Side 1 or Side 2? Tango in the Night

[UndoingTheLaces]

I'm totally going to sound like an old fart (even though I'm only 44) but kids today don't have any idea how beautiful records were set up back in the day. You had these two totally separate pieces of work and if sequenced right they could really make you feel like you are watching Act I and Act II of a play or movie. Or throw in Acts III and IV if it's a double album. These days a CD can be nice for one long story, but the flipping of the LP sides gave it a bit of drama that we're missing today.

Tango had a great feel to it because it really plays out like a movie. Side one comes out swinging with Big Love. Action over the opening credits with no time to splash names over a black screen. Then it settles down and lets you get to know the characters in Seven Wonders and Everywhere. The tension builds with Caroline and the title track, then Mystified comes at the perfect time to give you a break. It adds this softness, like a well placed love scene. Then, you go get a snack or a potty break and come back and there's Little Lies, easing you back with that nice soft intro then hitting you hard with a driving yet mellow melody. Family Man sets up the tension again only to have it level off with the raw confessional of Welcome to the Room... Sara. Isn't it Midnight is like the action packed car chase that makes the last quarter of the movie so exciting. Then When I See You Again gives you a bittersweet breakdown, as beautiful and clumsy as love really is. And then You and I, Part II is the uplifting credit sequence.