Covering Globelamp
Back in July I blogged about the incredibly talented Elizabeth Le Fey, who records as Globelamp, and how I was - to not put too fine a point on it - totally befuddled, bemused and ultimately blown away by the unique sounds and experiences of her debut album "Star Dust”.
And now Globelamp is back with another new album - this time covers of some of her favourite songs - and just like the ever wonderful Béatrice Martin earlier this year, has reinterpreted a collection of other people's songs quiet beautifully...
I'd actually been sold on this album by a couple of links that Elizabeth had previously tweeted. Firstly there is a stunning - ethereal - version of Blondie's "Fade away and radiate". At the time of the original's release (1978's "Parallel Lines") I wasn't that impressed by the track - the song's psychedelic vibe jarring amongst the album's unashamed pop sensibilities - but now, some 30-odd years later, I recognise it as arguably the best song the band recorded... but wow, Globelamp just absolutely nails this song - owns it. In many respects, for a self-confessed psychedelic-folkie, this is an ideal song to cover, but there's a magical quality in the way that the vocals - which at times are reminiscent of Nico - become detached, as if dismembered from the acoustic guitar and utterly haunting, swirling synths in the background.
The second taster I'd feasted on was "Sister of the moon", original sung by Stevie Nicks on Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" (an album that is always going to be compared rather unfavourably with its predecessor, "Rumours") and which in a throwaway line of self-deprecating humour, Elizabeth described as 'weird...' Weird? I can think of zillions of adjectives to describe this version (actually, I may have over-egged the depth and breadth of my linguistic skills - I am after all just a humble engineer with limited social and vocabulary skills), but 'Weird' isn't one of them... ‘Beautiful’ I think was the word I used at the time I first heard this version and to be honest, listening now, my impressions haven’t changed. I’m just in awe of the way that Globelamp manages again to seemingly detach her voice, especially on this track where there appears to be some neat multi-tracking on the vocals; the way that she manages to capture just the merest hint of Stevie Nicks’ nasal twang (see kids, the drugs do work), not to mention some gorgeous reverb on the guitar.
And then there’s the chance to revisit songs; “She said, she said” - from The Beatles’ “Revolver” album (and the only track that Paul McCartney doesn’t appear on - there you go trivia fans) - arguably a far more fragile and psychedelic affair than the original and which is, given the song’s provenance, more faithful; Donovan’s trippy “The sun is a very magic fellow” (I grew-up in Cambridge, where drippy ex-students hippies were always going on about the ‘Floyd and acid-tabbed sounds of the late-sixties) reinterpreted here as a child’s singalong - complete with a wonderful homely piano accompaniment (and off mic coughs - there’s a fantastic “one take” demo quality at play here). The album also features a chopped-down version of the Velvet Underground’s “All tomorrows parties”, which here is very acoustic(!), very funereal and - alongside VU covers by Dolly Mixture, The Chefs/Skat and the-bloody-impossible-to-get-hold-of “Plays Venus in Furs and Other Velvet Underground Songs” by criminally under-rated Dutch indie-rockers Bettie Serveert - one of my favourite Velvet Underground covers. All these alongside a storming version of Bowie’s “Velvet goldmine” that’s resplendent with swirling synths and once again the uncanny ability to mimic the vocal style (or at least the spirit) of the original.
But one of the things that I really enjoy about cover albums is discovering something new; tracks that were originally recorded by artists I’m not that familiar with (** cough ** deliberately or otherwise), so I get to hear songs by Lana Del Rey (I’ll admit, she has her moments), but the version here of “Dark paradise” - stripped of all the over-produced ‘fluff’ of the original - is far more powerful and poignant than the original, as well as her take on Anastasia’s “Once upon a December”.
But it’s when Globelamp emerges from the darkest corners of her musical vaults, that I really sat up and took notice. I’ll confess that I’d never heard of Vashti Bunyan until I listened to “Train song”. I can’t even use my ‘I’m not from around these parts’ line, given that Vashti hails from Newcastle. There’s an absolutely gorgeous refrain that just climbs and climbs here; “But suddenly now I know where I belong, It's many hundred miles and it won't be long”. This is an absolutely beautiful song that just brims with anticipation (and not a little doubt), which is captured perfectly.
Again I’ll admit to ignorance when it comes to “Amy in the white coat”, originally by Bright Eyes, the band fronted by singer-songwriter Conor Oberst. I listened to the original version; this is a horrifically creepy song about a father’s repeated sexual abuse of his daughter(s), sung from the point of view of the perpetrator (“...Your older sisters, I had them too, But you're my favorite, you know it's true...”), when performed here it’s as if the victim is re-playing the words in her own mind. I’d never heard this song until I bought the album - it’s an incredibly dark - harrowing - song, wrapped-up in a melody as uplifting as the lyrics are bleak.
The final song on the album is a cover of “Angel in the snow” by Elliott Smith who died tragically in 2003. Again I get to hear Globelamp’s version before the orginal. Of all the songs on the album this is arguably the most straightforward cover - it’s a graceful love song by an artist that on her tumblr site, Elizabeth mentions as one of her favourite artists - and this version is a perfect homage to the original.
I make no secret of the fact that Globelamp is an artist that I have a huge amount of time and respect for - ever since I first heard her album “Star Dust”. On this album I love how on the interpretations here she has stamped her own unique identity and the wonderful home-spun feeling across the eleven tracks here (even down to the demo-like quality and tape hiss) just heightens the enjoyment.
However, it does leave me yearning to hear some new, original material. Luckily, there’s a new album in the works, “Orange Glow”, which if the teasers that Globelamp has posted (here and here) are anything to go by, will be well worth adding to any discerning collection...
