CD Review
by Richard Compean
 

Sorrow and Joy: Two Easter Songs by One Rolling Stone

Probably the last place anyone looking for contemporary reflections on the season of Lent and Easter might look is among recent rock 'n roll lyrics -- especially among the lyrics of Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones. They have long been known, after all, as the bad boys of rock 'n roll. And before Altamont they even tried to persuade us to have some "Sympathy for the Devil."

But treasures sometimes show up where we least expect them. And two remarkable Easter treasures can be found on songs released by The Rolling Stones on their late 1994 Voodoo Lounge CD and by Mick Jagger on his 2001 Goddess in the Doorway CD. Both songs are so unusual as to be almost startling. And both songs nourish the mind and feed the soul with explicit and honorific references to Jesus -- in one case as the sufferer of pain and potential source of redemption, and in the other as the source of joy and grace.

"Blinded by Rainbows," released on the Voodoo Lounge CD but rarely if ever played on the 1994-1995 world tour, comes as a complete shock. As the twelfth cut on a very uneven album, with the best songs long past and an especially trashy preceding song, it absolutely startles the mind and soul with its opening question, accompanied by Mick Jagger's' tremolo guitar: "Did you ever feel the pain/ That he felt upon the cross?" Before you can ask yourself if you are hearing right, if this is really Mick Jagger asking me if I have ever felt Christ's pain on the cross, other touching questions follow -- questions about whether we ever "touch the night" or "count the cost." And just as we become ready to accept these as reflective questions, along comes a Mick Jagger sneer and challenge, the accusation that because most of us are "blinded by rainbows" he doubts the likelihood of such deep experiences on our part with a sarcastic "I doubt it."

Having mocked us with provocative thoughts about Christ's pain, he then turns to pain and suffering in our modern war-torn world and asks a second series of even more touching questions (foreshadowing the terrorism of September 11th): Have you ever "felt the blast/ as the Semtex bomb goes off"? Do we ever "hear the screams" as "the limbs are all torn off"? And most poignant of all:

Did you ever kiss the child Who just saw his father shot?

The lyrics and questions probe deep into our souls, challenging how much we care about suffering in our world. Do we ever "shed a tear" as war "drags on and on"? Do we, again (as St. John of the Cross might ask), touch the night? Do we "put down paradise as lost"? As before, just when the questions seem overwhelming, the singer challenges us -- this time with less sarcasm and more simple doubt about our ability to feel the world's pain, for we are probably too "blinded by rainbows."

His doubt, however, does not let us off the hook, for a third and final series of questions connects the world's suffering and pain with that of Christ on the cross and with His Resurrection. Guitar rhythms and a matching voice of increasing intensity reflect the tone of the final questions: do we "fear the final hour"? Do we "kneel before the cross"? Are we still blinded by rainbows, or do we "dream at night" or even "scream at night"? Do we "smell of fear" and is our "conscience clear"? Most important of all, and finally, do we "see the light," see "the face of Christ/ Enter paradise"? With a brief and final anticlimax we hear the singer calmly and quietly comment, "I doubt it." He doubts our ability to accept the suffering of Christ to atone for the world's suffering, the reality of Holy Week. I, for one, want to shout back "I'll show you" and wonder if I can.

Equally touching, yet without the sneering or even the quiet doubt, is "Joy," released as the second song on Mick Jagger's 2001 Goddess in the Doorway. Instead of challenging us as listeners, this song turns inward and invites us to celebrate the joy of the Resurrection. Wanting, perhaps, to escape the pain of the world's suffering, this singer "drove across the desert" in his "four wheel drive." He was "looking for the Buddha," but instead "saw Jesus Christ."

This is not Jesus upon a cross, but rather a very human Jesus who "smiled and shrugged his shoulders,/ and lit a cigarette." The message of this Jesus is

Jump for joy Make some noise, Remember what I said.

And the rest of the song does just that.

Of course many of us have been blinded by rainbows. Like the singer of this song we have thrown our soul, "like a Ruby," into the earth and now have hands that "are bleeding/ from scrabbling in the dirt." But now there is no longer any doubt (as in "Blinded by Rainbows") of the face of Christ have entered paradise. If we "look up to the heavens" each of us will see that "a light is on my face." That is good news for many of us who, like the singer, "never, never, never/ Thought I'd find a state of grace."

We don't need to seek Buddha in the desert; we don't need to drown in the darkness. Like the singer, with great "joy, oh, joy" each of us can look "up to the mountain" and let "the light burst over me." Each of us can jump and sing. Each of us can join not only Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones (who sings some of the lead vocals and plays guitar on this song), but also Pete Townshend of The Who (who also plays guitar here) and Bono of U2 (who also sings some of the lead vocals) in celebrating the "joy/ In everything / In everything." We can join them in singing and jumping for joy.

As unusual yet remarkable Easter treasures, Mick Jagger's "Blinded by Rainbows" and "Joy" remind us and call us to reflect on both the sorrow and joy of the Easter season. Each song does so in its own unique way. "Blinded by Rainbows" says listen: don't be so blinded by the rainbow attractions of this world that you can't see that Jesus suffered and died for our war-torn and terrorism-afflicted world. "Joy" says listen: God's grace has saved each of us, so as Jesus himself suggests go sing and dance and jump for joy. These unusual songs bring to mind and heart the sorrow and joy of the Easter season.

 
Richard Compean earned his doctorate in English from the University of California at Davis. He is a member and trustee of Grace Cathedral, an avid reader and a fan of great music.

 
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