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Imelda May

TheGreek

By TheGreek,
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casapete Grand Master

casapete

Posted
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Only heard the new single, and the last one with Jeff Beck guesting - loved them both though.
Bit of a review here.
http://www.rollingstone.com/country/premieres/see-imelda-mays-shouldve-been-you-video-w474914

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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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Being in a 50s and 60s rock n roll band, I'm a big fan of Imelda May.

[quote name='Phil Adams' timestamp='1493881668' post='3291432']
... I can think of worse things to spend a tenner on, but I would appreciate a review.
And I love her new look!!!
[/quote]

Well here goes :)

Being in a 50s and 60s rock n roll band, I'm a big fan of Imelda May (and her version of Tainted Love has been a staple of both my bands: JBC and the Retros' sets).

Her latest album (Live Flesh and Blood), which I had a listen to yesterday, is quite a departure from her rockabilly roots (More Mayhem, Tribal) to a mellower more jazzy, dare I say Norah Jones "Come away with me" influenced vocal style for much of the album, but with tremolo guitar featuring heavily, sometimes reminiscent of that gorgeous Chris Izaak sound.

It's an album, not just a collection of singles, and tells a story of love longed for but seemingly spurned; but she leaves us with a message of guttural strength via four more rocky / punchy tracks to round off the album. It's the best new release I've heard in quite a while from any artist.

Well worth a listen.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1494024079' post='3292770']
Seeing her in Cambridge tomorrow night. I'm sure we'll get to hear from the new album.
[/quote]

Very envious you got to see her live last night, did you enjoy?

Edited by Al Krow
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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1494176431' post='3293807']
Heartily disagree.
[/quote]

+1 ! Her rockabilly albums were fresh, had a ton of energy (you only have to listen to Mayhem...) and brought back interest in the genre when it was pretty much otherwise being ignored.

Yes she is definitely developing as an artist, which is great to see, but by building on her rockabilly roots with this latest album which, for sure, is her best yet.

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Grangur Mentor

Grangur

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[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1494178185' post='3293823']
+1 ! Her rockabilly albums were fresh, had a ton of energy (you only have to listen to Mayhem...) and brought back interest in the genre when it was pretty much otherwise being ignored.

Yes she is definitely developing as an artist, which is great to see, but by building on her rockabilly roots with this latest album which, for sure, is her best yet.
[/quote]
That's interesting to hear.

At the Cambridge show they played mostly tracks from the new album, but the story didn't come across. The impression I got is the the crowd were a bit nonplussed at the rock tracks, but then a number of the audience came along in rockabilly gear. So rock wasn't really what they were expecting. I enjoyed it, although Imelda seemed to find it frustrating that the audience didn't get as excited as she'd have hoped.

As for Imelda; she's certainly human. Mrs G can vouch for this as she bumped into her in "the Ladies". :P

The sound quality was good. The bass was there in the mix, which is just as well; it's pretty important in most of her music. I recon I'll be buying the new album and giving it a good listen.

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pete.young Veteran

pete.young

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@Al Krow, according to Imelda, in several published interviews, the rockabilly stuff isn't her roots - she started off doing blues, jazz, soul and gospel, and the rockabilly came later.

I went to the first night of the tour in Ipswich on Thursday night. I like the new album a lot, some of the songs are very strong and the performance she gave was excellent. The crowd was probably 50/50 between fans of the old stuff and people who've discovered her music over the last year or so. The set was the whole of the new album, plus Mayhem, Johnny Got a Boom Boom and a couple of other oldies. It's clear where she sees the new direction.

She was backed by a 7-piece band: drums, keyboards, lead and rhythm guitar, trumpet, sax and the excellent Al Gare on upright and electric bass (an Italia Mondial Classic unless I'm very much mistaken). All good players, very tight as you would expect.

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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1494187794' post='3293917']
@Al Krow, according to Imelda, in several published interviews, the rockabilly stuff isn't her roots - she started off doing blues, jazz, soul and gospel, and the rockabilly came later.
[/quote]

[font=sans-serif]Hmmm...not entirely convinced: [i]"Her early musical influences were folk[/i][/font][i][font=sans-serif] and rock and roll[/font][font=sans-serif], especially the music of Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent[/font][font=sans-serif]. By the age of nine, she was a fan of Rockabilly...[/font]"[font=sans-serif]. [/font][/i][font=sans-serif]Seems to me that if she was a fan of rockabilly since the age of nine, that's pretty rooted, right? :)[/font]

[font=sans-serif]But much more relevant to what I'm meaning is that her very first album was rockabilly: [i]"[/i][/font][i][font=sans-serif]May began her professional career in 2003, forming her band and releasing [/font]No Turning Back[font=sans-serif] (Foot Tapping Records) under her maiden name, Imelda Clabby. Specialising in rockabilly[/font][font=sans-serif] music, the album was later re-recorded and re-issued by Foot Tapping Records under her married name in 2005." [/font][/i]

[font=sans-serif]All her subsequent albums, Love Tattoo, Mayhem and Tribal have been rockabilly. So given that she has ONLY released rockabilly albums professionally and she is developing out from that genre, I think it's reasonable [/font][font=sans-serif]to say that she has rockabilly roots? Anyway, that's the basis for my statement and I'm sticking to it! [/font] :)[font=sans-serif] I'm sure she no doubt has multiple other influences, as you say, too.[/font]

Edited by Al Krow
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silverfoxnik Grand Master

silverfoxnik

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I liked her as an artist when she first came out with the rockabilly sound and look; she had presence and a voice then.

But now, she's really developed as an artist IMO, especially as a singer - her voice is phenomenal now!

And there are some great songs on the new album too..

In an age of very bland artists and music, Imelda May is a very welcome breath of fresh air and I hope her career goes from strength to strength as a result of this album.

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