Each day in November, I’m revisiting a song from the 90’s — a decade that was a sorta coming of age for me. In that span, I experienced high school, college and my time as a young single guy in New York City. It was a decade of ups and downs, and the music never stopped playing during that span. It was always there with me. #30DaysOf90sSongs
I’ve already written about this song once before on this blog. But I can’t do a 90s series without revisiting it. The truth is, my impression of The Wallflowers was really low at first. I saw them in ‘92 as the opening act for a band that literally exploded overnight: The Spin Doctors. I think we all had unfair, yet high expectations for the band, which seems to come with the territory when you’re the son of a legend. Jakob’s band just wasn’t quite together. But that all changed for me five years later. That’s when Bringing Down The Horse was released, a pub rock record that seemed right at home in smoke-filled rooms in the wee hours. The standout track was “One Headlight”.
The tinny, yet emphatic snare hits drew me in quickly. And the guitar work is exceptional and underrated, in my opinion. Its bluesy demeanor seemed to thrive in space, creating these incredible intermittent moments before going full force at the 4:15 mark. Then, there’s Jakob, of course, whose voice is much less nasal and much more raspier than his father’s. “One Headlight” has a fantastic vocal performance. The heartbeat of the song, however, is that steady, insistent and unforgettable bass line, which carries the song along in this groove from beginning to end. I remember one night dancing to “One Headlight” at a house party on repeat until nearly dawn. There just aren’t many songs out there that can grab us like that.
“Me and Cinderella, we put it all together. We can drive it home with one headlight.”