Lunch of Champions

Enchanting Lyrics, Enchanting Songs, Enchanted Ape

Enchanted Ape – Mexico Song (live)

Enchanted Ape’s Three Ring Symphony is a foot-stomping good time. The album opens up with “Memphis, Trouble Free”, a song that pits Memphis, Tennessee as a perpetual fountain of youth. Lead singer Chris O’Brien sings:

Well I drove my troubles down to Memphis, Tennessee
They say that muddy river will keep you young indefinitely
Three days later, I was three years younger
than the man I used to be
Come Sunday I left Memphis, trouble free

From the fountain of youth, we are led to roam with the perpetual question of Why worry if fate is out of our control? on “Better Times”, where O’Brien sings:

Take this out of my hands
Let these strings keep playing, playing through my mind
Fate will help me stand
No longer must wait, wait for better times

The Ape’s sound is defined by O’Brien’s powerful vocals, which, on the album, are often doubled up by Debra G, a singer of formidable and uncompromising talent. Lead guitarist, Alec James Knutson, really doesn’t break out his chops until the album’s fifth track, “Carousel”. Though, from that point on, he raises the bar considerably.

(above: lead singer/rhythm guitarist Chris O’Brien)

One such song where Knutson excels is on the album’s catchiest track, “Soulfood”, in which the lead guitarist’s fretwork compliments the vocals in a pleasurable way. It’s almost as if the guitar is singing at times, which is actually quite beautiful to hear.

On “Soulfood”, O’Brien offers advice to those worry-warts among us:

So don’t you tell me about livin’ the high life
when your heart is sinking low
Don’t you know you could never go hungry
just as long as you feed your soul

Two things stand out on this album – the band’s cohesiveness and the lyrics.

Enchanted Ape has crafted an impressive album composed of both live takes and studio overdubs. This is an astonishing feat considering how well the album flows from song to song from extreme happiness to erie sadness without losing it’s “good-times” vibe. This consistency is due largely to O’Brien’s lyrics.

He does a fantastic job tackling complex subject matter such as religion, fate, selfishness, and greed. O’Brien is an experienced songwriter, having played coffee shops and open mic’s in Minneapolis for years, and his depth of lifely understanding stands out on this album.

Summary: Three Ring Symphony is an album that, because of it’s depth, you can listen to over and over and over again.