When I was a little boy, my father owned only one Harry Chapin album. No, it wasn’t Verities And Balderdash, the album that brought us “Cats In The Cradle.” Instead, it was Dance Band On The Titanic, Chapin’s seventh studio album (and only studio set that was a double album). For some reason, I never got past listening to side one. Couldn’t explain it then, can’t explain it now.
I never did get the chance to ask Dad why this was the album he chose to put in his collection. After all, it spawned no radio hits and was seen as a commercial failure. But, after nearly 50 years of listening to this album on and off, I get it… I finally get it.
For his seventh studio effort, it’s almost as if Chapin finally said to hell with radio airplay and hit singles, and focused solely on writing the best, most thoughtful songs he could. It’s an album filled with a lot of introspection and disappointment in what life became—the subject of the songs on what was quite possibly Chapin’s best album.
Long before James Cameron came up with the idea for his record-breaking film, the title track from this disc captured life on the ill-fated ship as a member of the on-board band. It’s surprisingly catchy, and is a perfect way to open up the two-record set.
From there, Chapin’s songs mostly capture individuals facing the loss of ideals and long-held beliefs (some of which might not be proper), capturing a melancholia that, while always somewhat present in Chapin’s work, never hit with such force. From going through self-discovery when a partner separates to chase and discover fame (“Why Should People Stay The Same”) to a lothario getting slapped in the face when his wife turns the tables on him by playing his own game (“My Old Lady”), from young lovers growing apart through the passage of life (“We Grew Up A Little Bit”) to a man partnered with a woman of experience wondering if he will become a faint memory like her previous partner (“I Wonder What Happened To Him”), Chapin takes the listener on some difficult journeys which are cushioned by powerful music.
No, Dance Band On The Titanic is not an easy listen. But, in many ways, it’s the culmination of everything that Chapin had been through in five short years. From building his name up and fine-tuning his craft to the sudden fame of “Cats In The Cradle” and the sudden drop in chart performance, Chapin seemed to see himself as a relic in his mid-thirties. As he sang on the 14-minute epic that closes the set “There Only Was One Choice”: “I am the aging jester who won’t gracefully retire / A clumsy clown without a net caught staggering on the high wire.” This is Chapin laid emotionally naked—and, as difficult as it might be to listen to some of these tales, they are essential.
Not everything is doom and gloom, though. “Bluesman” tells the tale of a young up-and-coming guitarist who searches out a purveyor of the true blues, begging to learn the craft from the true master. And, “I Do It For You, Jane” continues Chapin’s streak of love stories put to music.
Sadly, Dance Band On The Titanic is seen by many as a flop, since it wasn’t a commercial juggernaut. It remains one of the few albums of Chapin’s not readily available on CD (though it was re-released for a short time). But it often feels like everything Chapin ever did was leading him up to this album. You can tell that he poured his entire being into its creation—and, for that, we should be thankful. Dance Band On The Titanic is a true masterpiece that is begging to be re-discovered. If you’re able to locate a copy, book your voyage on this one without delay.
