My Only True Friend (2017) – Gregg Allman

“I hope you’re haunted by the music of my soul
When I’m gone, please don’t fly away
And find you a new love
I can’t face living this life alone
I can’t bear to think that this might be the end.”

– Gregg Allman sings on My Only True Friend

Today we hear Gregg Allman reflect on death and a life on the road in the song My Only True Friend a track off the late Allman Brothers Band singer‘s LP Southern Blood. It is the only original song on the album and was co-written by Allman with the guitarist and bandleader Scott Sharrard, forming the album’s lead single. Although the track might initially appear to reflect Gregg Allman’s acknowledgment of his own mortality particularly given his health struggles during its recording – My Only True Friend was actually written from the perspective of Gregg’s late brother, Duane Allman. Co-writer Scott Sharrard revealed to Rolling Stone, “I never told him because I didn’t want to spook him, since his brother was such an important figure in his life,” explaining that the song was crafted in Duane’s voice, speaking to Gregg.

Southern Blood producer Don Was described the posthumous album by saying, “It’s not an album about dying. Gregg was explaining his life and making sense of it, both for the fans who stood with him for decades and for himself.” The album features 10 songs, 9 of which are covers of greats such as Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter, Lowell George, Bob Dylan, Willie Dixon, Jackson Browne, Tim Buckley, Scott Sharrard, Spooner Oldham & Dan Penn, among others.

Gregg Allman passed away on May 27, 2017 at the age of 69. The singer, keyboardist and composer led the Allman Brothers, one of the pioneering bands of southern rock, for 45 years. His life was marked by excesses, addiction to alcohol and drugs, as well as his multiple marriages. He was married and divorced six times. His third wife was the singer Cher, a marriage that lasted only nine days. Gregg Allman recorded twelve studio albums with the Allman Brothers and eight solo albums, his last being the phenomenal “Low Country Blues” in 2011.

The video below pairs the song’s lyrics with scenic images of Allman’s beloved Georgia and footage of the rocker in the studio with his band.

[Verse 1]
You and I both know
This river will surely flow to an end
Keep me in your heart
Keep your soul on the mend

[Chorus]
I hope you’re haunted
By the music of my soul
When I’m gone
Please don’t fly away
And find you a new love
I can’t face living this life alone
I can’t bear to think
This might be the end
But you and I both know
The road is my only true friend

[Verse 2]
Another night alone
But I see you in my dreams sometimes
No matter where I go, Lord knows
You were always on my mind

References:
1. Hear Gregg Allman Reflect on ‘An End’ on New Song ‘My Only True Friend’ – Rolling Stone
2. My Only True Friend», primer adelanto del disco póstumo de Gregg Allman «Southern Blood» – Dirty Rock

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Sweet Home Alabama (1974) – Lynyrd Skynyrd

I had this little riff. It’s the little picking part and I kept playing it over and over when we were waiting on everyone to arrive for rehearsal. Ronnie and I were sitting there, and he kept saying, ‘play that again‘. 

– In an interview with Garden & Gun, Gary Rossington.

Sweet Home Alabama is one of Rock-Country’s most recognisable songs and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s signature tune. Due to an over saturation of the song on the airwaves, it has lost some of its veneer over the years, but it’s still a heavy toe-tapping rollicking good song. I recall first hearing it in my late teens in Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia while on service-leave. I came to Lynyrd Skynyrd very late in my musical journey and thanks to other contributors here, I have heard a lot more from the group and my estimation of them has only shot up.

The song was written in response to Neil Young’s 1970 song Southern Man in which he described the racism in the South as he saw it after visiting there. Sweet Home Alabama was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s way to show rock fans that the South was not the racist land of protracted slavery that Canadians at the time felt that it was.

“We thought Neil was shooting all the ducks in order to kill one or two,” said Ronnie Van Zant at the time. The lyrics to Sweet Home Alabama include the following lines:

Well, I heard Mister Young sing about her
Well, I heard ol’ Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don’t need him around anyhow

In his 2012 biography Waging Heavy Peace, Young finally recanted Southern Man, a full thirty-five years after LS frontman Ronnie Vant Zant’s death.

I don’t like my words when I listen to it. They are accusatory and condescending, not fully thought out, and too easy to misconstrue‘.

