October 20, 2016
perfectly filters the essence of the great Ray Davies’ most inspired moments of the very early ’70s through Dr. Frank’s distinctive lyrical and vocal style
Ed Masley of the Arizona Republic posts the video and puts "High School Is the Penalty..." on a list of 10 songs you need to hear right now.
And if Ed or anyone who has read this were in doubt as to whether or not I would quote it in full, now and till the bitter end, well then, they don't know me very well, do they?
This is the second single from the Mr. T Experience’s first release in 12 long years, and it perfectly filters the essence of the great Ray Davies’ most inspired moments of the very early ’70s through Dr. Frank’s distinctive lyrical and vocal style.He sets the tone with a wistful delivery of “To anyone with eyes, it’s plain to see / That high school is the penalty / for transgressions yet to be specified / The sentence begins as soon as they’ve got you inside” to the tune of what sounds like it could be an actual school song.
But the sentence doesn’t end there. As Dr. Frank notes in the following verse, "One day you’ll graduate, but you will find, my friends / That high school never really ever ends / The haves will still be hounding the have nots / Though they smile at you while they’re hatching their plots.”
It’s a brilliant arrangement, effortlessly navigating several different musical motifs with unerring pop sensibilities. And it stands as the musical highlight, for me, of “King Dork Approximately,” a companion piece to (Dr.) Frank Portman’s second young adult novel (a sequel to “King Dork,” which in turn started life as an MTX song, re-recorded here).
What really needs to happen now is for someone to take this album and this book and build a big-screen musical around the two.
I second that emotion, Ed!
A coupla other links:
-- Paul Silver capsule-reviews KDATA the album on Jersey Beat.
-- I am interviewed in the current issue of the horror zine Body Count. That's a buy link for the physical zine. I'm told it may be posted on line at some point.