The perfect song

I have been listening over and over again to Tommy Bolin's "People People". I can think of no other words to describe it except for "the perfect song". Why?

To analyze a tune — put it into some sort of intellectual hell-hole — is to deconstruct something beautiful that is beyond, indeed far better than, intellectual discussion. Music appeals to the emotions, to the gut reaction of the body, to the brain at its lowest base instincts. And this is what constitutes beauty.

The tragic life of Tommy Bolin ended far too quickly. I had never heard of him when he was alive. And this is surprising since I well knew the bands he had been involved with: Zephyr (out of Boulder, Colorado), the James Gang and Deep Purple. Living in Colorado when he was with Zephyr — damn it! — I should have known.

I really can't attest to Bolin's other tunes. I have heard many — yes — but they haven't struck me like "People, People". It is somewhat ironic that Bolin, known for his flamboyant guitar style, plays second fiddle, as it were, to the other artists on the studio rendition of the song, the most important being David Sanborn on sax, Jan Hammer on synthesizer and Stanley Sheldon on bass — all well known for their musical prowess.

Bolin's genius here was perhaps to let these outstanding artists "do their thing," the result being a whole greater than its parts — and a musical tome condensed to less than five minutes long regrettably almost lost to eternity.

Listen to it. It always ends too early for me. Like an addict I want more, to slip over me like a comfortable blanket on a cold winter night.

— Leigh Pomeroy