I am going to do a brief track-by-track summary from Ed’s final album using mathematical symbols (Or so he says.):
Tides:
This track sounds akin to ‘Castle on the Hill’ from his previous and best album so far “, ÷“. I also felt it had a touch of Oasis, Sam Fender, and Bon Iver. You can tell by the subject that Ed has grown up as he talks about his family rather than being drunk or high on nights out. Some might say the title is aptly named as life has changing tides and our responsibilities become more.
Shivers:
This was the second single off the record and reached the top spot in the first week of release. This is more a track about Ed witnessing others having fun and enjoying life again as the world slowly opens up after the pandemic. The tempo is ideal for vibes on a night out with elements of uplifting dance.
First Times:
We became accustomed to this typical Ed Sheeran song before and after his debut album “+”. Ed once again picks up his acoustic Martin & Co Junior, telling fables about his life, from his success of playing out and controlling EE Stadium(Wembley)to his marriage to Cherry and the birth of his daughter. Strings accompany this gentle ballad, and has an Irish folk feel to it. After all, Ed grew up listening to the likes of Planxty.
Bad Habits:
Everyone wondered if Ed still had it after taking a sabbatical, but in the summer, he proved that when this track became the summer anthem. Originally, Ed had no plans to release this as the teaser, nor did he want it to play out as the record’s theme. However, Ed saw that people wanted to go out and enjoy themselves again after lockdown, so he tried to reflect that in the song.
Overpass Graffiti:
This uplifting track around synthesisers reminded me of Dua Lipa’s ‘Be the One’ from 2017. It even follows the same theme of Dua’s song: love. The track also has Bon Iver-Esque vocal overlays.
the Joker and the Queen:
This Piano ballad with strings about love reminded me of Bread’s ‘Make it with You’ and sounded briefly melodically like the Noisette’s ‘Never Forget You’. It also reminded me of the music in the 60s for some reason.
Leave Your Life:
Ed told Jools Holland that he wrote this song for his daughter so that she is always among his thoughts, even when he is on the road. It was also inspired after a close friend passed away. It features Ed beatboxing, a string sample looped during the verses., and how he remains faithful to his wife and daughter no matter how far away he is.
Collide:
It has shades of Jimmy Cliff’s version of ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ with its implementation of maracas and the drumbeat. There is a haunting keyboard effect, pan pipes. The sensation can be described as being under a waterfall in the African jungle, as Ed assures you everything will be okay. The outro brings in the piano. The track is a top-heavy production.
2step:
So far, Ed hasn’t rapped on the album until now, albeit he does it sparingly. This is like an Usher RnB beat with a looping guitar riff as Ed touches on love, the common dominator on the record.
Stop the Rain:
An acoustic track with electronic drums, a funky bassline and synths. Sounds a bit Latin too.
Love in Slow Motion:
Ed isn’t just driven by music anymore—an ode to his wife about making their marriage the utmost priority in his hectic life. The song features a mandolin and his trusty acoustic friend. The track sounds like a combination of the Goo Goo Dolls ‘Iris’ and the Corrs’ ‘Falling in Love’.
Visiting Hours:
Ed wrote this about his late friend, mentioned under ‘Leave Your Life’ by Michael Gudinski. Ed lets out his raw emotion as he laments that he won’t be able to share future experiences with his friend and that he wishes there were visiting hours in heaven to update Michael and still see him. Again, the song features acoustic accompanied by piano with a choir during the chorus, strings at the breakdown, and horns and synths.
Sandman:
I imagine this lullaby was created as a song to send Lyra to sleep instead of him reading her a story. The lyrics are delightful, with dreams of those beautiful things we let our vivid imaginations run away with as children. For example, Ed says, “A Snowman made of ice cream”…I mean, we all had mad dreams like that. The track features a xylophone (usually used for lullabies.), a ukulele, a tropical beat, strings and a music box. You can’t get any more lullaby than this.
Be Right Now:
The closer has pulsating drums, electronic piano, synths, and a New Order/Peter Hook-Esque bassline, and as it reaches the chorus, the tempo speeds up and sounds like a track by Georgia.
Okay. I lied. It could have been a more brief summary.