People often believe Lynyrd Skynyrd to be typical, Southern Conservatives because of where they come from, but let’s keep in mind here that these guys named their band after a gym teacher who thought they were flowery hippies who needed to cut their hair. None of the three writers of the song were from Alabama; Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington were both born in Jacksonville, Florida, while Ed King was from Glendale, California.

Sweet Home Alabama has become a staple of Classic Rock radio and something of an anthem for the state and its various sports teams, even making its way onto a recent Alabama license plate design! It was released on the band’s second album Second Helping and reached number eight on the Billboard chart in 1974, becoming the band’s highest-charting single.

[Intro]
One, two, three
Turn it up

[Verse 1]
Big wheels keep on turnin’
Carry me home to see my kin
Singin’ songs about the Southland
I miss Alabamy once again
And I think it’s a sin, yes

[Verse 2]
Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her (Southern man)
Well, I heard ol’ Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don’t need him around, anyhow

[Chorus]
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I’m coming home to you

[Verse 3]
In Birmingham they loved the governor
Boo, boo, boo
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth

[Chorus]

[Guitar Solo]

[Bridge]
Ah-ah-ah, Alabama
Ah-ah-ah, Alabama
Ah-ah-ah, Alabama
Ah-ah-ah, Alabama

[Verse 4]
Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they’ve been known to pick a song or two (Yes, they do)
Lord, they get me off so much
They pick me up when I’m feelin’ blue
Well now, how ’bout you?

[Outro]
Mont… Montgomery’s got the answer

References:
1. Sweet Home Alabama – Wikipedia

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Suzanne (1967) – Leonard Cohen

I wrote this in 1966. Suzanne (dancer Suzanne Verdal) had a room on a waterfront street in the port of Montreal. Everything happened just as it was put down. She was the wife of a man I knew. Her hospitality was immaculate. Some months later I sang it to Judy Collins over the telephone. The publishing rights were pilfered in New York City but it is probably appropriate that I don’t own this song. Just the other day I heard some people singing it on a ship in the Caspian Sea.

– From the 1976 back cover of “Greatest Hits” (“some notes on the songs”).

Suzanne is my Desert Island Leonard Cohen song choice and in my top 10 favourite songs. This exquisitely penned romantic-folk ballad is the first track on Leonard Cohen’s 1967 debut album: Songs of Leonard Cohen and the fourth track to be presented here from the album after his previous entry: So Long, Marianne. Susan was first published as a poem in Cohen’s 1966 collection “Parasites of Heaven” (see image left).

Apart from the original studio release, I also like these two memorable versions:
1. Judy Collins and Leonard Cohen live Suzanne 1976.
Judy Collins welcomes Leonard Cohen to her PBS TV concert performance in this video clip from January 1976. They perform Cohen’s song, “Suzanne,” which Judy had recorded for her 1966 landmark album, In My Life.
2. Nick Cave’s version in the Leonard Cohen concert film – I’m Your Man.
The way he lags just slightly behind the girl chorus is ecstatically beautiful.

[Verse 1]
Suzanne takes you down
To her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she’s half-crazy
But that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you’ve always been her lover

[Chorus]
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind

[Verse 2]
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said, “All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them”
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone

[Chorus]
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind

[Verse 3]
Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror

[Chorus]
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know you can trust her
For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind

References:
1. Suzanne (Leonard Cohen song) – Wikipedia

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Good Good Day (2001) – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Nothing like an uplifting Nick Cave song to commence the week. Good Good Day was released as the B-side to As I Sat Sadly By Her Side, a single from their 2001 album No More Shall We Part and later included on both the 2005 compilation B-Sides & Rarities. The song is notable as a marked departure from the darker themes of the rest of Cave’s output during this period.

I like the looseness, almost improvisational quality of the lyrics in Good Good Day. Cave’s sunny disposition radiates warmth as he reflects on seeing Mary – revelling in her beauty. She embodies a sense of serenity and delight. Mary is more than a muse; she represents a respite, a celebration of simple pleasures and whom lights up an ordinary day.
To me the spirit and ambience of Good Good Day draws parallels to Bruce Springsteen’s Girls in Their Summer Clothes (2007). Both songs hinge on characters and observations that brighten their narrators’ worlds, whether it’s Mary or the carefree girls strolling past in their summer clothes.

No More Shall We Part is the eleventh studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The record, which was well received critically, came after a 4-year gap from recording. Nick Cave had to overcome heavy heroin and alcohol addictions in 1999–2000 before starting work on the album.

