Thanks for the tip. On first listen to this new song, I was instantly reminded of Rosanne Cash---whom I am a fan of and see live often. So I will check Thea out some more. Arnie
I listened to JWH last night (the only album of hers I could find on Prime) - I thought it was very well done. Adding some nice melodic touches and sprucing up some songs that are a bit musically repetitive on the original album. My favorite (well, this and "St. Augustine"): I went through everything posted in the thread, and I also found some more originals on YouTube that I liked. Thanks for the recommendation!
Hmm, I had never heard of her before, but based on the two songs from this thread (and some on Spotify) she doesn't really do anything for me. The lyrics you posted, I'm not really connecting with any of that either. She seems OK, but I don't know, there is something missing.... and I definitely like 'literate' songwriters, as you put it. That's maybe too hasty a judgment, but I can usually tell if like someone after a few songs. What are some more songs you would suggest, if you were trying to convert me?
I took the plunge on "Regardless" (2013) and it was the soundtrack for this morning's run. I've only heard the album once, but a few things jumped out at me. There are some excellent turns of phrase (I liked how she referred to herself as the "death of the party", for instance). I was reminded in one or two places of Paul Simon (particularly Graceland/Rhythm of the Saints era). Two songs that stood out for me were "I Will Not Disappoint You" and the album closer, "My Friend Goodbye" (couldn't tell from just one listen if it is a break-up song or a funeral song). But by far and away my favorite is "Start as We Mean to Go On". This is exactly the type of humanist song I like that gets routinely derogated on this forum as "preachy", "naive", "telling me what to do", etc. It reminds me, thematically (not sonically) of McCartney's "Hope for the Future" with a bit of "We Didn't Start The Fire" in there as well. Some of these themes are revisited in "This Road". She wants to create a better world for her children - the nerve! This album definitely earned a quick revisit (tomorrow's run?) and I'm pretty sure that Thea is the youngest artist on my jam-packed 160 gib ipod (yes, I'm a classic rock fogey to the core).
I have the Sandy Denny collaboration Don't Stop Singing too. The single from it, London, got a lot of airplay and publicity here, as it was used by the BBC as part of the music for its coverage of the 2012 London Olympics.
Great show last Friday at the Sage, Gateshead UK. Here's my review from our local blog NE:MM http://nemmblog.com/2015/05/18/thea-gilmore-at-sage-gateshead-on-15th-may-2015/
Well, sadly, I'd say if you haven't seen anything in this thread that impresses you, then maybe she's not your cup of tea! I find her lyrics utterly dazzling. Who comes up with stuff like "I've got promises tattooed on the insides of my eyelids"? But I will throw out one more personal favorite, a slower one.
This is my favorite post in this thread. I had a hunch you, in particular, might really like her. One of the songs on her new album is a re-recording of a tune she wrote on November 4, 2008 (I think you can figure that one out). It was previously only available to her "fan club" (so to speak). The new recording is a duet with Joan Baez: She's done a few interviews while currently on tour in the UK and you'd appreciate that she's quite an outspoken "activist" type. Here's one: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/p...and-why-children-are-terrifying-10216092.html
Do I win a prize? Yeah, this is another song that instantly appeals to me - right in my wheelhouse. I remember 11-4-08 very well.
Yes, you DO win a prize! You get an expansive back catalog of (mostly) excellent work to explore! This compilation is her 15th album (remember she's only 35, so she likely has a long career ahead of her!). Plus I probably have another 70-100 non-album songs of hers; mostly original works, although there are a smattering of covers and alternate versions/demos of her otherwise released works in there too. There are several excellent albums of her original songs, a great album of "covers" and even a Holiday release that avoids mawkish sentimentality and religion (I think Thea's beliefs are like yours and mine). Sounds like a great prize to me!
I'll certainly do more exploring into her catalog, but I think I'm going to just keep Christmas "in the heart", not on the CD player.
I highly recommend this compilation on vinyl. Double Lp with virtually flawless surfaces and improves on the CDs sound wise. The new / rerecorded material sounds much better than the original studio tracks included. The new versions are consistently as good or better than the originals and the guest artists don't over dominate the tracks in which they are involved. Essential for both new and old fans.
Saw her open for Over The Rhine around 2004, and been a fan ever since. I keep hoping she'll do some US shows one day, but it's been 10 years since I saw her at Schubas during my Chicago days. Amazing talent, a great blend of 'artistic' songwriting yet without losing pop sensibilities. Every album has at least one track that in a perfect world would be a huge radio single ("Come Up With Me," "Love Came Looking For Me," etc)
It's surprisingly a not-terrible album, and I generally loathe both religion and Christmas crap. (Same with Tori's Midwinter Graces, while we're at it). Not essential, but worth a Spotify stream at least during the winter months.
A very nice new song by Thea in aid of the refugees currently flooding into Europe: http://theagilmore.bandcamp.com/ Give it a spin!
I caught That'll Be Christmas on BBC radio at the weekend and really enjoyed it. I'm keen to check her out but finding somewhere to start is a little daunting. Recommend me an order to check out her albums and I'll dive in
I think I got our friend Ben (aka @theMess) interested a couple months back. I'd happily provide you - or anyone else that's interested - an introductory playlist and discography, if you like! I love the fact that she didn't put out a new original album this year, but she managed to put a bunch of new songs (and some re-recordings) on her retrospective disc this spring. Then, like our Crowded House friends, she came up with a benefit song for Syrian refugees in the fall (although hers was a new composition) and now, in the last couple weeks, she's released a new 4-song EP. An "off" year, and she's released as much new music as if she put out a full album of new material. Thea rocks!
Yes, that would be appreciated. I had a brief chance to spend some time with her tunes yesterday, and chose Burning Dorothy to start. I quite enjoyed Sugar but the next two passed me by. My listening was interrupted part way through Pontiac to a Home Girl, which was a shame because it quite caught my ear. I'm gonna go back and have another go
Well, if you're liking that, you're going to be an easy convert, because I think that's her weakest album, by a country mile. I think she was only 18 at the time that debut was done... PM sent!
Well now, I've been "spinning" it over the last half hour or so and not much has really grabbed me, Pontiac being the exception. But I await your playlist with interest.