Song recommendations: ‘First Times’, ‘Visiting Hours’, ‘Love in Slow Motion’
I will do a track-by-track review of the Script’s first greatest hits album. I might add that I was disappointed that my favourite track, ‘the End Where I Begin’, wasn’t featured:
Breakeven:
This was their third single off the self-titled debut album and followed a specific song theme pattern. However, this track was more hard-hitting and spoke about one person from a former relationship “falling to pieces” and not wondering what to do while feeling choked up when the other seemed to be “okay” about the breakup. Danny O’Donoghue’s melancholic and heartfelt vocals deliver this song with conviction.
the Man Who Can’t be Moved:
The music video tied in brilliantly with the lyrics and the theme. Again, taken from the debut album, this track was the second single and depicts a man who will not move from the corner of the street until the woman he loves shows up and feels the same way. Indeed, the man in the song asks people to tell her where he is. This indicates a metaphor for being in a relationship. While it might be falling apart, the man will fight to show his heart is still in it. Again, Danny’s vocal delivery makes the song believable.
For the First Time:
This track would be the teaser for their second record, “Science & Faith”, released in the late summer of 2010. It stays within the songs off their debut album. Indeed, it might have been written back in 2007 when they went into the studio but wasn’t quite ready to feature on a record. The track is similar to ‘Breakeven’ again. It is aptly named because they fall back in love like it was for the first time. However, this time, there is still a relationship ongoing, albeit in a dire state, but both are willing to act like adults to make it work, which happens by the end of the track. Again, the lyrics are about fighting to save a relationship with lyrics like “Oh, these times are hard, yeah they’re making us crazy, don’t give up on me baby”.
Nothing:
The second single off, “Science & Faith”, ‘Nothing’ showcased Danny’s vocals with the ability to be a swooner and blend thatwith his forte of being heartbroken at the same time. The guitar riffs and the piano took you to a place where the Script had yet to achieve on their debut.
Hall of Fame:
Taken from their 2012 and rightly named album “#3”, the band teamed up with Danny’s fellow mentor on the Voice and the Black-Eyed Peas member, Will.I.am. However, I am not a fan because, in general, I am not a fan of Will.I.am. He spoiled the latest Black-Eyed Peas album with that shitty software I can’t stand that alters your voice and makes it sound bloody awful rather than improving it. To think, Tupac was a fan of theirs back in the early 1990s. If Will weren’t on it, I would like it because, as usual, Danny’s singing and rapping are excellent.
If You Could See Me Now:
The third single from “3” is more about closure as the band discusses personal loss. Danny talks about losing his father on Valentine’s Day suddenly the previous year, and guitarist Mark Sheehan wanted the lyrics to include the loss of his mother after a long battle with a horrible illness a few months before Danny’s loss. Just listening to it, you could hear that the emotion was still raw and resonated with all of us when experiencing the feeling of losing someone close to us as well. A piano can be heard at the intro before Danny raps the opening verse. The tempo attracts your ear, and the lyrics make this a heartfelt song. The chorus is kind of catchy, albeit melancholic.
Superheroes:
The teaser for the 2014 album “No Sound without Silence”, Superheroes isn’t my bag, and I have never enjoyed the track. It just didn’t have that get-and-go like their songs do. They just seemed too safe sonically. Lyrically? They are up there with their best.
Six Degrees of Separation:
The second single from “#3” is a masterpiece. It perfectly explains what we feel after breaking up with someone we fell deep for. Bizarrely, despite the topic, it is quite an uptempo ballad. The chorus is where Danny’s vocals spring to life as he delivers the details with raw emotion, and surprisingly, it is catchy for such a thought-provoking track.
Rain:
This would be the teaser for the record, taken from 2017’s “Freedom Child”. Again, another song of theirs I am not a fan of. I was impressed by Danny’s falsetto, but I don’t know. The track just didn’t fit at all.
