For My Sunday Song #406, we tackled Concrete Blonde’s “Dance Along the Edge”. Harrison’s pick takes us back to 1986 and the band’s debut album called ‘Concrete Blonde’. The song was the third single from the album and released in 1987. It was written by singer and bassist Johnette Napolitano. The album went to #96 on the Billboard Charts and brought the band in to the spotlight. I remember when they came out, but honestly, there were not what I was in to back in 1986 as I was in to much harder and heavier bands and not the alternative stuff of the time.

The song is a pretty powerful statement about relationships how we dance along the edge of issues within the relationship and never communicating with each about them in fear of hurting the other person or the relationship crumbling. The fear builds up and makes it all that much worse. You’ve seen relationships fall apart before and don’t want it to happen to you. You are happy and in love with the person, but the lack of communicating is ruining everything.

Johnette has crafted a really cool track. She lays down a great bass line that is the driving force for the song. There is a darkness and moodiness to the song as the bass drips with sadness. The guitar work is minimal from James Mankey, but the riff is really cool and accentuates the song perfectly. The drum beat from Harry Rushakoff adds more texture and flavor to the song. But the shining point is Johnette’s vocals. They are sensual yet a tinge of grit that blends so well together. She sings with so much feeling and so little effort that she makes it sound easy. She puts the right amount of sadness in to the words you feel the couples emotions and understand what they are going through. A really nice track.

Give the song a listen and let me know what you think. What do you think about Johnette’s vocals? I really thing she has a great tone and now I wonder why I never listened to them before. Thanks to Harrison Kopp for all the choices for this 10 song set. Go check him out on Grab a Stack of Rock as co-host and on his Instagram page where he has a ton of Lego artwork.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=sl2XE2A2A0s%3Fsi%3D6R9HQ_Fx1LRgjrsn

“Dance Along The Edge”

Sometimes we laugh like children
Go running hand in hand.
I never felt like this before,
I never will again
Sometimes we cry like babies
I hold you to my heart.
I just can’t stand to see you sad,
It tears me all apart

And we’re so afraid and it’s such a shame,
There is no reason we should doubt it.
And the things we want to say we’ve never said!
And we look away and it’s all okay and
Never really talk about it
It’s a shame the way we dance along the edge

Dance along the edge.
Dance along the edge.

We always seem so careful,
We’re always so unsure.
Our past mistakes they make us shaky, eyes on the door.
When do we stop searching
For what we’re searching for?
Then when it comes we question love and try for more!

And we’re happy here, but we live in fear
We’ve seen a lot of temples crumble.
Some of flesh and blood from love under glass.
Will we come undone? Will we turn and run?
And will we know it when we find it?
It’s a game the way we dance along the edge.

Dance along the edge.
Dance along the edge.

[Solo]

And we’ll walk the line and we’ll do our time
For just as long as we’ve been given,
And pretend that we don’t hear the things they’ve said.
Can we promise love, Is it all too much,
And do our old souls still believe it?
It’s insane the way we dance along the edge.

Dance along the edge.
Dance along the edge.

[Outro]

Dance along the edge…

Writer(s): Johnette Lin Napolitano