Stereo Embers The Podcast 0449: Bill See (Divine Weeks)

“Bow To No One”

Southern California native Bill See got his start in the pop band The Need, which, by the mid-’80s had morphed into Divine Weeks. With a groundswell of critical acclaim powering their mighty boat, the band put out instant classics like Never Get Used To It and Through And Through, which came out on Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate’s label. Although they had a ton of buzz, played legendary shows and their epic sound reached for the same heights that the Waterboys and U2 were shooting for, the band came to a stop the way things will sometimes do. The straight dope as to why can be found in Bill’s book 33 Days, which is not just essential reading for anyone in a band, it’s essential reading for anyone who’s a human being on the planet. It’s a brilliant book. Thirty years later, a redemptive pair of albums See Those Landing Lights and We’re All We Have put the ‘Weeks to rest on their own terms and now, seven years later comes See’s first proper solo album. And it’s a killer. See was thinking he was done with music but his pal Willie Aron, who was just on this podcast, encouraged him to keep going and See did just that and found out that he had a lot more to give. And we are the richer for it. See’s Bow To No One is an instant classic, filled with poignancy and truth. From the lush and stirring opener “The Heart Survives” to the rousing “Rock and Roll Salvation” to the inspiring “Dream New Dreams (Back To The Garden)” Bow To No One is a treasure chest of hooks, sure, but it’s also an album that’s raw, rich and breathtaking. Falling somewhere between the emotional immediacy of Patty Griffin’s Living With Ghosts and R.E.M.s Automatic For The People, Bow To No One is powerful work.

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