Gretchen Goes to Nebraska

It was 30 years ago today that King’s X dropped their second album “Gretchen Goes to Nebraska.”  The year was 1989 and I was a new transfer to Indiana Wesleyan University after an aborted sophomore year at DePauw University.  You might say life wasn’t quite unfolding as I’d imagined it would when I graduated from high school.  I was arrogant, insecure, and eager to make friends, but not so eager to be one.  What a strange time it was.

That’s when King’s X came onto my radar via their sophomore effort and it blew me away, well past Nebraska.  The picture of the band members looked edgy and uber cool.  The album concept was heavily influenced by C.S. Lewis and the first song even shared the name of his best known science fiction novel “Out of the Silent Planet.”  The cover was an illustration of what appeared to be a portal into another world cut into the fabric of space-time.  It’s as if a focus group had recruited me to brainstorm ideas for an album that would bring together elements of what I loved most in my young life.

And the music (Sweet Mercy!) was an eclectic mixture of hard and soft, full of soul, with three part harmonies and a relentless drive.  I’d never heard anything quite like it and I fell in love.  

I have six of their CD’s at present count, at least three of which I’ve acquired in just the past few years.  It’s like the band lay dormant for me for a couple of decades before I rediscovered them and was reminded of how much I adore them.  These CD’s are in my car and I love to play them when I’m driving.  My 14 year old son is not a fan because it is “Rock” and he is not into “Rock,” but my 8yo daughter will do some shared head-banging with me from the back seat with a big smile on her face.  She seems to get it.  

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