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
Many of Sarah McLachlan’s most well-known songs tend to fall on the slow side of the tempo spectrum, often verging on sleepy and dreamy, including “Adia”, “Angel” and “Ice Cream”. But there is a mid-tempo side that the world has noticed, and this is the pacing that I prefer the most when it comes to her work. It’s the tempo range where some of her greatest songs thrive: “Vox”, “Possession” and the subject of this post: “Sweet Surrender”.
I don’t have to think long and hard about why I love this song. It’s really just two things. The guitars and the vocals. First, the guitars. They weren’t these monster riffs or anything. But anyone who has heard “Sweet Surrender” a few times will remember that song opener and the ensuing sounds coming from the guitar for the remainder of the song. There was distortion, but the tones were beautiful and controlled, not unwieldy. The vocals, on the other hand, seemed to have a sense of liberation. McLachlan’s mezzo-soprano voice is strong and decisive throughout, even as she’s practically whispering sweet nothings at times in our ears. Other Sarah McLachlan songs seem to have earned a great reputation for their vocal performance. I just find it puzzling that “Sweet Surrender” never quite got the praise it deserved, too.
“The life I left behind me is a cold room.”