The Way We Are

Description

The Way We Are is the sophomore album by the American alternative pop/rock duo Fleming & John (husband and wife John Mark Painter and Fleming McWilliams ), released on Universal Records in February 1999. It was April 1999 Pick of the Month at The Phantom Tollbooth.

Fleming and John’s debut four years ago on REX (re-released shortly after on Universal) was one heck of a unique alterna-pop/rock album, with Fleming’s gorgeously freaky voice stunning many music-lovers into unabashed slobbering. Few bands could sustain the loving anticipation on the strength of one album that this one has. Understandably, it’s been torture waiting so long for a follow-up, teased on and off by rumors of a new release the past couple of years. But it’s finally here.

Reactions will no doubt be mixed when expectations of such height are involved. The Way We Are is good, but it may be a bit of a let-down. Neither the «California Dreamin’» cover from the Vietnam music compilation or the cool «Misty Mountain Hop/Jingle Bells» track from their website are included. And there’s no «I’m Not Afraid» rockers on this one, either. They’re understandably making a push for radio play (have you heard «The Pearl» yet?) by polishing the pop aspect of their music. As a side effect, without repeated listens the songs don’t stand apart from one another quite so much as those on Delusions of Grandeur. This one’s a grower.

The Way We Are is still far different from anything else out there, though. John Mark Painter has a Midas touch with instruments, and he pulls in clavinet, theremin, timpani, chimes, flugelhorn, cello, balalaika, vibes, piano, organ, accordion, and twice as many other exotic sounds you’ve probably never heard of. His guitar lines are kept to a minimum. Ghosts of ’60s, 70s, and ’80s pop, rock, disco, lounge, jazz, and alternative excellence swirl around Fleming’s delicious surreal-angelic vocals, and studio excesses galore will gleefully fill your headphones. At times, however, the music is unsettling due to Middle-Eastern influences and Fleming’s haunting background vocal dubs.

The lyrics may have many Christians scratching their heads. There are no obvious Christian themes. Rather, most of the songs address different dynamics of healthy and unhealthy human attraction; our desires, regrets, schemes. Some of them are quite shallow, like «Ugly Girl» (written partly by friend Ben Folds) – “you could not imagine my surprise/ can’t you see you’re leaving me for an ugly girl?.” Others, like «Comfortable», describe the situation every couple eventually finds themselves in:

I think that you’ll agree we’ve become predictable
but I really don’t mind being this comfortable
sometimes I try to shake it up
tickle the passion wake it up

The key to understanding the lyrics is in the title: The Way We Are. Many Christians are into music about The Way We Should Be, which may make them uncomfortable with the honesty about human relationships in all their glory and dysfunction portrayed here. However, veiled references to longing for God’s attention fill «I’m So Small», and the first radio single, «The Pearl», will bring to mind the imagery of Jesus’ parable:

it could be the pearl
it could be our hope our dream our life
it could be the pearl
the end of all our pain and strife

run keep on running
oh I hear them coming
how could they try to take what is ours
please run faster
oh they’re right behind us

The song, however, is based on John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name, about a poor fisherman who finds a giant pearl that he hopes will provide security for his family, but only brings fear and death. It’s a parable of the destructive vanity of seeking material security.

As with any album, fans will just have to check out The Way We Are for themselves. The novelty of Fleming’s voice isn’t quite as strong the second time around (although it’s certainly still trippy-cool), and there aren’t as many memorable moments as on the last album, but music this creatively-crafted can’t help but please. [Josh Spencer, The Phantom Tollbooth, 3/19/99]

Over the past four years, Fleming McWilliams and John Mark Painter have worked tirelessly to develop a loyal but modest following for their quirky efforts. That label applies mostly because Fleming’s astounding voice (something of an acquired taste) contains a ton of personality, range and texture – part operatic diva, part rock goddess, part soul shouter and blues mama.

F&J’s first album, 1995’s Delusions of Grandeur (originally released on R.E.X. and picked up by Universal), was more of a blustery rock ‘n’ roll affair, while The Way We Are contains more elements of the classic rock and pop of the 60s (The Beatles), the ’70s (Fleetwood Mac) and the ’80s (dare we say, Blondie and Heart?). Toss in Painter’s agility at string and horn arrangements, and you’ve got yourself one of the last truly original sounding discs of this millennium.

Numerous exotic instruments populate much of the album. Alongside the conventional guitar, bass, drums and piano, the listener is treated to the oud (a Middle Eastern lute), dilruba (a bowed, sitar-type instrument), theremin (re: The Beach Boys «Good Vibrations»), as well as chimes, timpani and assorted other contraptions.

But none of the exotica distracts one’s attention from the engaging melodies or the extremely clever lyrics. The Way We Are is very relationship-centered, exploring those healthy as well as those broken. McWilliams generally opts for saying exactly what’s on her mind, often to hilarious and touching effect. She describes the comfort of her mates’ arms as “my La-Z-Boy recliner” while wondering “Can we will still have adventures/ When we’re old and wearing dentures?” Over a sunny chorus of flugelhorn and trombone (both played by Painter), McWilliams likens that love to “winning the Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes” which fills her with “warm fuzzy feelings.”

With artists such as Alanis Morissette and Garbage broadening the public’s perception of what a rock chick ought to sound like, perhaps Fleming & John has hung in long enough to receive its well-earned shot at wider success. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, May 1999]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-way-we-are/1443861866)

CD tracklist:

01. Twinkle – 0:24
02. I’m So Small – 3:00
03. Sssh! – 3:32
04. The Pearl – 4:29
05. Comfortable – 4:03
06. Don’t Let It Fade Away – 4:52
07. The Way We Are – 4:42
08. Radiate – 2:19
09. Ugly Girl – 3:48
10. Sadder Day – 4:59
11. Rain All Day – 5:37
12. Devil’s Food – 3:49
13. Suppressed Emotions – 4:48
14. I Fall For You – 3:14
15. That’s All I Know – 2:26
16. The Hidden Track – 4:26
Video:
17. The Way We Are Documentary Video – 7:24

---

---

The Way We Are Promo Video