Here comes an old Western Orwellian hippie fable for y'all, it's called Two Hangmen, about the meeting and shared destiny of the Narrator and I'm A Freak, who was guilty of thinking, a crime much worse than all.
The first half of the song tells the story, sung with sweet harmonies by the Talbot brothers, Terry and John Michael. Guitars are picked gently, a tambourine comes in, bass, pedal steel guitar. An atmosphere like something from Schoolhouse Rock or One Tin Soldier/Billy Jack permeates the mix.
The second half is a built up repeated lyric outro that begins at 2:26, complete with extreme vocal vamping along the lines of Guess Who songs like Share the Land or Hand Me Down World. The best and most shocking moment hits at 3:11, On both sides of Jesus. It goes on and on until the end, yowls and exclamations coming at you from all sides. OK, guys, I give up already!
Like Lake Shore Drive, Two Hangmen is a song I used to hear a bunch on Chicago radio back in the day, again most likely on Bob Stroud's program. Mason Proffit were from Champaign (just like REO Speedwagon, I wonder if they knew each other?), so they had that Illinois relationship.
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