Let the Dragonfly Come and Give You a Ride
Were it not for the dedication of fans, musicians, and a few brave souls
at Dreamworks Records, you would never have had the chance to own this
beautiful album. If you don't know anything about Josh Clayton-Felt, then
perhaps a primer is in order. It's a classic story of rock and roll
betrayal, tragedy, and triumph.
In 1991, alt-rockers School of Fish released its self-titled debut album.
Having relocated from Boston to Los Angeles, Dominic Nardini, M.P.,
Michael Ward and Josh Clayton-Felt got the big record contract, hit the
studio, and emerged with one of the best albums of that year. School of
Fish was almost an exception to the rule at the time. In an "alternative"
music scene dominated by Nirvana and Pearl Jam, School of Fish would likely
have been swallowed by the sharks of the grunge movement had it not been for
the brilliant single, "3 Strange Days". On the immediate strength of "3
Strange Days", which was quickly picked up by radio and MTV, the School
of Fish album became a small classic, making it onto various top 20
lists of the year. Full of fresh guitar rock that was unabashedly pop, and
featuring beautifully written and performed songs courtesy of Ward and
Clayton-Felt, it's an album that still stands up among the best today.
Unfortunately, for their second outing School of Fish was slightly more
swayed by the dominant sounds of the period. 1993's Human Cannonball
was a more grandiose rock affair, the guitars and amps turned up, and
certain songs rocking as hard as anything else released that year. While
critics hailed the progression, it didn't have the pop charm of its
predecessor, and, more importantly, it didn't have another "3 Strange Days".
In the end the record was largely ignored by the public. Unable to
duplicate their early success, School of Fish broke up and the members went
their separate ways. M.P. went on to further work as a musician and
producer, Michael Ward became a studio musician par excellence and
joined Jakob Dylan for the second incarnation of the Wallflowers, while Josh
decided to strike out on his own as a solo artist.
In 1996, Clayton-Felt released his first solo album, Inarticulate
Nature Boy, which featured 12 of the 25 songs he'd written in the
interim years. Slipping into a home studio and deciding to learn and play
all the instruments on the album, Clayton-Felt made it a true solo
experience. Ward reunited with his friend to add some guitar tracks, and he
had a little bit of help on percussion, but for the most part Clayton-Felt
built the album from the ground up, relying on his musical intuition and
native talent. Based on the strength of the songs and his pedigree in
School of Fish, A&M picked it up and released it. Although it had only
moderate success and wasn't by any standards a commercial powerhouse, both
dedicated School of Fish fans and new fans picked up through the disc
embraced it whole-heartedly and Clayton-Felt's new career was begun.
Then, in a twist of fate that has become the rule rather than the
exception in major label dealings, A&M itself went into a limbo of
uncertainty surrounding a possible buy-out/merger. Although Josh was ready
to release a new batch of songs as a follow-up, the label suspended all
contracts and placed a freeze on all recordings. When the dust settled and
A&M had finally been sold to Universal Music. Unfortunately for
Clayton-Felt, Universal went about "cleaning house" by purging contracts,
one of which happened to be his. To make matters worse, the new owners
refused to allow him to use or buy back his previously recorded material.
Clayton-Felt continued to work on the final recording and mixing of the
tracks undaunted, lobbying Universal to at least let him self-release the
music as he'd done previously with two homemade recordings, Josh
Clayton . . . Felt Like Making a Live Record and Beautiful
Nowhere.
He finished the final mixing and production in early December 1999. One
week later, he was admitted to the hospital after a tumor had been
discovered that turned out to be malignant. Less than a month later, on
January 19, 2000, cancer ended Josh's life.
What happened next is a testament to his family and fans. After learning
of Clayton-Felt's illness, Universal finally consented to release its claim
on the music and turned it over to his family. Through Josh's website,
family, friends and fans organized a network to lobby for the promotion and
release of his long-delayed material. Through the combined effort of many
dedicated people, they finally convinced reps at DreamWorks to take a chance
on printing the album. The result, the culmination of three years of labor,
tragedy, and perseverance, is Spirit Touches Ground, an album that
stands as much as a testament to the love and devotion that Josh
Clayton-Felt inspired as it does to his music.
But, after so much work, is the album itself worth it? Absolutely.
Anyone familiar with his work through either School of Fish or his solo
career will know what to expect, and they will find it here. Full of
sometimes earthy, sometimes lush, and sometimes straightforward tunes,
Spirit Touches Ground could have been a launching pad for greater
success were Josh around to benefit. As it stands, Spirit Touches
Ground will always stand as a fitting final statement to an often
brilliant and always talented musician's vision.
Clayton-Felt himself shied away from trying to describe or categorize his
music, and with good reason. His songs have always been marked by a fusion
of rock, pure pop, funk, and the poetic element generally reserved for
singer-songwriters. Spirit Touches Ground reveals elements of John
Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Jeff Buckley, and a slew of musical influences, yet
always feels like a personal extension of Josh himself rather than
imitation. And, as so many have noted in the past, there's his voice. Ever
since his days in School of Fish, listeners and critics have noted that
Clayton-Felt's voice possessed a quality of clarity, emotion, and a beauty
that helped drive his songs. Personal and intimate, his voice soars through
the fourteen tracks of Spirit Touches Ground in a graceful, if
unintentional, swan song.
