I have always been fascinated with rock music conspiracy theories, especially those wherein the clues are located in the songs and on the album covers, begging listeners to solve a mystery that may or may not be all in their mind. The Beatles did it with the whole “Paul is Dead” scandal, and the Stones are said to have recorded THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST as an offering to Satan.
Sure, it’s all probably BS, but the whole mystery is what makes not only searching so compelling, but causes the music to take on a new meaning at times, even turning an innocent song like, say, “Cry Baby Cry” off THE WHITE ALBUM into a creepy evocation of death.
Enter Mark Howard Jones’ THE GARDEN OF DOUBT ON THE ISLAND OF SHADOWS (say that in one breath!).
It’s a novella that harkens back to these theories as spouse Sandy tries to look for clues in and on the albums of her rock star husband, who’s recently disappeared, leaving no note or reasons behind. The more distraught she becomes, the more she reads into the albums, until she figures out that he must be on a ghostly, creepy island that seems to be out of a dream. Or maybe someplace worse.
Dividing the novella into two sides like a record, Jones very much has written a piece that comes off like a concept album from the early ’70s. The first side is a very linear search for reasons, filled with clever, three-minute pop ditties that move the plot along and could be released as singles.
The second side, however, is the complex part of the story – a progressive, side-stepping excursion that builds and builds, with the straight-ahead storytelling of side one eschewed in favor of a metaphysical search for meaning. If it was an actual album, this side would have had a six-minute bass solo and synths by Rick Wakeman.
GARDEN, like a critically-lauded progressive rock opera, is not a crowd-pleasing work that everyone in the general public will fall over themselves to read. Instead, it’s a cult work of art that those that take the time to read will become a fan of for life. All that’s missing is the Roger Dean artwork for the cover. –Louis Fowler
Related posts:
- The Garden of Eden and Other Criminal Delights
- Island
- King Kong: The Island of the Skull
- Monster Island
- Shadows in the Starlight