[Verse 1]
See the little cloud up in the sky
It’s a good good day today
See the little cloud pass on by
It’s a good good day today
Mary comes now, let Mary be
Can you see her down on the street?
Mary’s laughing ’cause Mary sees
That she’s a-wearin’ that dress for me

[Verse 2]
There can be times
Yeah… When all things come together
Yeah… Under a clear sky and you can believe
Yeah… You hold your breath for this moment
Yeah… But do not breathe for this day I know
Is a good day, yes I know
It’s a good day, yeah I know
Today…
Hear her feet skipping up the stairs
It’s a good good day today
She is the answer to all of my prayers
It’s a good good day today
Mary comes now, she don’t knock
‘Cause she’s runnin’ on her own little clock
Mary’s laughing ’cause Mary knows
That this day was made for us
And any fool knows… yeah
And any fool sees
That the future… yeah
Is a-down on its knees
But let ’em all cry, let ’em weep
Let those tears roll down their cheeks

[Verse 3]
‘Cause I can believe in the one
That is standing in front of me
Oh this day, don’t you know
Is a good day, yes I know
It’s a good day, I told you so
Today…
See her breasts how they rise and fall
It’s a good good day today
And she knows I’ve used that line before
It’s a good good day today
Mary’s laughing, she don’t mind
‘Cause she knows she’s one of a kind
Mary’s happy just to be
Standing next to me
And any fool knows
Yeah…
That the wind always blows
Something to someone
Yeah…
Once in a while, so let it rain, let it fall
Let the wind howl through your door
‘Cause right now for this moment
I’ll forever be
Standing next to her
On this day, which I know
Is a good day, yeah I know
Oh, it’s a good day, I told you so
Today…

References:
1. No More Shall We Part – Wikipedia

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Honey (2024) – Mr Bewlay

I first heard Honey on the Eclectic Music Lover blog last year and I have enjoyed listening to it ever since. It’s groovy as heck and the dance vibe is infectious. Honey was the second single from Mr. Bewlay’s Against All Reason EP and the final installment of his Reason Trilogy.
Mr. Bewlay is from Cardiff, Wales. His creative roots lie in the theater, which imbues his work with a bold, flamboyant energy. It’s said he embraces the idea of performance as a role – whether as a theatrical actor or an avant-garde pop-rock provocateur. Though his art is deeply intentional, it never veers into the overly serious, instead embracing a vibrant playfulness.

Honey channels an unmistakable ’80s dance vibe, layered with Bewlay’s signature sensuality. Lyrically it is charged with provocative imagery, it teeters on the edge of indulgent allure. Produced, mixed, and mastered by Lee House, Honey features contributions from Zsofia Pasztori-Kupan on backing vocals and Shishir Singh on guitar.

I’ll be your cardiac arrest
Steal the focus of your breath
Last night we danced in silver rooms
Spinning you round the open lights
Drowning in my eyes
I’ll be your prophet divine
Scream your feelings to the sky
Cos’ honey I like you
Honey the taste of you

Now call my bluff
And fall into my arms


Start to lose your breath
Feel the world in our embrace
I kiss that part you said you like
Shockwave through your spine
Made you come into the room
The focus you instilled
Could push through ennui


All that it took
Was this icy moment’s look
You cast a penetrating thought
Vibrations through the void
And every woman, every man
Had a spell cast on their minds
Throughout the globe

Now call my bluff
Fall into my arms
And all of my love
Falls to dust

Let me lay
Lie, in your honey
Let me lay
And lie, in your honey
All that it took was a momentary look

References:
1. Mr Bewlay – Facebook
2. Mr Bewlay: Honey – Single Review – Louder Than War
3. Mr Bewlay – Single Review: “Honey” – Eclectic Music Lover

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Suspicious Minds (1969) – Elvis Presley

In 1969, Elvis Presley recorded one of the defining songs of his career, Suspicious Minds, written by Mark James. It is the fourth song by Elvis to appear after his previous entry Burning Love (1972) and remains my Desert Island track by him. Elvis returned to his roots in Memphis at American Sound Studio after years of recording elsewhere. Despite initial hesitation, Elvis embraced the city’s thriving music scene, booking two weeks at the studio where he recorded 40 songs, including Suspicious Minds and In The Ghetto which would reside on one of his most celebrated albums, From Elvis in Memphis.

