The Man on the Burning Tightrope by Firewater

The Man on the Burning Tightrope

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The Man on the Burning Tightrope

Features

Audio CD (June 17, 2003)

Original Release Date: 2000

Number of Discs: 1

Label: Jet Set Records

Reader Reviews
It's a beautiful life when you love what you do. This is the firewater gospel. Firewater is a noteworthy band that started out as an indie supergroup featuring members from Cop shoot Cop, the Jesus Lizard, and Soul Coughing. Firewater isn't a supergroup anymore. Their lineup has changed several times, but it currently features Tod A., Tamir Muskat, Oren Kaplan, and Paul Wallfisch. For the first time in a few years Firewater is just a band and they have never sounded better. Firewater creates dazzling and alluring music from the ugliness of everyday life. Their song subjects range from boredom, to missed chances and even suicide. Firewater gives these subjects a human touch, a soul. Their music is very honest and very real. This is very apparent on their fourth release, `The man on the burning tightrope.' The album starts off with `Fanfare'. This is a bright instrumental piece that is reminiscent of that glimmer of hope at the beginning of the day. (Did I mention that this was short, much like that sliver of hope?) `Fanfare' blends perfectly into the next tune, `Anything at All'. This is somewhat of a shattered love song. The chorus of the song is, `I would give you anything, if I had anything at all.' Although it also reminds you of the dark side of love, ` Suckers are willing to take anything at all'. Another great melody on this album is, `Dark Days Indeed'. This song plays like a drunken gypsy caravan that is lost in the wilds of Eastern Europe. Even though this song is called, `Dark Days Indeed' lyrics like, ` I made the devil dance for me and spat into his eye!' shows us that this song is somewhat joyful and definitely rebellious. It reminds us that there's many ways to view life. Often it's through a good bottle of bourbon and a little dance. The title track, `The man on the burning tightrope' casts Tod A. as the ringmaster. It's a moody piece lavished in carnival sounds. This is seemingly about your appearance to others. At the point when you are truly damaged, the ringmaster reminds you that you could have been somebody. That hurts most of all. The song, `The Truth Hurts' is strange. It's basically an answering machine message backed by cheesy, sixties pop sounds. (Although you may want to listen carefully to Nicole Blackman's fiery message.) `Secret' seems to be a continuation of, `The Truth Hurts'. This exhibits Firewater's skill. The band showcases a new twangy, tex-mex sound for this song. `The Vegas Strip' is awash in sleazy trumpets and drenched in cheap booze. This song is drunk and has a showgirl hanging off of each arm. `Ponzi's Revenge' reveals the return of the illustrious Ponzi. Guess what? He's stolen all of your money and is living it up in the Caribbean. Like Ponzi you should dance your troubles away to this song. Firewater has consistently proven that they are a great and diverse band. Through out their previous albums they have explored such assorted sounds as Indian wedding music, middle eastern folk rock to good ole' rock'n'roll. However on ` The man on the burning tightrope' they finally find a good balance between their distinct sounds. It's very obvious on this album that firewater love what they do and in the process have shown the rest of us that it's a beautiful life.

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