The album opens with the first single, "Building Atlantis", that has
already popped up on radio stations as a reminder of Clayton-Felt's talent
for writing soulful jangle-pop. Filled with upbeat acoustic guitar, playful
electric riffs, a rich bass, crafty organs, lovely melodies and enough
"oohs" and "ahhs" to satisfy any pop purist, the song's pristine optimism is
an excellent insight into the spirit (no pun intended) that infused Josh's
life. The pop/rock continues on "Diamond in Heart", as fine a tune as
anything he's written since "King of the Dollar" and "Rose Colored Glasses",
and showcasing his virtuosity with tight, rocking guitar lines.
For all of its pop-rock tendencies, the heavy doses of funk really stand
out on Spirit Touches Ground. Inarticulate Nature Boy stood
out from Clayton-Felt's previous work for its greater focus on funk guitars
and bass lines, and it's a theme that continues on this album. "Invisible
Tree", "Love Sweet Love", "Kid on the Train", and "Spirit Touches Ground"
all fuse a bluesy rock with some extremely funky hooks in a style that
straddles an intersection between the two, while also retaining distinct pop
elements. "Kid on a Train" has such a deep groove that it almost dares you
to get the hooky chorus out of your head. "Night of a Thousand Girls" even
merges this funk element with a vaguely Middle Eastern sound that sounds
like a hip kasbah.
Of course, Josh Clayton-Felt was also particularly noted for his more
ballad-oriented material. If you've ever had the pleasure of listening to
the gorgeous acoustic melodies of "Fell", then you already understand.
Spirit Touches Ground delivers these songs in spades. From the more
ornate tunes like "Backwards World" and "Too Cool for This World" to the
simpler tracks like "Already Gone" and "Waiting to Be", Clayton-Felt's
sensitive side is on wonderful display here. Alternately peppered with
horns, chiming piano, or lush string arrangements, Josh and his warm voice
stay at the forefront of these songs, conveying messages of passion, love
and insight without shame.
Lyrically, Spirit Touches Ground covers the areas of life that had
always been Clayton-Felt's primary interests. His songs have almost always
been about soul-searching and self-discovery, delivered in such a wide-eyed
manner that you couldn't help but accept them as genuine. The same holds
true here. Whether it's the spirituality of "Invisible Tree" or the
examination of loneliness in "Half Life" or "Deer in the Headlights",
Clayton-Felt invites the listener to make a connection and explore the ideas
for themselves, even when the song seems confessional. There's a simplicity
and an honesty that immediately pervades these messages, but upon further
reflection they reveal their depth and cleverness as well.
Of course, as with any album released after an artist's death, there is a
tendency to examine the lyrics for prescient signs of imminent demise. On
Spirit Touches Ground the songs are ripe for such speculation. "Too
Cool for This World" could easily be read as a premonition, and "Already
Gone"'s central lyric of "And I / Never thought I'd leave you / But I don't
belong / Seems right / I will always love you / So don't get me wrong / But
I'm already gone" is just plain eerie. But as the liner notes of the album
state, "You can hear an intriguing second layer of meaning, the sense of
moving on to a truer world, in many of the lyrics, and titles, . . . Yet Josh
did not know he was going to leave us. He did not even know that he was
very ill. He simply felt compelled to finish the music the way he wanted it
to be". Putting aside the sense of synchronous timing, it's simply a
blessing that he was able to complete the work on Spirit Touches
Ground as both his own monument and as a final gift to music.
For all that, however, it's the final track, "Dragon Fly", that makes
Spirit Touches Ground as close to transcendent as an album can be.
An incredible song in music, lyric, scope and dimension, "Dragon Fly" is the
final statement that Josh may ever make in album form and it sums up his
life and vision as keenly as any single song could. All about finding the
passage into the sublime in whatever form you can, when Josh sings, "It's
gonna be different this time / They can't stop your believing / You cut a
whole in your wall last night / And found a window worth keeping", you truly
feel like he found that window in the end. Fans have already picked up on
this song as the truest tribute to Clayton-Felt, and it's a powerful
experience to hear. As the song fades out to a nighttime chorus of crickets
and clicking dragonflies, a sense of closure and peace remains. Rather than
dwell on the sadness of loss, "Dragon Fly" asks us to focus instead on the
beauty of remaining and celebrate Josh Clayton-Felt rather than mourn
him.
If all this seems like so much hyperbole, perhaps its because I counted
myself among his fans long before knowing the full story of his passing.
Perhaps I just wanted to give thanks for his musical companionship in a
fitting tribute. But if any of this story has piqued your interest, I ask
you to check out Josh Clayton-Felt's website (www.joshclayton.com) and
discover him for yourself. The site alone is inspiring for how much
devotion was poured into commemorating the man by making Spirit Touches
Ground become a reality, plus you'll be able to check out some of the
songs yourself. Perhaps, if it appeals to you, you'll open yourself up to
let Josh Clayton-Felt's spirit touch ground in you.
— 22 April 2002
