The Evidence is Clear

I've rarely met someone who had the courage to act on their convictions, as well as unbridled creativity, a low key, laid back personality and incredible energy, but Scott - Doc - Allen combines all of these elements. I met him in a writers' group in Providence about a year ago, but had previously seen his name in the Providence Journal. After spending seven years as Medical Director for the ACI in Cranston, Scott resigned in protest over the mishandling and cover up of the beating of a mentally ill inmate housed in isolation. His moral stance made headlines, making me wonder how someone could be brave enough to sacrifice his job to make such a definitive statement.


Scott then shifted his focus, joining Physicians for Human Rights, working on their Campaign Against Torture. Doc Allen reviewed and published the causes of death for over 100 detainees primarily at "Gitmo" Bay in Cuba, and collaborated with major medical associations in helping develop ethical guidelines for health professionals relative to abuse and torture, which included testifying before the American Medical Association's annual meeting. PHR is on the verge of releasing a report co-authored by Scott detailing the likely health consequences of waterboarding, sleep deprivation, prolonged isolation, stress positions - the still permitted "enhanced interrogation techniques" - which are , in fact, torture and should be outlawed.


You might ask yourself how Scott Allen finds the time to make music, especially his CD "The Evidence", recorded entirely in his home studio in Cumberland, Rhode Island over a seven year period. I used to shudder when I heard the words "home studio" during my rock and roll radio days, never knowing if the battered cassette submitted by some wannabe rock stars would be brimming with off key vocals and badly mixed instruments, but "The Evidence" is a polished, high quality production. Scott explains in the accompanying notes that the 12 songs on the CD represent his experiences during the prison years.


The opening song - "The American Way" - is a freewheeling indictment of the cynicism, corruption and hypocrisy that pervades the system, focusing on the way things work in Rhode Island, which I've always thought is not much different from any other state - just small enough so that things are more obvious. Scott's vocal is very Dylanesque, world-weary yet playful, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica, with percussion as well.


"You Ran" combines acoustic and electric guitar, organ and drums, as well as lead vocal and backing harmony with a bluesy feel, bringing new meaning to the phrase "one man band". It refers to a relationship, repeating the line "tears flow to the sea" and the "lightness/darkness between us", perhaps suggesting that any close interaction between two people is multi-dimensional.


Scott documents the prison routine in "Tuesday Morning", accurately describing the absurdity of the situation, the mistakes that are routinely covered up, the daily indignities that are part of the system, and the fact that he is supposed to cure the sick. The question is, who is sicker - the convicts or the people who keep them there? Doc Allen mixes electric guitar with piano riffs and percussion to give the song a bouncy, rockabilly feel.


"Help Me Make it Through This Day" is a love song about two people who need and comfort each other, the closeness that comes with time, the realization that your partner/companion/spouse is the one true thing in your life that sustains you. Scott's lead guitar on this song is exceptional, providing a slow rock and roll feel reminiscent of those heavy metal ballads by Aerosmith or Guns and Roses, leaving a powerful emotional impression.


Travelling Show" starts with a thunderstorm, then describes a lonely trip to another city where it "rained for hours between office towers" although the singer longs for the way back home. I felt an overwhelming sadness in the lyrics, the plaintive desire for more familiar surroundings.

In describing the music, Scott says that " the working title for this project was 'Flattened', a term used by inmates to describe finishing their full sentences..." Luckily, he managed to spend his time behind bars observing and reflecting and ultimately resisting the realities of the American penal system. Most of us are content to sit back and talk about making a difference; it takes a courageous, unselfish, modest human being like Scott Allen to stand up and actually do something about it.

For more information on Scott and his music, visit http://www.milomusic.com/