Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.
𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙚 (𝙉𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙜𝙞𝙖) – 𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚, 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙈𝙞𝙖
Charles smokes his pipe…
I am both young at heart and older than my years. At my age (somewhere in the middle), it is easy to either act younger or act older, while feeling not quite either thing. Some might feel the need to hold on to youth for as long as possible, sticking with their gym regime, and continuing to wear baseball caps and hoodies while obsessing over HAL (A.I.) – because it’s oh-so cool and modern. While others might have simply decided that now might be the time to admit defeat and start acting like their father. Tweeds galore, stiff leather shoes, a slower pace in gait, speech and life in general. The thing is, a man of my age should not be acting. I suppose NO ONE should be acting at any time of life. But we all had the practice in our younger years, when pretending to be cool. I feel, though, that I am perhaps a bit different. I like to think I have a youthful bounce in my personality, yet am definitely of another generation; an earlier one. So, with me, “age” just doesn’t really come into it. While some new advancements still manage to occasionally excite me, I am mainly somewhere else. Or someWHEN else.
I don’t live in a museum. I am not warped in any particular way, to the extent that I “KNOW” I fought in the Boer War. Despite what many think, I do not smoke a pipe, nor spend minutes of every morning perfecting my moustache and polishing my brogues (I have people to do that for me). I am not bewildered by modern life, nor modern people. I am simply more comfortable with a more traditional way of being. Simply put, I like the old days. Nostalgia is my favourite feeling. It just makes sense to me with a plateau of calm. What is most fun is what triggers these feelings. It can be anything. A song, a photograph, a smell, the sky, mama’s apple pie. The feeling of standing still. The screams of Beatlemania. Scars from the bombs of WWII. A nice cup of tea. Smoke elegantly emanating from a distant chimney. Polite manners. Tailoring. Beautiful architecture. When something good happens. An old screenless toy that needs no power, let alone 4 tonne-weight Size-D batteries. Flared trousers. Jigsaw puzzles. Wildlife. Nature. The Mellotron. An old black and white episode of Doctor Who or Danger Man. The voice of Lynsey de Paul. Oh, Lynsey de Paul…
What do you mean, “Who’s Lynsey de Paul?”?! – Well, I don’t blame you. She was absolutely huge in Britain during the 70s, and I had several of her LPs (if not all), courtesy of pater dearest. Lynsey won two Ivor Novello awards (the ultimate songwriter’s award), being the first woman to win one! One song of hers also came second in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest. On top of this, she had 12 top-twenty records. Two things, though. One, she completely disappeared and barely anyone has even heard of her these days. And two, Almost all of these supposedly excellent solo records (aside from the ones she wrote for others artists) were pretty bloody awful. And yet, at least two of her albums were full of fabulous songs – such brilliant songwriting. Basically, I can’t help but feel she was praised for the wrong tunes. And the saddest thing? Only one of those three LPs is actually available to stream or buy, and this has been the case for a long while. I bumped into her in a newsagent once, and can you believe, I asked her why her music was unavailable. What a lovely thing for a fan to say to an artist they admire. God. Anyway!! She didn’t understand what I meant. As far as she was concerned, everything was available everywhere. So I hammered the facts down her throat like any adoring fan might. Her reply? “Well, I am stunned and a little concerned to hear that. I must get on the phone to my agent and see what’s going on. Thank you very much, though, for letting me know”. So, I don’t feel so bad for uttering the unutterable – and what a lovely, affable lady she was too! I don’t know if she ever did make that call. She died five years later, age 66, and still her records are unavailable. It seems nostalgia isn’t all fond, positive vibes. But there’s usually a romance of sorts there.