Chips Moman, the producer behind these sessions, was instrumental in drawing out some of Elvis’ best work. Known for his straightforward approach, Moman wasn’t awed by Presley’s fame, which allowed him to challenge the singer and refine his performances. Although the studio was far from glamorous – located in a rough part of Memphis and described as shabby it was home to a powerhouse of talent. Moman and his house band, The Memphis Boys, infused country and soul influences into the tracks, creating a distinct sound for Elvis’ music.

Mark James, a songwriter at American Sound Studio, had initially recorded Suspicious Minds himself in 1968, but it failed to gain traction. When he learned Elvis was coming to the studio, James revisited the song, believing its mature themes and emotional depth were a perfect match for Presley. Elvis spent hours perfecting the song, recording eight takes before he was satisfied. Despite initial resistance from his management, Elvis’ decision to record Suspicious Minds to focus on quality material rather than financial gain was nothing short of inspiring. Mark James would go on to write other songs for Elvis, including Moody Blue and Always on My Mind.

[Verse 1]
We’re caught in a trap, I can’t walk out
Because I love you too much, baby
Why can’t you see what you’re doin’ to me
When you don’t believe a word I say?

[Chorus]
We can’t go on together
With suspicious minds (With suspicious minds)
And we can’t build our dreams
On suspicious minds

[Verse 2]
So if an old friend I know stops by to say hello
Would I still see suspicion in your eyes?
Here we go again, asking where I’ve been
You can’t see the tears are real, I’m cryin’ (Yes, I’m cryin’)

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
Oh, let our love survive
I’ll dry the tears from your eyes
Let’s don’t let a good thing die
When, honey, you know I’ve never lied to you
Mmm, yeah, yeah

[Verse 1]
We’re caught in a trap, I can’t walk out
Because I love you too much, baby
Why can’t you see what you’re doin’ to me
When you don’t believe a word I say?

[Outro]

Released in August 1969, Suspicious Minds became an instant hit, topping the charts and selling nearly two million copies. The song was a centerpiece of Elvis’ live performances, including his return to the stage in Las Vegas after an eight-year hiatus. Elvis’ on-stage innovation of fading out and dramatically returning to the song’s climax added a theatrical element that captivated audiences. Despite its success, Suspicious Minds was Elvis’ final No. 1 hit during his lifetime.

References:
1. Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley
2. Story Behind The Song: Suspicious Minds – Vintage Rock

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Surfing Magazines (2000) – The Go-Betweens

I first heard this iconic Australian surfer tune watching The Go-Betweens live concert at The Tivoli, Brisbane (August 6, 2005). I got the DVD soon after it came out and played it all the time. I was hooked on Surfing Magazines upon first listen with it’s beautiful and stark simplicity. I can relate so much to it – being an Aussie kid growing up in the 70’s and 80s and spending our summer’s mostly down at the beach near my Nan’s place on the mid north coast, New South Wales, Australia. I love how The Go-Betweens manage to capture the whole vibe from those days perfectly in one simple yet charming little tune. Also it contains a really nice video (seen below) with old footage of Aussie surf beaches. It’s just a great tribute to the Aussie beach life in the 70s and 80s.

Surfing magazines comes from The Go-Betweens 2000 comeback album (after a 12 year hiatus) – The Friends of Rachel Worth. The album was recorded in Portland, Oregon at Jackpot! Recording Studio by Larry Crane. Co-founder Grant McLennan who tragically passed away soon after The Tivoli concert below said about the album: “Rachel felt really natural – it wasn’t like Robert and I had separate managers or any of that industry bullshit. We’d always wanted to record in America, too, so that was a real dream. I think it has a really mysterious, otherworldly, ‘lost’ feel to it.” The Friends of Rachel Worth received generally positive critical reviews. It holds a score of 77 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic.  

