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DANA GILLESPIE
First Love (Fretsore)
Notorious and naughty, Dana Gillespie is one of the original 1960s mavericks: she famously had dalliances with David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Keith Moon, and was a regular jazz singer at the cool London clubs. She has over 70 albums under her belt and, with this stunning album of covers, First Love, continues to be a rebel well into her golden years.
Co-produced by Marc Almond and Tris Penna, First Love is a very personal work, with spot-on lyrics and an easy, raw delivery. Gillespie’s voice is rich, emotive and guttural, the sound of someone with nothing to prove, and the album is an overflowing glut of history and interwoven experiences, put down on paper and told through her style.
Her haunting version of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams is just her and a piano. A great version of Morrissey’s Spent The Day In Bed, reminiscent of The Stranglers’ Golden Brown, has a full-on harpsichord section and rockier riffs in its middle. Dance Me To The End Of Love, originally by Leonard Cohen, is performed with Almond: structurally akin to a love song, though lyrically inspired by the Holocaust.
Not Dark Yet, emotive and real, outstrips the Bob Dylan original, and Brewer Street Blues, written by Almond for a 2010 EP, is another brooding, melancholic torch song. Lana Del Rey’s Gods & Monsters, one of two songs here by younger artists, is an interesting choice, heavy and brooding; In A Broken Dream boasts sweeping chords and a Bond-theme feel. I love the early 70s original, a Rod Stewart feature on a Python Lee Jackson single, but this rivals it.
Simple As This, written by another recent breakout act Jake Bugg (when he was good) is jaunty and fun, and there’s a nod to Gillespie’s former beau with Bowie’s Can You Hear Me, a classic love song performed with tenderness: electric guitar weeps, croaky vocals, jazzy undertones and cool piano. First Love is a fabulous collection, perfectly curated by Marc Almond: a selection that’s like finding a rare, beautifully restored classic car. Timeless.
words ANTONIA LEVAY