216: In a Large Room With No Light

Unreleased (1986)
One of his more catchy outtakes. In a Large Room With No Light is so hummable you can be on your seventh listen before snippets of the bleak lyrics bleed through: “a child with no eyes… babies blown to kingdom come…” He isn’t joking when he sings about the lack of light. This is dark. And once you’re aware, the chorus turns from cute allegory into something more dystopian. Like a Hanson video directed by Marylyn Manson. Luckily, The Revolution and Sheila E’s band are on fire here and the backing vocals bubble up like pink champagne. I just wish I can go back to a more innocent time when I sang along with the sha-la-las in blissful ignorance.