Globelamp ”Covers”
Globelamp Bandcamp site
And now Globelamp is back with another new album - this time covers of some of her favourite songs - and just like the ever wonderful Béatrice Martin earlier this year, has reinterpreted a collection of other people's songs quiet beautifully...
I'd actually been sold on this album by a couple of links that Elizabeth had previously tweeted. Firstly there is a stunning - ethereal - version of Blondie's "Fade away and radiate". At the time of the original's release (1978's "Parallel Lines") I wasn't that impressed by the track - the song's psychedelic vibe jarring amongst the album's unashamed pop sensibilities - but now, some 30-odd years later, I recognise it as arguably the best song the band recorded... but wow, Globelamp just absolutely nails this song - owns it. In many respects, for a self-confessed psychedelic-folkie, this is an ideal song to cover, but there's a magical quality in the way that the vocals - which at times are reminiscent of Nico - become detached, as if dismembered from the acoustic guitar and utterly haunting, swirling synths in the background.
The second taster I'd feasted on was "Sister of the moon", original sung by Stevie Nicks on Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" (an album that is always going to be compared rather unfavourably with its predecessor, "Rumours") and which in a throwaway line of self-deprecating humour, Elizabeth described as 'weird...' Weird? I can think of zillions of adjectives to describe this version (actually, I may have over-egged the depth and breadth of my linguistic skills - I am after all just a humble engineer with limited social and vocabulary skills), but 'Weird' isn't one of them... ‘Beautiful’ I think was the word I used at the time I first heard this version and to be honest, listening now, my impressions haven’t changed. I’m just in awe of the way that Globelamp manages again to seemingly detach her voice, especially on this track where there appears to be some neat multi-tracking on the vocals; the way that she manages to capture just the merest hint of Stevie Nicks’ nasal twang (see kids, the drugs do work), not to mention some gorgeous reverb on the guitar.
And then there’s the chance to revisit songs; “She said, she said” - from The Beatles’ “Revolver” album (and the only track that Paul McCartney doesn’t appear on - there you go trivia fans) - arguably a far more fragile and psychedelic affair than the original and which is, given the song’s provenance, more faithful; Donovan’s trippy “The sun is a very magic fellow” (I grew-up in Cambridge, where drippy ex-students hippies were always going on about the ‘Floyd and acid-tabbed sounds of the late-sixties) reinterpreted here as a child’s singalong - complete with a wonderful homely piano accompaniment (and off mic coughs - there’s a fantastic “one take” demo quality at play here). The album also features a chopped-down version of the Velvet Underground’s “All tomorrows parties”, which here is very acoustic(!), very funereal and - alongside VU covers by Dolly Mixture, The Chefs/Skat and the-bloody-impossible-to-get-hold-of “Plays Venus in Furs and Other Velvet Underground Songs” by criminally under-rated Dutch indie-rockers Bettie Serveert - one of my favourite Velvet Underground covers. All these alongside a storming version of Bowie’s “Velvet goldmine” that’s resplendent with swirling synths and once again the uncanny ability to mimic the vocal style (or at least the spirit) of the original.
But one of the things that I really enjoy about cover albums is discovering something new; tracks that were originally recorded by artists I’m not that familiar with (** cough ** deliberately or otherwise), so I get to hear songs by Lana Del Rey (I’ll admit, she has her moments), but the version here of “Dark paradise” - stripped of all the over-produced ‘fluff’ of the original - is far more powerful and poignant than the original, as well as her take on Anastasia’s “Once upon a December”.
But it’s when Globelamp emerges from the darkest corners of her musical vaults, that I really sat up and took notice. I’ll confess that I’d never heard of Vashti Bunyan until I listened to “Train song”. I can’t even use my ‘I’m not from around these parts’ line, given that Vashti hails from Newcastle. There’s an absolutely gorgeous refrain that just climbs and climbs here; “But suddenly now I know where I belong, It's many hundred miles and it won't be long”. This is an absolutely beautiful song that just brims with anticipation (and not a little doubt), which is captured perfectly.
Again I’ll admit to ignorance when it comes to “Amy in the white coat”, originally by Bright Eyes, the band fronted by singer-songwriter Conor Oberst. I listened to the original version; this is a horrifically creepy song about a father’s repeated sexual abuse of his daughter(s), sung from the point of view of the perpetrator (“...Your older sisters, I had them too, But you're my favorite, you know it's true...”), when performed here it’s as if the victim is re-playing the words in her own mind. I’d never heard this song until I bought the album - it’s an incredibly dark - harrowing - song, wrapped-up in a melody as uplifting as the lyrics are bleak.
The final song on the album is a cover of “Angel in the snow” by Elliott Smith who died tragically in 2003. Again I get to hear Globelamp’s version before the orginal. Of all the songs on the album this is arguably the most straightforward cover - it’s a graceful love song by an artist that on her tumblr site, Elizabeth mentions as one of her favourite artists - and this version is a perfect homage to the original.
I make no secret of the fact that Globelamp is an artist that I have a huge amount of time and respect for - ever since I first heard her album “Star Dust”. On this album I love how on the interpretations here she has stamped her own unique identity and the wonderful home-spun feeling across the eleven tracks here (even down to the demo-like quality and tape hiss) just heightens the enjoyment.
However, it does leave me yearning to hear some new, original material. Luckily, there’s a new album in the works, “Orange Glow”, which if the teasers that Globelamp has posted (here and here) are anything to go by, will be well worth adding to any discerning collection...
Globelamp ”Covers”
Globelamp Bandcamp site
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