you go
going blind with the morals that you think are apropos,
watching friends getting married while you’re shoveling the snow…
i confess this to you secretly, that when you told me mom was gone,
i tried to summon up the standard anger, but it didn’t last too long,
i dreamed my daughter, a thousandth time,
mom killed her children, but she won’t get mine
maybe she’s a sailor on a lake of Muscatel,
maybe she’s detritus in the garbage heap of hell…
in the dream
In the dream, i’m treading blood in a darkened stairway well
Hands prehend my ankles for to pull me into hell
And as I sit in front of you i’m crying,
And I am here alive, but in the dream I’m dying
In the dream a horseman smells my fear from Oregon,
Starting out to get me from three thousand miles beyond,
And why should children have to fear the reaper,
Cause in the dream the bloody water gets deeper
And in the dream I’m dying, trying, crying,
Wonder if it’s happened to my own children
In the dream a field of flesh is swimming in my yard,
Torsos are discorporated, sexless, sterile, scarred,
And even if, as you have said, reflection is no use,
Something deep inside me screams ‘abuse’.
WBNY interview about Vultures and Diamonds, June 2011.
From Wilson and Alroy’s Record Reviews
Three starts out of five
Gilbert Neal, Vultures And Diamonds (2010)
Hailing from Hillsborough, North Carolina, Neal is a singer/songwriter who can generally be found in a midtempo groove at the intersection of pop, rock n’ roll and R&B (“Calico”). So don’t come to him in search of novelty, but he has a facility for crisply realized pop tunes with clever lyrics (“The Boy Who Reunited The Beatles”) that makes me think of Joe Jackson. This disc, Neal’s third, has one insidiously catchy tune, “I’m So Big,” and a bunch of pretty good ones (“Impervious,” the hardest rocker on the disc). His reedy voice is pleasant when he stays in a Neil Young-ish mode (“Do Your Dance”), but frequently he pushes too hard, and he’s prone to both excessive vibrato (“The Vulture”) and David Byrne-y mannered declaiming (“All The Walls”) – Neal is a finished product in many ways, but has room to grow there. His guitar solos, by contrast, are consistently excellent: each one is dynamic, economical and purposeful (“Rag Doll Day”), and no two are alike. I believe Neal played, programmed, performed and produced the whole thing. (DBW)
From RaleighMusic.com
By: Sue Hardee
Raleigh, NC—My first thought as I listened to the latest album by Gilbert Neal, Vultures and Diamonds, was that he reminded me of someone. After a few tracks, I figured it out. It was none other than Mike Patton of Mr. Bungle/Faith No More stardom. At the same time, I can imagine Neal singing almost any style and pulling it off seamlessly. His voice is very versatile and has a soothing tone. It suits the jazzy sound his music provides very well, yet has a theatrical attribute to it. Neal’s crisp tone makes it easy to understand the lyrics of each song while providing the emotion necessary to understand each song’s message.
Vultures and Diamonds contains thirteen original tracks, each very different from the one preceding it. The album gets its name from two separate tracks on the album entitled “Vultures” and “Diamonds.” “Calico” opens this album with a Frank Sinatra feel to it, almost like a serenade. It really showcases Neal’s vocal ability. A personal favorite of mine was the second track, “Impervious,” which gets your body moving with its jazzy grooves. “Harder” brings out a softer side of Neal, as the lyrics speak of the relationships with family. “Diamonds” is a heartfelt love song about how love grows over time and finding “the one.” “Nothing in the world will make us part”… croons Neal, as he sings straight from the heart. “All We’ll Ever Be” seems to be a follow-up to “Diamonds” as it continues the love story and features the first electric guitar solo on the album.
As an artist, I think Neal is a wealth of talent. Having heard a few tracks off of his previous album, Our Deepest Apathy, I do not use the term “artist” lightly. His music is definitely an art form. He is one I would like to hear perform live.