So, what veered my mind towards dear Lynsey? I’ll tell you. It was this week’s pick! This time, the lady in charge is none other than Jane Marie. I know you all know her. She’s the one who bombs into the New Artist Spotlight Top 20 chart with every track she releases. Yep, THAT one. No, not THAT one; THAT one. Okay, we have many artists who bomb into the charts every time they release anything. That’s just good music and good taste. But I’m talking about young Jane. Young at heart. Eternally bouncy and full of the nerves of a lost adolescent. It has its charm, I must say. Slim and fit, she keeps on with the music. I haven’t spoken about Jane Marie in a little while. It’s been two years, in fact. But that’s not to say she has slumped. Quite the reverse, actually. Since the last time Jane appeared in my Corner, she has released seven singles; each a humdinger. Her brand new track (as always, sung by the brilliant Jessica Mia) is ‘It’s True (Nostalgia)’. So why have I decided to pick this over other recent releases? Well, for a start, one reason I might not pick someone a certain week, could simply be because we have a glut of other artists. But the main reason this one felt close to me was the connection. I FEEL the song and its subject. It’s in the title… Nostalgia. Firstly, I was struck by the song being uncannily as if it had been written by Lynsey de Paul. And perhaps even sung by her. It has the ease, it has the light jazziness, and most importantly, it has those quintessential kooky melodies that framed most of her softer records. However, there wasn’t enough similarity to make this feel like a rip-off or a pastiche. It was just that familiar scent that got me thinking about those “good old days”. I was instantly transported – it’s only ever in a good way.
Which is almost a perfect coincidence, as it’s exactly what this song is all about. Please put on those rose-tinted spectacles, because while the future seems bleak as hell, the past is always peachy. If you think about it, our amalgamated past is what makes us who we are. We’re always told to think in “the now”, but it just isn’t really possible. We can’t ditch a life of history, connections, emotions, circumstances and happenstances. That’s like discarding one’s own soul. Nostalgia is a deeply personal resonance, and yet many of our memories (and “memories” of before we were born) can ring familiar with others. It’s a shared connection, found later in life. It brings us together in fondness and in warmth. So who better to sing these thoughts than Jessica Mia…? Ever since I first heard her voice, I felt like she was another soul who has lived life before her years. There is something ghostly familiar like a close friend you can’t quite put a face to. I think this is why Jane insists on having Jessica (or Jess – I never know which she prefers) as the voice of her music. I can’t really imagine anyone else singing Jane Marie’s songs. It’s a bit like trying to imagine Queen with a different singer. You see, Jane writes personal songs. Usually sad ones. But lately – after various sadnesses in her life – she is seemingly ready to dry those tears and remember the good times. Basically moving from grief to memorial. Jess(ica) seems to just know when to make you weep, and when to show the cheek. It’s a voice of personality.
Arrangement/production-wise, I believe that this is mainly Jane behind it all, but with a little help from a couple of others. The splendid drums are courtesy of Andrea Romaggioli. These drums really drive the song in its lazy meander. It’s like those jazzy brushes are hurrying up the cutest puppy that insists on relentlessly dragging its heels – then it scampers to keep up – you know what I mean. The piano – as always – is Jane, as is the bass. But there is just one other instrument… One that really makes the song, I would have said. Now, there seems to be some sort of discrepancy here… In the credits of ‘It’s True (Nostalgia)’, it states that someone is playing the tenor saxophone. The thing is, I said there was one addition that really makes the song… It ain’t a saxophone. There is no saxophone in this piece. There is a very definite trumpet. It is unmistakable. Then I had a vague memory of another of Jane’s songs having a trumpet in there. CC checks notes… Yep, it’s one of the songs I reviewed (‘It’s Over’). And sure enough, it’s the fabulous Dewi Chilton on both tracks. By now, I think Jane must have the most fabulous little book of musicians and engineers to call upon when needed. And no, you cannot use her contacts. She has worked very hard over the years to build this career of hers. In fact, it’s rather nostalgic to look back upon the years of having known her. To witness her grow and flourish. Who knows, maybe that Ivor Novello award will be winging its way to Jane! In the meantime, she can look back in fondness and pride at what she has accomplished. Jane, you have written yet another beautiful song. No, it’s true!
I must now polish my brogues – it turns out I don’t have people to do that for me.
Listen to 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙚 (𝙉𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙜𝙞𝙖) on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Spotify playlist HERE!
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