Patient Agitation
Waiting For the Band - Nicky Hopkins (Blast from the Past Tuesday)
When I first went to listen to Nicky Hopkins’ “Waiting for the Band”, I almost didn’t listen to it at all. It was an unfortunate moment of judging an album by its cover… the dark black eyes stared at me with a blankly omniscient gaze, hands poised over the piano as if ready to play some sort of terrifying siren song. But I kept it on, and I ended up loving it so much it was (and still is!) on repeat nonstop.
It’s got an optimistic progression, a brightness to the piano that really makes the song something special. This was to be expected though — Nicky Hopkins made a name for himself in the music industry as a session pianist, working with everyone from The Who to The Rolling Stones to The Kinks and more! I’ve always thought solo music by musicians who traditionally sit in with other bands have a certain extra greatness, and that’s only proven by this one. This time he plays to match himself, and does so quite successfully. While the piano is certainly a centerpiece of the track, it works to complement every other element terrifically.
This is shown really well in the contrast between the piano and the vocals — the brightness the former provides allows the cynical, causal tone of the latter to shine. I’ve always loved conversational songs, ones that sound like you’re being talked to by an old friend, and “Waiting for the Band” is a great example of this. The lyrics are pulled from real life — it’s all about him literally waiting for the band he’s supposed to play with to show up. You really feel his resignation, his patient agitation as he faces numerous obstacles before being able to play. Hopkins has a gentle vocal style, a poshly accented yet not entirely polished way of singing that is really endearing to listen to.
I’ll be honest — at this point, the cover doesn’t phase me anymore. In fact, when I went to a concert at a record store back in September, I ended up leaving with The Tin Man Was a Dreamer secure in a brown paper bag. What a duo it made with the other one I got — A Tribe Called Quest’s People's Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythm! Either way, I look forward to seeing it now, because whenever it comes up, I know I’m about to hear a darn great song.
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Great review and the song is awesome 🙌🏻