Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Frankenstein" (Edgar Winter Group)

Good Tuesday!!!  Welcome to the Halloween edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Nothing scary here!  No crazy hockey masks, or Elm Streets....only great rock-n-roll with a twist.  What better way to enjoy a Tuesday than to tell the story of a song about a story that was made into movie...well, several movies with differing and sometimes comedic perspectives on the tale of a doctor who thinks he has found a way to invent life and the trials that come with the success of his tests....(best Gene Wilder voice...."That's Frankenstein").  As early as 1826, Victor Frankenstein's story began being told on stage and in 1910 Edison studios did the first movie imagining of the 1818 novel by Mary Shelly.  The most famous incarnation of the story comes in the form of 1931's Frankenstein. Boris Karloff ingratiated himself in the horror genre of film making by playing the monster to Colin Clives' Victor Frankenstein.  

"It's Alive" - Frankenstein 1931

 

In May of 1973 a band would release an all instrumental track that would take its name from the way the band spliced (yep, razor blade and splicing tape instead of Garage Band), the best parts of their recorded jam session into a consolidated sounding single.  It would remain at #1 for only 1 week, but would be heard annually in October as Halloween approached.  It was aptly titled...."Frankenstein".  So,"pilot of the airwaves, here is my request"....give me a funky #1 instrumental with a take on a classic horror story........

"Frankenstein" - Edgar Winter Group

  The "Frankenstein" incarnation of the Edgar Winter group would be an amalgam of well known rock artists.  Edgar Winter ("Free Ride"), Rick Derringer ("Rock-n-Roll, Hoochie Koo"), Dan Hartman ("I Can Dream About You") and session drummer Chuck Ruff.  Billboard magazine would list "Frankenstein" as one of the top 25 instrumentals of all time.  If you pay close attention to the ending credits of movies you will occasionally see an Edgar Winter group song as a supporting member of the cast of musical groups.

Walking down the path of Jesus, there are times when we encounter difficulties.  During those times we make many choices.  Do we continue on path before us?  Do we turn around?  Personally, I have many times chosen door 3.  TAKE A DETOUR.  I try to avoid the difficulties and thus condemn myself to either not being complete in my task, or achieving the task in a way in which sacrifices principles and beliefs.  In essence, I have attempted to create a better way than the way that is set out before me.  I have, if you will "Frakensteined", the process of my walk.  I choose the parts of path that I want to take and when hard times come, I take another route, therby piecing together a less than perfect model of how I should have traveled.  Jesus did a much better job explaining this "Frankensteining" of our lives when He encountered a rich young ruler:

Matthew 19:16-26 NASB

The Message paraphrase puts this passage like this:

Matthew 19:16-26

The Message (MSG)

¹⁶ Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
¹⁷ Jesus said, “Why do you question me about what’s good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.”
^18-19 The man asked, “What in particular?”
Jesus said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself.”
²⁰ The young man said, “I’ve done all that. What’s left?”
²¹ “If you want to give it all you’ve got,” Jesus replied, “go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.”
²² That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go.
^23-24 As he watched him go, Jesus told his disciples, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for the rich to enter God’s kingdom? Let me tell you, it’s easier to gallop a camel through a needle’s eye than for the rich to enter God’s kingdom.”
²⁵ The disciples were staggered. “Then who has any chance at all?”
²⁶ Jesus looked hard at them and said, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”

In short, this young man wanted to be a disciple of Jesus, only he wanted to do it his way.  Anytime we do anything in our own power or our own way, we are destined to be less than what we could be with Jesus as the ultimate authority over EVERYTHING in our lives.  Ultimately, when we pick and choose from the lifeless ways of the world to attempt to create a life filled way, we find ourselves very much like Victor Frankenstein....facing a monster that just won't seem to go away.

'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy