Review: Edwina Hayes - Pour Me a Drink

 Hello, readers!

 You may remember that I have been to two Nanci Griffith tribute concerts in Southport - one in 2013 and one in 2014. Both times, Edwina Hayes was present and I had the privilege of hearing her beautiful and unique voice. Both times, I also met her - last time, I literally ran into her - and she was lovely.

 So, it is a great pleasure to be able to listen to and review her album Pour Me a Drink. Released in 2008, it is Edwina's second solo album.

 I must begin by commenting on its beautiful artwork: it is incredibly pretty and I feel that the blossoms decorating both the cover and some of the inside pages of the sleeve represent the album really well: the songs are soft, delicate and fragile like blossoms, yet also very strong, as is a cherry tree.

 The album opens with Run, a rather dark, sad song which I personally would not have chosen as an opener but which is very good nonetheless. The next track is one of my favourites, Leave a Light on for You, which is simple but very sweet and for me is reminiscent of a Nanci Griffith song.

 Season of Love is more bluegrass and I like it, especially the chorus.Very American-sounding. Call Me flows in the same vein as Leave a Light on for You and is similarly sweet and delicate. One of several songs on the album written by Edwina alone rather than in collaboration, it is a good example of her song writing - a simple but beautiful song about a never-ending love.

 The title track, which I saw Edwina perform live in Southport, is slow and haunting and very sad. It's followed by her take on the traditional Froggie Went a Courting, which is smooth and pleasant to listen to and has a happy ending!

 Edwina's cover of Randy Newman's Feels Like Home is the first song I heard her sing, due to its use in the film version of My Sister's Keeper. It also became very important to me when I moved from one University hall of residence to another and felt much more at home in the second one. I kept playing this song in my head and I now associate it with that time.

 It is a marvel in that it manages to be smooth and very easy on the ear while being extremely raw and emotional. It is probably still my absolute favourite of her songs, although I have discovered several new favourites on this album.

 The album ends with Irish Waltz, a lovely piece that sounds genuinely like it could have been written centuries ago in Ireland unlike certain other modern pieces designed to sound so that don't. Edwina's voice is always lovely but here it is divine, and Jack McKeague's guitar work and especially his dobro work are stunning. It is a wonderful end to the album.

 I enjoyed this album. While most of the songs are quite similar in that they are simple, delicate love songs with an acoustic guitar, each one does create its own unique ambience. Edwina's guitar work is very nice and her voice is gorgeous.

 As a writer, one measure of what I think is a good song is one that I would use in a film of one of my books. I would certainly consider this for both Leave a Light on for You and Edwina's version of Feels Like Home (although the latter has already been done).

 Overall, a lovely album and one which I am sure I will listen to a great deal.

 Rating: 8/10

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

A magical evening

 Hello!

 Firstly, a quick bit of news on the writing front: I have had a poem published in Ink, Sweat and Tears! It's a great honour.

 Now to the real purpose of this post which is to tell you about the concert I attended in Southport on Wednesday night. You may remember I went to a Southport gig last September, and in many ways this one was similar, yet it was also completely different.

 The venue was The Atkinson; the show was Nanci Griffith tribute show Trouble in the Fields, starring Pete and Maura Kennedy and Edwina Hayes - so far, so similar to September's show. However, this evening we also had the great pleasure of the company of Grateful Fred's House Band - Grateful Fred's also organised the evening.

***

 My mother and I arrived in Southport by train and spent an interesting while searching for the venue - last time we came by car and it was a labyrinth reaching it from the station! However, we eventually found the beautiful place with its lovely fountains out the front, and climbed the stairs to the Studio.

 This was where the show last year was, and I was glad they were there again as it is a nice, cosy little space; very nicely lit and with a real ambience.

***

 The show opened with a set from Grateful Fred's House Band which I greatly enjoyed. Their haunting rendition of Ride On was certainly my highlight; it was sublime, especially the guitar work.

***

 The Kennedys then came on stage (and Maura very nicely gave me a shout-out) to play a short set of their own songs. I was pleased to hear Midnight Ghost, one of my favourites, as well as some brilliant-as-always guitar and uke work from Pete.

***

 After a short break, the Kennedys returned for the Nanci Griffith tribute set, and after several songs were joined by Edwina Hayes.

 Having two such stunning voices as Edwina's and Maura's on the same stage was always going to be very special, and they also work incredibly well together - they harmonise beautifully.

 The trio just worked so well, and I am glad someone had the idea of them performing together - it really is something incredible that feels like it was destined to happen.

 Every song was a joy, but if I had to choose a few highlights, I would have to include Gulf Coast Highway, which I had been really hoping they would do because I adored it in September. I love the original song but the Kennedys' version may well top that for me.

 Also especially memorable were their versions of Lone Star State of Mind, Late Night Grand Hotel and I'm Not Driving These Wheels.

 Finally, I was very moved by A Light Beyond These Woods, a song which is special to me and to which they truly did justice, and Across the Great Divide, which I cannot hear and see the Kennedys perform without remembering them doing so twenty years ago with Nanci on Jools Holland.

 It is so lovely how the song has stayed around for twenty years, and has continued touching hearts. I have no doubt it will be around for another twenty.

***

 The show ended with Grateful Fred's House Band joining the trio on stage and everyone playing together, and it was a truly wonderful, joyful and memorable spectacle. They worked brilliantly together - their version of Full Circle made a fabulous finale.

***

 After the show I ran into Edwina who was absolutely lovely and then I had nice chats with both Kennedys. 

 I have mentioned many times before how down-to-earth and friendly Pete and Maura are, but I feel I should mention it again. It is very rarely that you come across two people who are so successful and popular, yet are willing to chat and laugh and mingle with their fans - who are not just willing, in fact, but seem to take huge pleasure in doing so.

 I came away with Edwina's album Pour Me a Drink, featuring Feels Like Home, a song with great emotional significance for me, as well as the Kennedys' Dance a Little Closer: a live album of them performing Nanci songs. I hope to post reviews of both on this blog in due course.

 As my mother and I rushed to the train station through the dark night with its light, misty rain and cool wind, I felt very, very happy - and I felt even more so when, sitting on the train, I discovered the lovely things the Kennedys and Edwina had written on my signed albums.

***

 Thank you to everyone involved in this night, it really was a night in a million.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

 PS. If you like the Kennedys or want to learn more about them, I have done an interview with them, an album review and a write-up of a show of their own songs they did in the UK last June.

Song: Across the Great Divide - Nanci Griffith - 1993

Joni Mitchell

 Hello, dear readers!

 For a while I have been intending to do a Joni Mitchell post, but have only just got around to it. I've been pretty busy recently. Anyway, here is what I have to say about a very talented singer and songwriter.

***

 The first Joni song I will have heard is Blue, because it is on Girls and Guitars, a compilation album I listened to a lot when I was younger. I wasn't a fan of the song, however, and years later when I properly discovered Joni, I didn't remember it being her song; ie, I probably never knew the name of the singer of Blue.

 So my real first Joni song was Coyote - the version from The Last Waltz.

 My family obtained a copy of the famous concert film when I was about eight and since then it was a fixture in my childhood. We watched it many times; one particularly memorable occasion was when we were on holiday in the Lake District and watched it in our little cabin overlooking beautiful countryside.

 After watching the film through, each family member would pick our favourite act to watch again, and my request was always Joni. I liked the song, but what I loved was the presentation: it was so simple, yet mesmerising.

 A few years ago I heard the recorded version of Coyote, and I much prefer the Last Waltz one - it's much more fluid and organic. But then, the Last Waltz seemed to have that effect on songs: I also much prefer the Last Waltz version of Bob Dylan's Forever Young to the album version.

 I used to vow that if I ever learned to play guitar well enough I would perform this song. Sadly, my knowledge of guitar is still quite basic. One day...

***

 When I was fourteen I did some work experience at my local hospital. I heard Amy Grant's version of Big Yellow Taxi on the radio in the cardiology unit. It annoyed me because I knew I knew the song, but couldn't place it. 

 I eventually got it, and remembered hearing it for the first time not long before, on the radio in the car on the way to school. My dad was driving me, and he challenged me to identify the singer and the writer. I didn't get either. 

 When he told me, the name Amy Grant meant nothing to me, but I wasn't surprised to hear Joni's name - although I had only heard a couple of her songs, I could easily envisage her singing this one.

 So when I worked out what the song I heard in the hospital was, I looked up both Amy's and Joni's versions and enjoyed them both (and observed that Amy looked like Elaine from Seinfeld). I later became a big fan of Amy's song Baby, Baby, and blogged about it.

