Tom Jones

Week 32: Liam Gallagher- Knebworth 22

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

It is no secret that I’m not too fond of Liam’s solo material and the fact he hangs onto yesterday. Oasis is done, and he should move on. All good artists evolve, but the lad who burst onto the scene sounding vocally like a blend of Ian Brown( Listen to the really early stuff, and he sounds almost identical) and Tim Burgess is still stuck in his ways and won’t move away from the Oasis sound. It also makes me laugh how he slags his brother off at every turn, even getting his little sheep ultra parka monkeys to pile on, then plays only the Oasis classics written by his brother. Liam has the likes of ‘Meaning of Soul’, ‘I’m Outta Time’, and ‘Songbird’, to name a few. 

He is so nostalgic that at the venue where Oasis broke the attendance record in the 90s, he did it again as a solo artist and pulled in just over half of the attendance from 1996. You will recall he wore a white jumper to begin with before taking it off to reveal a white shirt. This time, he wore white again in the shape of a lightweight hooded jacket—however, this time with lightly tinted sunglasses on, if I recall correctly, a wet two nights.

Unfortunately, due to the abuse of his voice, the vocals are not as strong anymore. The last time we heard Liam sing with strong vocals was in 2001. As the “Heaven Chemistry’ tour of 2002/03 got to the halfway point, it was evident his vocals were going. He puts this down to how he delivered, but I have heard many vocalists who project their voice more, for example, Tom Jones, who also smokes and drinks as much as Liam did, and his vocals still remain strong. It appears to be an excuse, and he hides behind neglect.

Of course, as well as those craving for the return of Oasis due to them likely not being born or too young to attend, there were those from 1996 who returned. As you can imagine, the setlist was choc-full of iconic songs by his former band, and even some numbers like ‘Roll it Over’, which is relatively obscure.

I’ll give him his due on the performances; his vocals sounded better, but if I want to hear Oasis songs live, I will go on YouTube to watch them and remember I was fortunate enough to have seen them before their demise. Many asked me if I was planning on getting tickets for Knebworth Park last year, and I said, “If I want to see Oasis live, I’ll just go on YouTube’. I moved on from Oasis a long time ago. It’s time some of you did and let it remain with its legacy intact. Oasis did it all. This is different from the Stone Roses, who have unfinished business. If Oasis did return, it wouldn’t be the same. Oasis was a time and a place. Sorry if you missed it.

Song recommendations: ‘Champagne Supernova’, ‘Rock n Roll Star’, ‘Supersonic’

6/10

Week 24: George Ezra- Gold Rush Kid

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment
I first got into George when I was having my haircut in the summer of 2012 and heard his hit song ‘Budapest’. When I finally saw his live performance at one of the summer festivals in the same year, he reminded me of the grime MC, Devlin, but that’s few and far between regarding the review.

“Gold Rush Kid” is George’s third studio album. It is similar to his other two records. George has the knack of making his listeners feel upbeat and enjoy his albums, even if the songs are pretty melancholic lyrically.

Now, let’s get on with the review. The opener is called ‘Anyone for You(Tiger Lilly)’. Many have found this track their favourite, but not mine, even though it is the most upbeat track he has ever made. 

The piano melody reminded me of Vampire Weekend’s ‘Harmony Hall’. It was pretty much identical. The lyrics and the overall sound, though, are entirely different.

I’d like to know what his album teaser ‘Green Green Grass’ was inspired by. There has been an Only Fools and Horses spin-off by the same title, and Tom Jones also covered a song with the same title. I thought, “Hmmm. Is this a cover? or something else?”. It turned out to be the latter, but when I heard the vocal melody to the chorus, I couldn’t help but think that George had been listening to Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds play this or the original by Manfred Mann. The song I am referring to is ‘the Mighty Quinn’. Seriously, listen carefully. The vocal melody in the chorus mimics the song mentioned above.

The third track is the title track. I loved this song. It is exceptionally upbeat and has a simple melody to learn on any instrument. The chorus is infectious, and I will highlight some lyrics from the track that I found to stand out: “I have been playing rock, paper, scissors in the mirror, and there hasn’t been a winner for nine days straight”.

Of course, there are also moments of reflection that George is known for and his uptempo songs. George returns to his friend the acoustic guitar for ‘I Went Hunting’ and ‘In the Morning’. ‘I Went Hunting’ highlights the mental health issue with which George recently came out and said he struggles. George has a repeating lyric in the song, which is quite apt given that mental health sufferers tend to overthink things several times based on the anxiety and fear they are experiencing.

