CD Odyssey Disc 1046: Imelda May

I had a lovely weekend, including buying a couple of albums at the local record store because…that’s how I roll. This time I got the 2017 Sheer Mag album “Need to Feel Your Love” a sort of disco/rock throwback record that – spoiler alert – is going to score very well when I finally get a chance to review it.

I also bought the 2015 Dwight Yoakam album “Second Hand Heart.” I didn’t need to feel Dwight’s love quite so much so I’ve been waiting patiently to find this one…second hand. I finally did.

OK, on to an album that is older than both those records, albeit not by much.

Disc 1046 is…Tribal

Artist: Imelda May

Year of Release: 2014

What’s up with the Cover? Imelda shows off her signature hair style and her rocker’s heart.

How I Came To Know It: I discovered Imelda May from an episode of the Jools Holland show, but “Tribal” was just me buying her latest album when it came out.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four of Imelda May’s five albums. Of those four, “Tribal” is only third best, but I still like it.

Ratings: 3 stars

“Tribal” is Imelda May’s fourth album and at this point she has perfected her sound.

For the most part, this is a good thing. May’s vocals are as strong as ever, throaty and even a little anachronistic in a fun and playful way. It is like some forties crooner was paired with a fifties rocker, stepping out of a time machine in the 2010s and belting out rockabilly standards.

I say standards, even though this album is comprised entirely of original songs. It is just in the hands of May songs feel timeless. She’s an old soul that fully embraces the fundamentals of music, and then dresses them up with a whole lot of glitz, energy and performance.

The songs are all written by May with the exception of two tracks by guitarist (and then husband) Darrell Higham and they’re well thought out and played with vigor. Higham is a gifted player and knows how to hang around right in the pocket and let Imelda be the star of the show.

The fact that May has never achieved massive stardom always surprises me. She is equally capable of being fierce, playful or sultry. For the former, she delivers a guitar driven locomotive of a song with “Wild Woman” where she climbs up on top of Higham’s furious surfer groove, mixing a bit of vibrato in with a lot of growl and making the combination work.

On “It’s Good To Be Alive” she saunters through the song with perfect timing and phrasing. It is playful and upbeat and celebratory. The lyrics aren’t all sweetness and light, but May makes it clear that a few troubles won’t keep her down.

On “Wicked Way” May gets sexy and sultry, aided by a lasciviously played trumpet (or maybe flugelhorn, I can’t tell). Whatever it is, it is a very naughty horn indeed, and May’s vocals dance it slowly around the room, holding it tight. O, to be a flugelhorn.

For all those high points (and there are many), there were moments here and there when the record loses my interest. It isn’t the playing or the singing, both of which are excellent. Rather, there are a few songs that are just forgettable. They’ve got lots of energy but not doing anything new or exciting in my earholes. I’d point out which ones, but that would kind of defeat the point, wouldn’t it?

It was telling for me that after this album, May took a three year break and came back with a different musical style (and haircut) with “Life Love Flesh Blood.” You get the feeling on “Tribal” that while she’s mastered her sound, she’s also stretched it into all the corners it will go. The production is crisp and lush, and you can tell May knows exactly how these songs should sound. If it is all a little too perfect in places, I’d be happy if more records had that problem.

Best tracks: Wild Woman, It’s Good to be Alive, Hellfire Club, Wicked Way, 

CD Odyssey Disc 1006: Imelda May

Chris Cornell tragically took his own life Thursday morning at the age of 52. It is still hard to process that he is gone.

I did not start out loving grunge as much as everyone else my age did (I am 46). At the time I was more interested in Celtic folk music. However, my roommate brought a steady stream of grunge into our house throughout the early nineties and I learned to appreciate it.

Of all the bands we listened to, Soundgarden was the first one that appealed to me. With their groovy guitar licks and driving energy, their music energized my soul and Cornell’s voice was one of rock and roll’s all-time greats. Back in the early nineties I was dirt poor, and songs like “Outshined” and “Hunger Strike” spoke deeply to me, giving a voice to the rage and frustration that seethed during some of my blacker days. It ended up being just as therapeutic as the upbeat life-affirming qualities of Celtic folk music.

After I moved out, I ended up missing all those Soundgarden albums, and eventually bought them all – and the ones that were released later besides. When Audioslave came along, I bought those too.

RIP, Chris Cornell. I won’t speculate on what led you to do what you did – there’ll be plenty of people doing that in coming weeks. Instead, I’ll thank you for all the great music, and all the lives you’ve changed through it. You may be gone but your memory will never be outshined.

Disc 1006 is…Life.Love.Flesh.Blood

Artist: Imelda May

Year of Release: 2017

What’s up with the Cover? Herein lies a tale, as gone are Imelda May’s delightful rockabilly style and upswept neo-pompadour hair style. In its place we have a stripped down May, with jet black hair, non-descript outfit and a pensive look on her face.

She’s still alluring as all get-out, but I admit I miss the wild woman look.

How I Came To Know It: I love Imelda May so when I saw she put out a new album I bought it after only hearing two tracks. Some people just get a pass.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four Imelda May albums. I like them all but competition is tight, and I must regretfully put “Life.Love.Flesh.Blood” and its annoying punctuation in fourth place.

Ratings: 3 stars

“Life.Love.Flesh.Blood” doesn’t just feature a fresh haircut for Imelda May, it also represents a shift in her music. Her rockabilly roots are no longer showing, replaced with an interesting mix of pop and lounge-style crooners. It is still a good record, but I missed the wild and rambunctious aesthetic of her earlier records.

The album’s first track is also its best. “Call Me” is a perfect mix of pop and lounge, and May’s voice has never been sweeter as she reaches out tenderly but insistently to a wayward lover. It is a good thing I don’t have May’s number, because I’d be calling her every time this song came on.

May wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album, and her ability to make a new song sound timeless is as brilliant as ever. “Black Tears” sounds like that last slow song at the end of a 1940s USO dance, where the ladies picked their favourite sailors, crossed their wrists behind their necks and let the music sway their hips just this side of respectable.

This playful sexuality has always been part of Imelda May’s music, but on “Life.Love.Flesh.Blood” she trades the more overt flirtation of earlier records for a more subtle and sultry delivery. The songs are slow seductions, best played in low light.

Lyrically there isn’t anything special going on here, but May delivers the lines with a believability and easy power that helps them punch above their weight.

Her rockabilly roots return briefly on “Bad Habit” where May playfully tells the story of a spendthrift who can’t resist a pair of Louboutins or anything else on sale for that matter. She goes to the doctor to see if she has a problem, but he only replies “there’s nothing wrong with you but your bank account!” Nice.

The album features guest appearances by guitarist Jeff Beck on “Black Tears” and keyboardist Jools Holland on “When It’s My Time” and both artists do a stellar job of playing second fiddle to May. Pompadour or not, she is a frontwoman who cannot be ignored.

The album feels a little too mainstream in places, and songs like “Leave Me Lonely” are good, but sound like the kind of power pop I would hear on the radio (if I ever listened to the radio). I found myself wondering if May was trying for something with a broader appeal. I can’t judge her for that; she’s long been under-appreciated, and has the talent and charisma that should have made her an international star a long time before now.

The record’s final track is “The Girl I Used To Be” which is a stunner of a folk song dressed up in pop clothing. While the song is about May’s childhood and upbringing, it also seems to express an affirmation that while her musical style has shifted a little, she is still very much in touch with her earlier work.

“Life.Love.Flesh.Blood” has less obvious standouts than May’s previous albums, but it is a nice slow burn. I enjoyed it more and more on each listen, appreciating the subtlety of these songs as they crept up on me. It is a good sign for the years to come.

Best tracks: Call Me, Black Tears, Bad Habit, The Girl I Used To Be

CD Odyssey Disc 860: Imelda May

Greetings, gentle readers! I return from a long weekend with much music success.

As a lover and collector of music I have a running list of CDs that I’m always looking for. On Saturday I found the third oldest title on the list at Ditch Records (Ice T’s first album, “Rhyme Pays” from back in 1987). I also found Billy Bragg’s “Mr. Love and Justice” (from 2008), also an ancient artifact on the list.

As a collector of a dead technology I’ve noticed that except for ultra-popular titles, anything from the late eighties (when CDs were new) or in the last 8 years (now that CDs are dying out) are hard to find if you miss them on the first print run. It’s made worse when you are attracted to obscure artists.

But that just makes the hunt that much more rewarding!

Disc 860 is….Love Tattoo

Artist: Imelda May

Year of Release: 2007

What’s up with the Cover? Imelda is chillin’ in a diner, looking thoughtful. I love the swirl in her hair (Sheila has the same ‘do right now!). Regrettably, the washed out “old-timey” quality to the picture doesn’t show Imelda off in glorious colour.

Also, I wonder how she got that big booth when she’s dining alone? Maybe she’s meeting friends and she’s the first to arrive. Maybe that expression on her face is her wondering where everyone is.

How I Came To Know It: For a while my cable provider gave me access to a music channel in the hopes I’d buy it once it was no longer free. I didn’t, but when I had access I taped about 40 episodes of a British show called “Later…with Jools Holland” which was basically former Squeeze pianist Jools Holland’s show where he hosted live acts on a series of sound stages that all faced each other.

I discovered a lot of new music through the Jools Holland show (which is known for amazing live performances) and there was no better discovery than Imelda May, who captured my heart singing “Johnny Got a Boom Boom.”

How It Stacks Up:  I have three Imelda May albums and I like all of them. “Love Tattoo” comes in a respectable second.

Ratings: 3 stars but close to 4

“Love Tattoo” is the earliest Imelda May album I have and also the smokiest.

Imelda May is first and foremost a rockabilly artist, but “Love Tattoo” has a delightful dash of lounge crooner. The combination gives the record a timeless quality that just gets better on repeat listens.

The opening track is a delightful combination of both rock and long, and has rightly become the flagship song of the record as well as May’s early career. “Johnny Got a Boom Boom” is about a boy with his bass guitar, and how he can make the ladies swoon when he plays it. If that doesn’t sound heroic enough for you then you haven’t heard the song. As you would expect, the bass playing is stellar, and I give full credit to bassist Al Gare, but Imelda’s voice is equally a star, as she switches effortlessly from husky seductress to rocker chick and back again.

The album is laden with high energy tracks, including “Feel Me” which lets everyone else in the band (piano, guitar and drum) get a little glory without ever feeling bloated. Other standouts include “Love Tattoo” and “Smoker’s Song.” On the latter May manages to make a maniacal laugh in the chorus feel derisive, playful, sexy and more than a little crazy in equal measure.

When she slows things down, as she does on “Knock 123” and “Meet You at the Moon” May’s voice takes on a soft bluesy tone without ever losing its power. Even when singing a seductive and intimate song, she always feels completely in command of the situation. Her voice is one step down from the all-time greats, but it is a very small step down and she more than makes up for it with skillful delivery and conviction.

Not only that, May is a gifted songwriter. “Meet You at the Moon” sounded so familiar to me that I looked it up to see who had originally written it, only to find it was May after all (she writes 10 of the album’s 12 tracks).  Like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Imelda May is able to take old musical forms and write brand new songs that are both timeless and fresh.

My favourite of the softer tracks is “Falling in Love with You Again”. Another Imelda May original, the song is a pretty little waltz, lifting and falling like a relationship reborn on the end of each verse, always settling into a familiar but beautiful lilting pattern, much like the relationship it is describing.

Throughout the album, May takes measured risks with jazz or Latin flourishes, but avoids letting the album ever feel indulgent. If I had a minor quibble it would be that she probably could have pushed it a bit further; something she does on later records.

It would be easy for a record like this to sound dated or insincere, but the musicianship is great, and May sings every line with such conviction she sells every word. Tough and tender in equal measure, Imelda May has the playful style of a fifties pinup, and the songwriting talent to back all that glitz up. This is thoughtful music that never forgets to also have fun.

Best tracks:  Johnny Got a Boom Boom, Feel Me, Love Tattoo, Smoker’s Song, Falling in Love With You Again