Ron Pandy – The Legend of Charles Victor Faust (Single Review)

Oh, Ron Pandy. Every new single from him is like a new chapter in a history book- the bible of American baseball intersecting with quaint, and interesting social commentary as well as moral quips and lessons to take away from. I have written extensively on my evolution in perceiving his genre, as shown in this article and this article. His ingenuity and skill in writing folk songs have totally turned me, a typical Gen Z listener with a certain cultural slant towards not even gravitating towards folk music, into a huge fan of his. His music reminds me to slow down, and appreciate the past. In an ever-changing and constant world, information is constantly bombarded towards you. Not only that, even if information is bombarded towards you, the seemingly endless flow of information could still be contained in a bubble prone to biases. His music transcends any kind of musical preference or bias, to me. It truly is that universal.

In today’s review, I will be analysing his single, ‘The Legend of Charles Victor Faust’. Click here to listen to it.

The single centres around a man named Charles Victor Faust, and the zeitgeist of his prime- the year 1911, to be exact. The year 1911 marked an exhilarating time in the American ethos, as it encouraged zany and risk-taking individuals and gave them a platform in each of their respective fields. In this context, Charles Faust was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player. However, what makes his story distinct, was that he was not bred or initially started off as someone who had a stake in baseball- in fact, he approached the manager of a baseball team himself. When he approached the manager, he then made the bold claim that he would be able to help the New York Giants earn the championship title. The manager gave him a chance, due to his own superstition, and low and behold- he did it.

In fact, he’d earn the title of a ‘lucky charm’. The team had a winning streak due to his presence, and the streak would be broken every single time he wasn’t there. Even though his novelty soon wore off, this was never seen before in baseball history. Ron Pandy, in his distinct creativity of merging baseball history with musicality, took on this story and decided to let it unfold in this single.

From a music perspective, this song has much more unique instrumentation compared to the rest of his songs. It starts off quite upbeat for a folk song, and has multi-instrumental properties: various types of guitars playing at the same time, as well as bass instrumentation. The choice of notes initially has a ‘sassy’ twang to it. It almost puts you on an ‘up and down’ journey as well, similar to the peaks and lows of Charles’ life.

Ron’s voice is definitely more animated in this particular song, with his vocals graduating from the initial grandfather croon he typically has to that of a quirky storyteller. He almost reminds me of an animator of a period animation film. In this particular song, it helps to elevate the storytelling feel. There also are multiple notes of saloon-esque pianos playing in the background, adding to the novelty of the song and also helping build an early 20th century feel to the song. It really fits the theme well, as it appears occasionally, almost stylistically. In some instances of the song, there is a ragtime and soul tinge to the piano.

There are interesting sound effects in the middle of the song, as well as a feel of playful tragicomedic doom. I like how the tempo of the song stays pretty consistent throughout the storytelling, as it also musically leads to a groove. This song truly is unexpectedly groovy. The guitar also adds a semi-Spanish flair throughout the song, even though its intent is possibly to sound more homely.

Musically, this song is pretty quirky, innovative as well as interesting. It is a very classic ‘Ron Pandy’ soundscape.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

Baseball players are superstitious there’s voodoo in the air
Couple of hits in the ball game they won’t change their underwear
They’ll trust their fate to good fortune no matter the cost
And the greatest good luck jinx of all was Charles Victor Faust

It was the summer of 1911 when a lanky lad off a Kansas farm
Offered Giants manager John McGraw the service of his right arm
A fortune teller told Charlie if he pitched for the Giants they’d win the pennant
So McGraw gave the kid a tryout and his abilities soon became apparent

He had a triple windmill windup something you only see rarely
And his fast ball could break a pane of glass ……… but only just barely

McGraw had him run the bases in his Sunday suit coat and tie
Flopping on one ear or the other each time that he would slide
Like an ice truck with the doors wide open he slid into third
With all the grace of falling off a trolley car backward

McGraw had him sit on the bench that day sure enough the Giants won
Just like that they offered Charlie a uniform to try on
The Giants went on a hot streak winning 8 games out of 10
With Charlie behind the right field fence warming up in the bullpen

Now back then fans came out early chug a few beers have a few laughs
Watch the players warming up maybe get a few autographs
And the star of the show was Charlie with all his pregame antics
He even had his own cheering section the Kansas Zephyr fanatics

The other teams joined in the fun they had him run the bases
They let him pitch some batting practice Charlie always came up aces
Even the legendary Honus Wagner couldn’t buy a hit off the kid
No one in the park believed it was real but Charlie did!

So they told him he could pitch the ninth inning
If the Giants led by a 20 to nothing tally

2 outs on the scoreboard

The bases are empty

The pitcher’s coming up to bat

They’d bring Charlie in to stop the rally!

The sportswriters all loved Charlie they’d chronicle his daily escapades
Wasn’t long before Broadway called Charlie to the vaudeville stage
For a 25 cent ticket 6 shows a day
Theatregoers heard McGraw’s Dark Horse explain the intricacies of the game
He’d pantomime Christy and the Big Train and all his fellow baseball stars
Show ‘em that old triple windmill windup spin a few baseball yarns
But the Giants were losing on the road so when they got back to New York
Charlie knew the team needed him he cut his vaudeville career short

Well the Giants went on to win the pennant Charlie was the reason why
Then he disappeared from the limelight like a shooting star across the sky
He went out west to find Lulu the fortune teller he adored
But his wedding plans went astray and he wound up in psychiatric ward

Now the moral of this story a lesson we all should learn
Live life to the fullest you never know when it’s your turn

If you listen to the song, you’d realise that this song very cleverly condenses the trials and tribulations of Charles Faust’s life and the message he wished to convey from it. I find this immensely innovative as I think as a songwriter myself, it is rare for a song to be factually biographical but also capture the attention of the listener and the reader. Pandy has a way with biographies and connecting it with his soundscape without it necessarily sounding cheesy.

At the end of the day, the last lines of his songs always end with a subconscious message to take away from it

Now the moral of this story a lesson we all should learn
Live life to the fullest you never know when it’s your turn

Had Faust not taken the chance of pitching himself, (pun intended), even if his life led to the ultimate low in the end, he still made his impact- being remembered by sound, today, and for generations to come.

Rating/Excellent– ‘The Legend of Charles Victor Faust’ is an interesting song that conveys the life of someone whose stars literally aligned because they took the chance to do so. In Ron Pandy’s signature manner, it fulfills the task of relating a story with a folk soundscape that is competent and creative.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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