#atomic opera

(x)

(x)

(x)

King’s X: Faith Hope Love (1990)

This is my kind of gospel, this is my kind of church -- can I get a hallelujah?

Texan originals King’s X really let their Christian beliefs hang out on this, their third LP, but I swear (on the bible, no less) that this had nothing to do with my general disappointment in the songs of Faith Hope Love (whose title came straight from Corinthians, of course).

Rather, this was because, regardless of its lyrical content, this record’s music just can’t hold a candle (not even a prayer candle ... sorry) to King’s X’s monumental first (Out of the Silent Planet) and second (Gretchen Goes to Nebraska) albums. 

Now, I’m not accusing Doug, Ty and Jerry of straight-up preaching, because inspirational songs like “We are Finding Who We Are,” “Fine Art of Friendship” and “We Were Born to Be Loved” aren’t exactly sermons (the title track, perhaps), but they definitely boast the blind optimism of hymns.

Also, many of the album’s love songs, e.g. “I’ll Never Get Tired of You,” “I Can’t Help It,” and “It’s Love” take that vague path about the objects of their affection (i.e. are they human or divine?), but the only kind of “religion” that interests me is their overwhelming debt to The Beatles, achieving some kind of gloria in excelsis deo on “Legal Kill.” 

And I’m sure part of my beef with Faith Hope Love upon its release came down to the scarcity of minor-keyed and/or truly heavy fare, such as “Mr. Wilson,” “Everywhere I Go,” and the uniquely furious “Moanjam,” which receives the spirit and climaxes violently speaking in tongues.

As for Gaskill’s psychedelic folly, “Six Broken Soldiers” -- no comment.

Luckily, King’s X would get the message from their fans -- who neither went to church, nor into record stores -- and significantly toned down their christianity on subsequent offerings, but I still can’t fault them for sharing the following truth:

“...and now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”