 Here they are, the two versions:

 I still bop along to this song in my head: it has a good beat, despite having such sad lyrics.

***

 The final Joni song I want to share is This Flight Tonight. I first heard the Nazareth version and somehow found out that Joni had written the original. 

 I found her version and on the first listening I observed that it was quite dark and strange, and very Joni-ish, and that I wasn't too keen on it, yet I also somehow knew that it would grow on me.

 Now I never listen to the Nazareth version - not that I don't like it; I just don't have any strong feelings towards it - and I often listen to the Joni one.

***

 So, there you have it: three Joni Mitchell songs. I have listened to others, but this trio remain my favourites, because they are great songs, and also because of the memories they evoke.

 I hope you have enjoyed this post,

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs: Coyote - Joni Mitchell - 1976

Big Yellow Taxi - Amy Grant - 1995

Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell - 1970

This Flight Tonight - Joni Mitchell - 1971

Eurovision 2014: My two winners

 Hello, everyone!

The Calm After the Storm (photo by me)

 It's now been a week since Eurovision, and I'm pleasantly surprised that no less than four of its songs are in the UK Top 40 Singles Chart.

 Calm After the Storm, the Netherlands' song, is at number 9, Rise Like a Phoenix,the winning song from Austria, is at 17, the UK's entry, Children of the Universe, is at 23 and Swedish entry Undo is at 40.

 For me, this a a brilliant sign for Eurovision; that its songs are making their way into the daily lives of British people. They aren't things to be listened to as a one-off, but something to be enjoyed and valued.

 However, I am a bit sad that Malta's entry, Coming Home, hasn't yet made the Top 40. It and Calm After the Storm were definitely my two favourites, and both received a vote from me. I'm now going to talk a bit more about these two songs and why I love them.

♥☂✿

 I will start by debauching any perception anyone may have that, as both songs are folk/country songs, I only like Eurovision songs in this style. This is untrue.

 Some of my favourite ESC songs over the years have been pop, rock or semi-opera, and there are many folksy entries that I haven't liked; Latvia's entry this year, Bake a Cake, comes to mind.

 No, the reason I like Calm After the Storm and Coming Home are that they are both great songs, independent of one another of of their musical style.

♥☂✿

 Firstly, Coming Home by Firelight.

 Before hearing the sing itself, I heard a tiny bit of this on a recap of songs and I just knew I would like it. When I heard it through, I liked it even more than I had anticipated, and it became my favourite song in the competition. I also love the video; it's very moving and relevant for the Centenary of World War I.

 Commentators in the UK compared Firelight more than once to Mumford and Sons, but I don't hear that much of a resemblance. I agree with other comparisons, though - to Gary Barlow (Let Me Go) and One Direction (Story of my Life). 

 Despite these similarities, I think this song stands alone and is much better than any of the things it's been compared to!

 I'm really glad the UK gave several points to Malta, though I wish the song had achieved a better placing by the end (it came 23rd). It's certainly a song I'll listen to again and again, long after this year's Eurovision fever has sizzled out.

♥☂✿

 Secondly, Calm After the Storm by the Common Linnets. 

 I really glad to see this reach the UK Top 10; I had had a hunch that it would do well in our charts.

 When I first heard it, I thought it was a very average country song, but pretty enough. I hoped it would do well as it was so different and would be a refreshingly different winner. 

 However, it really grew on me in the two days between its semi-final and the final, and I liked it so much in the final that it received my second vote. I now like it even more: it is a real grower.

 I was really glad to see it receive so many 10s and 12s; it's really not your typical Eurovision winner and I had worried it would be overlooked, but instead it did incredibly well, eventually coming second. 

 I hope this is the beginning of a successful international career for both members of the Common Linnets, Ilse deLange and Waylon. They are already big in their own country; in fact, Ilse is a current coach on the Dutch version of the Voice (which I've just found out was the very first version of the show!).

♥☂✿

 I wish these two bands the very best for the future, and hope they will turn out to be Eurovision success stories, like Abba and Céline Dion. Even if they don't, I doubt their wonderful Eurovision offerings will ever be forgotten. They are a pair of songs with true longevity.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

♥☂✿

Songs: Coming Home - Firelight - 2014

Calm After the Storm - The Common Linnets - 2014