If by this time you’re not aware that American Pharoah won the 12th U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing championship then you must be living under that proverbial rock where the clueless people dwell. One of the reasons that this was such a momentous event was because that no other horse in the past 37 years has managed to do this (for a horse to be named a Triple Crown winner it must have won not only the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but also the Belmont Stakes).
So, it’s not that surprising that some troubadour would come along with a song or two about the race and the horse that won it. And lo and behold, what pops in my inbox a scant two weeks after the race, but an album titled “American Pharoah” by a Californian musician who calls himself the Millennium Man. Just like clockwork…
The sound on the “American Pharoah” collection of songs by Millennium Man is kind of a throwback to early 1960s folk music. It’s basic and a bit rough, most of the songs are simple acoustic guitar and vocals arrangements, but it’s also full of passion which gives it its charm. Especially interesting is the title tune about the now legendary race.
What Millennium Man lacks in flash and polish he certainly makes up for with enthusiasm and energy. The opening of the title track begins with the signature bugle blast known as “The Call to Post”, or “First Call”, that is played before a race to let the jockeys know that their mounts should be at the paddock exit and proceed to the track for the post parade. That is followed by an announcer exclaiming, “They’re off…” and a steel six-string guitar holding a single chord strummed in 4/4 time.
Millennium Man then sings of how American Pharoah was born in the Kentucky bluegrass region, a descendant of Unbridled, who was known as much for winning races on the track as he was for his accomplishments as a stud off the track (he sired as many as 292 runners during his life). What a stallion!
Like most folk, blues and roots rock ditties the American Pharoah tune sticks to the standard I, IV, V chord progressions. Millennium Man’s voice is pleasant enough as he sings the praises of the recent race winner in the verses and the choruses by observing, “That horse can run/Like a thunderbolt, son/He must have greased lightening in his bones” and concluding, “American Pharoah’s so fast he could beat ol’ Man o’ War’s clone”, at the end of the first chorus, then, “…he could beat ol’ Secretariat’s clone”, in the following one.
All in all the title track is a winner with the way Millennium Man sprinkles in various sound effects like the thundering of equestrian hooves, a racetrack crowd’s early cheers that swell and erupt into a roar, an announcer breathlessly yelling “American Pharoah’s just won the Belmont Stakes!”, and finally, after the music stops, the neigh of a happy horse and Millennium Man replying to the winsome whinny with, “You tell’em big fella!”. It’s as cute as it is catchy.
While I wasn’t able to find a lot of information about who Millennium Man is, what I do know is that just about like everyone else, you can find him on FaceBook (https://www.facebook.com/Millennium.Man.4Love/). For my readers’ convenience I’ve included the entire “American Pharoah” album’s tracking listing below. In summary, if you take a chance on this release it’s a pretty good bet it’ll put a smile on your face.
American Pharoah Track Listing
1. American Pharoah
2. Keep Your Eye On The Target
3. Great Day In The Mornin’
4. The More I Got The More I Gotta Have
5. You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do
6. The Whale Song
