All My CDs, pt. 120: Wheel

I opened my eyes one day and was

Wheel - Pat DeSimio and Mallory Beck

This is another CD I’m liable to be biased in reviewing, since half of the duo who recorded it is a dear friend of mine. They recorded this eight-song “demo” of sorts before joining with a third member whose name escapes me to form a folk band called Wheel of Sky, which was locally active for a very short time before fate forced the members to go their separate ways.

The music is quite simple, traditional-style folk music with agrarian themes and a consistent focus on the cyclical nature of time - the pattern of night following day, the wheel of the passing seasons, and the broader cycle of life leading from birth to death. For songwriters living in modern suburban environments, it’s amazing how vividly they depict a less industrial existence in farm villages and near-wilderness, where the passing of seasons has such an impact on life that no aspect of work or play can ignore it.

As much as we can try to, I don’t think it’s any more possible to ignore such cycles now. We may be able to soften winter’s impact with heated houses and cars, but we still feel its power. And a modern human who fails to turn his face toward the sun during spring and summer is a sad one indeed. Moreover, the larger cycle of birth, life, age, and death has no less a grip on us than ever, although perhaps our de-emphasis on seasonal changes and their spiritual, cultural significance has made death all the more bleak and final to our minds.

These are the thoughts that this music has put into my head this week.

Come as mistakes turn into wisdom
come as the rash become the sage
come as the blooms of youth grow into
the rich harvest that blesses age

Next: Where the Wild Things Are