Ball of Wax 59 Songs: Frames in Motion – “Colossal”

Do you remember the compilation put together by Elektra Records for their 40th anniversary back in 1990? It was called Rubáiyát and it had Elektra’s current roster covering songs by Elektra’s earlier artists. And it sucked. [I loved it. -ed.] Do you know why? Contractual obligation and money grabs, that’s why. And also The Cure’s bloodless rendition of “Hello, I Love You.”

For reasons diametrically opposite, the new volume of Ball of Wax—we’re at 59, now!—is everything that Rubáiyát wasn’t and could never be. The secret ingredient here is love, and I say that with tongue in neither cheek. These artist are doing what they’re doing out of love. Whether for Ball of Wax, for one another’s art, for the joy of interpretation, or for the sheer thrill of recording doesn’t matter. Listen to the eleven songs offered on this compilation and you will hear pleasure in every beat, tone, and nuance.

Let’s open, then, with Frames in Motion and their excellent take on Levi Fuller’s “Colossal.” Upon first hearing the album of the same name, “Colossal” was, for me, the perfect defining track: from its incessant pace, its upright bass chug, and its snare drive to Levi’s defiantly fragile solo vocals, the terrific guitar line, and the bring-your-friends-for-a-singalong chorus, the original version remains something to behold.

Frames in Motion (who captured my ears last summer with the perfect pop of “Behind the Face”) have chosen to move away entirely from the straight pace of the original and broken the song into miniature “movements.” With just a few changes in rhythm and backbeat, Frames in Motion alternate between gentle verses and energetic choruses, making “Colossal” entirely their own in bringing plenty of that instrumental playfulness that really drove their album, Euptablisses (be sure to stay tuned for a cover of ITS title track, too!).

The coolest trick here is that this cover could have been a chart-topper had it existed in the mid-’70s. I don’t know if it’s the subtle delayed reverb on the “we are” in the chorus, the elegantly understated electric piano, or the wonderful guitar-and-bass work (this seriously would have been an Al Stewart stomper!), but Frames in Motion does here what few if any bands in recent memory can pull off: they transport me to a time of innocence where nighttime drives were spent in the backseat of my parents’ Datsun, looking up at the stars and listening to AM radio. That’s actual magic and it’s a powerfully emotional way to kick off a compilation.