[Verse 1]
We used to get our kicks
Reading surfing magazines
Some good looking people
Wearing Lee Cooper jeans
They’re breaking on the headland
They’re breaking on the shore
And when you’re living in Hawaii
They’re breaking at your door

[Refrain]
Da da da da da da
Da da da da da da
Da da da da da da
Da da da da da da

[Verse 2]
We used to wet our fingers
On surfing magazines
Going to throw school
And follow those scenes
Going to get a Kombi
And go from beach to beach
Be the kind of people
The Authorities can’t reach

[Verse 3]
We used to get our kicks
Reading surfing magazines
Wake up in the morning
And the waves are clean
Standing on the headland
Taking in the scene
Just like they do it
In surfing magazines

[Refrain]
Da da da da da da (surfing magazines)
Da da da da da da (surfing magazines)
Da da da da da da (surfing magazines)
Da da da da da da (surfing magazines)

References:
1. The Friends of Rachel Worth – Wikipedia

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Make You Feel My Love (1997) – Bob Dylan

Michael Bolton routinely introduces a number he’s about to sing by first announcing its composer, Bob Dylan. The reaction is usually muted: “Bob Dylan should elicit this enormous response,” he says. “But I don’t get that.” Then the piano-based melody starts up, Bolton works his way into the soothing melody, and the crowd melts. “It makes people feel good and they give it up at the end the song,” Bolton says. “It’s the audience’s response to the song that turns it all around.”

How Bob Dylan’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’ Became a Modern Standard – Rolling Stone

Make You Feel My Love is a song written by Bob Dylan from his album Time Out of Mind (1997). It was first released commercially by Billy Joel, under the title To Make You Feel My Love, before Dylan’s version appeared later that same year. It has been covered by numerous performers but the most famous cover is by Adele on her debut studio album 19. The popularity of making a hit from a Dylan penned song is more associated with his 60’s output – including Blowing in the Wind, Mr. Tambourine Man and All Along the Watchtower, but Make You Feel My Love was a 90’s track that prominent music artists were falling all over to record. Even Rolling Stone argue that the song has become a modern standard with more than 450 artists having recorded it.

Make You Feel My Love is where Dylan pledges a heartfelt promise of unconditional devotion. It is hardly one of Dylan’s most complex or metaphorical songs. Yet for those very reasons, it’s been elevated to one of the most covered songs in his catalogue. The song has sparked an incredible range of interpretations, spanning mainstream pop, smooth jazz, glee-club harmonies, and even instrumental lullabies for babies. Dylan’s recording features him on piano. “I have a really great spinet piano that is a beautifully restored masterpiece from the Twenties,” producer Daniel Lanois shared with Rolling Stone in 2016.

The following was extracted from the RT article below:
Performing and plugging the song on The Late Show that year, Billy Joel told David Letterman that when he heard it, “my hair stood up on my arms.” To Rolling Stone, he added, “It’s like you struck gold.” Dylan’s less smoothly sung and produced version below arrived a month after Joel’s.
But it would be Adele who made the song the must-croon ballad of the past decade. After she had finished her 2008 debut, 19, manager Jonathan Dickins suggested she cut the song as a last-minute addition to the album. “I heard that song and I read the lyrics and they’re the most beautiful lyrics I’ve ever read or heard or sung,” Adele said at the time. “And they kind of summed up everything I’m trying to write in my songs about how I felt. It’s such a beautiful song.”

[Verse 1]
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love

[Verse 2]
When the evening shatters and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

[Bridge]
I know you haven’t made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I’ve known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong

[Verse 3]
I’d go hungry, I’d go black and blue
I’d go crawling down the avenue
There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do
To make you feel my love

[Bridge]
The storms are raging on the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain’t seen nothing like me yet

[Verse 4]
I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn’t do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
To make you feel my love

The following was extracted from the Wikipedia article below:
Spectrum Culture included the song on a list of “Bob Dylan’s 20 Best Songs of the 90s“. In an article accompanying the list, critic John Paul described it thus:

“Accompanied by a lone piano, ghostlike bass line and slightly woozy sounding organ playing sustained notes throughout, the arrangement of the song isn’t terribly remarkable, the meat of the song itself relying on Dylan’s surprisingly emotional read and jazz-like chord progression”.

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matthew Wilkening rated “Make You Feel My Love” as the 7th best song Dylan recorded between 1992 and 2011, praising it as a “weary, textured masterpiece“.

A 2021 Guardian article included it on a list of “80 Bob Dylan songs everyone should know“.

According to his official website, Dylan performed the song live over 300 times in concert between 1997 and 2019 on the Never Ending Tour.