Arms Open:
The second single from “Freedom Child” again is lyrically beautiful. The message is that it doesn’t matter if you are alone when dealing with something because there will always be someone to hug you through the bad times. I found the song to be a traditional song for the Script, and the stripped-back sound elevated Danny’s vocals while the listener could relax and feel at one with themselves. It is worth checking out the video where the band worked with the charity A Sense of Home, which helps children find homes who are too old to be in foster care.
the Last Time:
The teaser off their latest studio album, 2019’s “Sunsets & Full Moons”, was released in November, a few months before all this shit happened across the world. As the title suggests, it deals with one of the lovers feeling like they are seeing the other one “for the Last Time”. The band sure knows how to draw the listener in with the relevant topics and the catchy melody, and of course, Danny’s vocals make this another great track by the Script.
Run Through Walls:
It is the second single off the aforementioned album. Once again, it was a brilliant subject and lyrics by the band. Just read this from thechorus; “I’ve got friends that will run through walls, I’ve got friends that will fly once called when I’ve got nowhere left to go, and I need my heroes, I’ve got friends that will run through walls”. Have you read them? Catchy as fuck, wonderfully executed with falsetto vocals, and what a beautiful message about the real ones who have your back and who are not related to you. The first verse addresses how true friends have saved his life (Whoever that is, I am not sure of because the band share ideas, melodies, and lyrics together.), and the second verse, the death of his mother, is brought up, and how the real ones were there and helped him through it.
Before the Worst:
The final single off the self-titled debut album again shows Danny’s vocal ability. It is about a boyfriend trying to return to the point of the relationship where everything was right and they were happy. The lyrics are typical heart-wrenching verses and choruses by the band. I also felt it sounded (in the chorus at least.) melodically like Kate Bush’s ‘Running up that Hill(A Deal with God)’. Yes really. Pay close attention to Danny’s delivery next time.
We Cry:
The teaser off their debut album, and as you have already worked out, the single that started it all. It caught your ears back in 2007 because there was no band coming out of Ireland who mixed guitar music with rapping (Sorry if I have made a mistake there. I think the rapper Redzer might have done that. I am not sure at the time of writing.), and that was refreshing to hear. Now, at the time, I listened to this song unconsciously, and my interest came in when ‘the End Where I Begin’ was featured on a FIFA console game soundtrack. The track has many different characters talking about their struggles, from a teenage single mother to a drug addict, et cetera. Danny described the melancholic song as people who are all experiencing hardships coming to cry together and, therefore, sharing the burden.
Science & Faith:
The title track off the 2011 album would be their last single. The song is up there as a fan favourite because it is a wonderfully composed love song. The lyrics are always the standout and why the band is well respected. It talks about finding “the one” and how, even though there are bumps along the way, you are destined to stay together until the end, which is quite a surprise from most tracks by the Script. I heard this song is written from Mark Sheehan’s point of view. Considering the song’s name, it all makes sense and falls into place.
No Good in Goodbye:
The second single from the 2014 album “No Sound without Silence” made my ears prick up. I love the wordplay used in thechorus and the metaphors in the verses. Again, the band touches on heartbreak and how to overcome it. The chorus was melodically similar to Duran Duran’s ‘Ordinary World’.
Never Seen Anything “Quite Like You”:
A surprise on “Tales from the Script”. This is the first and only track not to be released as a single. It is taken from the 2014 record “No Sound without Silence”. Many may disagree with me, but I heard elements of Ben Folds Five and fellow Irish band the Corrs. I could imagine Sharon Corr playing the fiddle and Ben on the piano. This love ballad is upbeat, and you can imagine this being played on St Paddy’s Day with everyone clad in green, stamping their foot, and clapping in time with the beat. Even the Script can write upbeat songs once in a while.
I Want it All:
It’s the exclusive teaser for this very album. The song contains all the elements associated with the band, and as usual, the lyrics stand out and pull away at your heartstrings. The music is sad yet subtle and goes along slowly, which is appropriate for an album closer. Danny’s vocals are once again on point even after two years out, and of course, the current climate prevents the band from touring all of last year and some of this year. His voice hasn’t waned during that period, nor have the band gotten rusty or lost their edge. Expect this one to feature in their live shows coming up shortly.
Song recommendations: ‘No Good in Goodbye’, ‘Never Seen Anything “Quite Like You”‘, ‘Run Through Walls’
Honest Opinions 