Last month I started to listen to The Alarm again. I got hooked on Strength so much that I had to write about it. It’s been almost two decades since the original lineup of The Alarm split up, but their music still resonates inside of me and for a huge number of people. I attribute this to their timeless message of faith, hope, unity, and optimism. Plus, their music was simply incredible to hear and witness.
The Alarm is still going strong today, but the only remaining member from the original lineup is Mike Peters. He’s a fantastic singer/songwriter in his own right and I’m glad to see that he’s carrying on the traditions of the band. I think he possesses an honest voice, if that makes any sense. There doesn’t seem to be any pretentiousness in his delivery… he writes and sings what he feels, and you can tell it comes from the heart. One of my favorite (if not THE favorite) songs that he co-wrote with The Alarm is off of Strength called “Spirit of ’76.” This song deals with friendship, pure and simple. The message is clear, the story is poignant, and the presentation is nothing short of epic.
“Spirit of ’76″ lasts 7:05 on the original release, and it truly makes the best out of every second. There’s the beautiful acoustic opening, the rockin’ kick of the full band, the sadness of the bridge, and then the optimistic finish. It’s as if the entire gamut of emotions is run through here, and this structure supports the lyric like a good astrocyte would to a neuron (believe me, that makes sense). I’ve never grown tired of spinning this track, and I’ve been lucky enough to see it performed live twice. The power of it comes not only from the music and lyric, but from Peter’s singing as well.
But it’s the story within the song that grabs me still. Here’s what Peters has to say about the song (taken from Alarm Day 2000):
“At the time of writing it for the ‘Strength’ album, I sort of didn’t know if I was quite equipped to write the song, ’cause it was very autobiographical. At first it was just an idea for a song really. I talked to Eddie [bassist] about it and he really encouraged me to write it and keep it true, so it really is the story of me and my friends going to Liverpool and the whole experience and that kind of like optimism that that music gave to us
But somehow, when you live in a small town, unless that you’ve got an outlet for that optimism and all those hopes and those dreams, it can quite often turn inwards and be very destructive. I was lucky, I found a vehicle for all the things that I wanted to do through learning the guitar and joining a band and doing all that. But some of my friends there, the initial optimism didn’t see through. They ended up getting sucked into the whole sub-culture and drugs came into play as they do.
I still see them all and we’re still friends now, but their dreams didn’t work out like mine, and I felt kind of weird about discussing that in such an open manner in a song. But the band really encouraged me to have the conviction or whatever you want to call it to it. And I think because it’s a real story and I knew how to get it right, so that when I met them later in life I would be able to look them in the eye, knowing that I told the story as it was, that it wasn’t like a fabricated thing. You know I still see them, and they’ve been to gigs and while it might be painful to hear this song, I think they get it and know what it’s all about. Maybe, hopefully, it’s renewed their optimism in some sort of way. That’s what I’d like to think, anyway.”
Check out this video of an acoustic version of the song. You can see the sadness in his eyes.
I’m not sure which version I like better. Whereas the electric version has the dynamics I’ve come to know and love, the acoustic version has the pain that comes from the actual experience. After reading Peter’s words regarding the seeds of the song, I have come to realize that it’s the pain that really draws me to this song. We all have friends that have come and gone… we all have friends like Peter’s that have lost that youthful optimism. Knowing this pain and feeling this pain is just as important as changing this pain.
You gotta feel it to embrace it.
You’ll find the original and a couple of acoustic versions of “Spirit of ’76″ below in the Dig-It section. For those new to this song, read Peter’s words above again before listening to the song. For those already familiar with it, read Peter’s words above again before listening to the song. Then I hope all of you reach out and contact an old friend to say hello.
I love this song.
Your Dig-It Downloads: (right click links to download)
Download: Spirit of ’76 (original version)
Download: Spirit of ’76 (acoustic)
Download: Spirit of ’76 (acoustic – audio from video)
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