Another great song featured on “Gold Rush Kid” is ‘Sweetest Human Being Alive’, where George addresses the lady who will become “the one”. This song has to be one of his finest to date and is an incredibly profound love song. The lyrics are sublime.

Song recommendations: ‘Gold Rush Kid’, ‘Sweetest Human Being Alive’, ‘I Went Hunting’

7/10

Week 18: Tom Jones- Surrounded by Time

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

If you don’t know who Tom Jones is, I have yet to find out where you have been. The man is an absolute legend in the industry, and although that term gets saturated and loses its meaning, it is entirely true when it comes to the Welsh king of Pontypridd.

I not long ago finished his book this year, which I highly recommend for the fascinating insight you get on his life and how he went from a rat-infested apartment he was sharing with his original band in London to his very own mansion in Surrey after that hit, which wasn’t written for him was then put in his hands to bring to life. Tom went to Las Vegas and befriended the late Elvis Presley when he sold out days and nights doing the club and hotel circuit. However, with that came the barren years where Tom wouldn’t release new material and the rumour across the pond that he was dead due to lack of activity. It was when his manager Gordon Mills passed away, and his son Mark took over and revived his career. Mark had rescued his career from obscurity by scoring chart hits and working with several new artists. He performed on Jonathan Ross’s Channel 4 show, the Last Resort, in the 80s, which regenerated interest back home, and from there, he hasn’t looked back as his career has got even stronger than when he first came into the limelight.

He was even signed to the same label as Tupac Shakur in the mid-90s. How is that for a story? Tom regularly saw the Death Row entourage while he frequented Interscope. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out at Interscope. Still, Tom’s resurgence had begun, and from there, he went on to secure the legendary status his career was in danger of once coming close to losing altogether.

Now, let’s get to “Surrounded by Time”, an album full of covers and a few surprises. Staggeringly, this is Tom’s 40th studio album; when you consider the majority of the 1970s and 80s, he needed fresh material. It is different from your usual record of typical covers. Tom has even dared to show another side to his vocals by adopting spoken word, which I highly admired, and it made me see him in another light I haven’t witnessed since I first heard him many years ago (I honestly cannot remember where and when).

The songs on the record range from Todd Snider’s ‘Talking Reality Television Blues’, Malvina Reynold’s ‘No Hole in My Head’, and Bob Dylan’s ‘One More Cup of Coffee’. Rather than simply being a covers album, it reflects Tom’s life and getting around to the songs he wouldn’t attempt to do at a younger age. For instance, ‘I’m Growing Old’. When asked about performing it, he told Jools Holland he couldn’t have done it at 30 because the song wouldn’t have had meaning, so he planned to wait until his 70s to cover the song, albeit he didn’t until he hit 80. Tom said he was still determining if he would grow old with his lifestyle. But now, when he performs it, you can hear what he was driving at 30. The song is delivered more from the perspective of Tom being old.

‘Pop Star’, which is a Cat Stevens cover, has an electronic 80s vibe to it, ‘No Hole in My Head’ is a bouncy psychedelic rock number, ‘Talking Reality Television Blues’ (Which is my highlight) is brilliantly delivered by Tom through the medium of spoken word with a rock ambience. ‘I Won’t Lie’ is a beautiful acoustic folk song with strings and synths enveloping it, ‘Ol Mother Earth’ is another spoken word track over an ambient piano, and then ‘Lazarus Man’ to close out the record is a spoken word track with like a hybrid of 80s electronica (You know, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark-type stuff) with a psychedelic guitar of which you could imagine the late Jimi Hendrix closing his eyes and getting lost as his fingers work their magic on the fretboard and strings, like the Who meets Led Zeppelin.

I could have made this review an entire book on Tom’s life, but I would have been here probably this day next year before completion. Going back to ‘I’m Growing Old’, it, funnily enough, was released the year of his birth and makes it even more poignant to have it on his latest album. It is also an acknowledgement by Tom that he is nearing his mortality. Still, instead of letting that reality suffocate him, he is ready to enjoy his remaining years with dignity. Who knows, he might surprise us all and live past 100. Until then, he will continue living his life, enjoying his career his family, and drinking anyone under the table who dares to challenge him.

Song recommendations: ‘Talking Reality Television Blues’, Lazarus Man’, ‘No Hole in My Head’

8/10