The mark of a timeless album is this: no matter when it was produced and released, it can be played and retain its potency years later. Decades even. It has been exactly a decade since this album was released to the masses and exactly a decade that I have worshipped at the altar of the heartbreak deity that is Rachael Yamagata. If you've never heard of her, you're about to. And subsequently you will purchase everything she's ever put out. This Gem Of A Jam has once again become incredibly timely in my life. It must be Happenstance, although on the cd itself this album title is prefaced with "There Never Can Be..."
Where to begin with Ms. Yamagata? The voice--with its smoke and whiskey rasp but pure upper register, or the piano and strings that wrap you up and never let you go. I had the pleasure of seeing Rachael at the Troubadour last Monday, October 27, 2014, almost exactly a decade since I saw her at Slim's in San Francisco when she was promoting the release of "Happenstance." I'll never forget my discovery of this record. I was celebrating my 21st birthday in Las Vegas with my friend Amy and we were at the Virgin Megastore in Caesar's Palace Forum Shops. Remember Virgin Megastores? May they rest in peace. Scanning the listening stations, I happened upon Rachael Y., put the headphones on and pressed the play button. Two drum cues and then in came that smokey alto: "If I could take you away..." the opening track of "Be Be Your Love" penetrated my ears and into my soul. I didn't listen to any more than that. I took off the headphones and snatched a copy of the album from the display and purchased it. Since then, my life has never been the same. I LIVE for musical moments like this. For the next year, give or take, this album never left my cd player. I listened to it so much, that eventually my siblings began singing along and purchased their own copies--Rachael needed the sales! The album was a critical darling if not a commercial success.
Back to my 10-year anniversary of seeing Rachael Yamagata celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Happenstance. All these years later I remain(ed) as enraptured as ever at the level of emotional literacy this woman is capable of conveying through her music. Watching her in that intimate Troubadour setting all these years later it dawned on me: There is scarcely another artist, another singer/songwriter, who speaks the truth the minute they step to the mic. I don't know how her music pours fourth from her hands and heart when she sits down at a piano, but every word is a gospel truth about the struggles of love and life.
Now's the time to take notes lady and gent. Rachael Yamagata is the best sad song writer ever. EVER. Yeah, I said it. And where would we be without those songs that express all the pain and heartbreak we experience as human beings?
First things first: Go out and buy a copy of "Happenstance." Listen from start to finish. Listen again. Repeat. Top to bottom, start to finish, this album is a masterpiece. This word is thrown around too much about albums that really aren't (or it's alluded to, please see the erroneous four-star review of Taylor Swift's "1989." I think the album should've been called "1989: The Birth Of A Monstrosity"). I digress.
I've taken the liberty, as I usually do, to highlight some tracks from "Happenstance." Songs like the pleading of "Be Be Your Love" are what make this album a must-own. I dare you to listen to this and think about that one person you've always wished you could be in love with, without shedding a tear.
"I'll Find A Way" is a broken-hearted valentine to saying goodbye. There are hints of hopefulness but subconsciously you can feel that she hardly believes what she's saying.
"Under My Skin" is a glorious slice of self-awareness, even when being self-aware we tend back to the old operating system. Every word of this song, including the gorgeous melody gets under my skin. Listen for the background cello, which plays the variation of the track "Moments With Oliver."
"The Reason Why" is a burner of a song and possibly the most astringent on the album. For any of us who've ever come to terms with a relationship that was destined to fail--with someone who had one-sided, exclusive rights to dictate how the two of you were going to be with each other, this one's for you. Another justification for the toxic-shock-syndrome-of-a-person I had relations with.
"So I will head out alone, hope for the best, we can hang our heads down as we skip the goodbyes, and you can tell the world what you want them to hear, I've got nothing left to lose my dear, so I'm up for the little white lies; but you and I know the reason why I'm gone and you're still there."
Eat shit.
"Quiet" might very well be one of the best songs ever written about a relationship. The reason being: it's a song written about a relationship in which it was as if you were never even there--as if you were never a blip on that person's radar to begin with.
"And it'll be just as quiet when I leave, as it was when I first got here; I don't expect anything, I don't expect anything to change when I leave."
I'm tellin' you, Rachael knows how to write 'em. If you love music and want to know the feeling of being graced by one of the most prolific songwriters ever, I suggest you get this album ASAP. And consider this entry as more than just Happenstance that I've introduced you to Rachael Yamagata.