Album review : DANA GILLESPIE – First Love

Fretsore Records [Release date : 31.05.24]

Had it been published in the midst of today’s gender wars, the title of Dana Gillespie’s controversial autobiography, “Weren’t Born A Man” would have new resonance.

As it is, celebrating 60 years in the musicbiz, it was largely her success in navigating a male dominated world in post war London, that brought her to where she is today.

With a choice of covers as eclectic as it is tasteful, paperboy made good, Dana Gillespie, shows us why she has become a living legend in the music world, mentioned in the same breath as other celebrated artists like Janis Ian and Laura Nyro.

How do you replicate the energetic vitality of your teen and twenty years? By picking the right songs, the right producer and the right studio musicians.

Along with Tris Penna, old friend Marc Almond produced. Her usual backing band, most notably with musical director, Matt Gest on piano and keyboards, did the rest.

The songs: First Love provides a unique collection of covers that spans multiple genres, from Top Forty Pop, Deep Dylan, US Westcoast ballads, and Cabaret drama.

Allegorical opener, ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’, a Green Day song, is as much about the state of the world as it is about loneliness. Gillespie’s soothing tones smooth the edges, like an old fashioned crooner, working the crowd alongside a busy piano, set to a moody soundtrack.

The duet with Marc Almond on ‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’ is a peach. Written by Leonard Cohen, it’s rich in romantic imagery. A theatrical piece, with Gillespie playing the cabaret singer. It’s easy to picture her as a chanteuse in a dimly lit nightclub, and in tune with the melodrama, it verges on a spokenword performance. A real standout.

‘Not Dark Yet’ is a low key Dylan song, poignant, resigned, looking death in the face, spiritually, physically. The emotions stirred up are clearly echoed in the slow burning intensity of Gillespie’s studied delivery.

It’s only one step removed from the Python Lee Jackson ballad, ‘In A Broken Dream’. This is better even than Edwyn Collins’ 2009 version. It’s a tale of resilience and adaptability, effectively the essence of Gillespie’s career.

There’s more of course, but these songs stand out.

On all these cover versions, the passion that has marked out Gillespie’s artistry through the last 60 years burns as brightly as ever, and this is someone who has experienced the tough and frequently merciless side of the music industry on a number of occasions. And survived.

Her moving interpretation of these handpicked songs tells the story. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

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