References:
1. How Bob Dylan’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’ Became a Modern Standard – Rolling Stone
2. Make You Feel My Love – Wikipedia

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Superstar (2010) – James Blunt

“I guess the title is misleading because people think it has to do with my experience in the music business. Instead, it’s the way a lot of people will look at the world today. If we asked children twenty years ago what they wanted to be, they would say a doctor, or fireman, or race car driver. Now if you ask, they just want to be famous. You turn on the TV and you see images that tell you success is measured by fame. If you open magazines, they tell you what clothes you should wear or what music you should listen to. The song is the story of a teenager who is saying he doesn’t want to be force-fed who I should be, this notion of freedom is not freedom at all. I want to be myself.”

Blunt in an interview with Mike Ragnoga of Solar Powered KRUU-FM – Songfacts

Before I discuss today’s featured song, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year 2025 with open arms. ‘Hurray’! I hope it brings you happiness, health, and prosperity. 

I was surprised to learn Superstar is the 6th song to be presented here from James Blunt after his previous entry – Goodbye My Lover. It is a track from British singer-songwriter’s third studio album, Some Kind of Trouble (see image inset). The album was recorded largely in London with members of James’ touring band. The album cover depicts an image of YouTuber Shay Carl Butler throwing his daughter Emmi up in the air. The original photo was taken by Butler’s wife, Colette, with an iPhone.

The album’s reception by critics wasn’t kind receiving a meagre aggregate score of 45/100 from Metacritic. Ouch. Even still, I like today’s song along with three others from the record, namely: I’ll Be Your Man, Best Laid Plans and Stay The Night. They may not reach the heights of some of his other big hits, but I enjoy listening to them on occasion. Blunt described the album, saying “It’s got a certain innocence to it, which my last album didn’t have. It doesn’t sound like the current popular electro sound; it sounds like the late 70s / early 80s when the US electric guitar bands came to the UK. What I really like about it is its energy and optimism..”

The album debut at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 100,000 copies. On the Billboard 200, the album debuted at number eleven, with sales of 26,000 copies. To date, the album has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

[Verse 1]
There is an empty space in the chair tonight
Cause he don’t feel right
There are stormclouds brewing at the back of his mind
As he steps outside
He will be twenty in a week
But he’s old for his years
He’s had many of those
To confront his own fears
But his father’s not the man he’d like to grow up to be
And his mother isn’t growing old gracefully

[Chorus]
He says times like these I don’t want to be a superstar
Cause reality tv killed them all in America
Though the sun always shines in the magazines
Tonight can we be free to be who we really are

[Verse 2]
There is an empty space between the lines tonight
And it burns so bright
And the angry silence that he throws on the floor
Says he don’t care anymore
He had money for the truth
But love’s a lot more
And the answer’s is not the one he was looking for
His father’s not the man he’d like to grow up to be
And his mother is his mother reluctantly

References:
1. Some Kind of Trouble – Wikipedia

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The Phantom Thread’s New Year’s Eve Party

To share and celebrate making more cherished memories in 2025, I present to you; what has become a New Year’s Eve tradition here at Observation Blogger: The New Year’s Eve party scene from Phantom Thread which currently sits at No. 23 on my all-time favourite movie list. If you would like to read my review of The Phantom Thread (2017) by Paul Thomas Anderson you can do so by clicking the reference at the end of this post.

Apart from The Phantom Thread scene below, three other notable mentions for me are the following auld lang syne movie scenes:

I always felt that Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will be Blood was a homage of sorts to Orson Welles and Citizen Kane and The Phantom Thread an attempt to honor and pay tribute to Ingmar Bergman. Regarding the latter, I think the New Years event below captures perfectly the awkwardness and melancholic nature of Reynolds Woodcock. It’s an insanely romantic scene although Reynolds and Alma don’t kiss at the stroke of midnight and he scorns at her for making him go out of his way and pulls her out of the ballroom. But, the fact remains that he is there with her. Is that what Alma finds charming about him? Is this is what being in love is like? I think Reynolds realises that finding himself being there is a revelation and reinforces how much he needs Alma and dare I say, truly loves her.

I’m so grateful my friends are here to celebrate the coming-in of the New Year in good cheer! To quote Bob Dylan at his Oscar acceptance speech in 2001:

God bless y’all with peace, tranquillity and goodwill.

Related Articles:
1. The Phantom Thread (2017) – Paul Thomas Anderson (Friday’s Finest)

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