Greetings,
If there's one thing I've done quite a bit on this blog, it is complain that there is very little good music being released these days. At least, when it comes to the new stuff and what is put out on the radio. In my opinion, anyway. Therefore, when I come across something that is fairly new and also happens to be excellent, I tend to get very excited. And that is why I chose this particular album to discuss today.
This review may be different from others I've done regarding music. Mostly because I have very little behind the scenes info on this album. Usually I could search the internet, even Wikipedia, for all that good stuff, but I'm limited here. Thankfully, what I am limited to is some very good music. Some extremely good music, actually, from an album called Let's Start Over by Spencer Gibb.
I was first exposed to some of this music about seven years ago, when I inadvertently found an EPK about Spencer Gibb. I watched it quite a few times and I still watch it every now and then. So, I did get a bit of inside information about how it all came to be, which I hope is accurate. For example, we got to meet a couple of people who worked with Spencer on this music. One being a guy name Aaron Frescas, a producer, who clearly knows what he's doing from what I can tell here. He also seems like he'd be a fun guy to hang out with, if I may say so. Another one is Kasi Painter, a singer with an absolutely beautiful voice. I hesitate to call her a backup singer, because she almost seems like more a vocal partner to Spencer on many of these songs. Their voices are quite different, but they compliment each other very well. One more contributor was a guy named Bernie Grundman, who was the mastering engineer and who is a bit of a legend in the industry, having worked on some very important projects in the past. And then, I learned about the string arrangements, done with the help of a guy named Ludek Drizhal, which are used quite brilliantly. They just lend themselves so well to this entire piece, especially at the end of the album. But I'll discuss that later.
One other thing I discovered was what I see as the concept of the album. Spencer said it started with a bad breakup. He didn't have to say that, because you can certainly tell that's what inspired it. Through and through. I love when an artist knows what story they want to tell with their music and they do exactly that. I can hear the story in this. Most importantly, I can feel it. And when a songwriter can make me feel something through what they create, it means the world to me.
Now normally when I review an album, I talk about the highlights and the lowlights, but here, I kind of want to go through all the songs and say a little something about them. Just a little rapid fire. So, that is what I'm going to do. Again, I hope all of my perceptions about these songs are accurate. I know I'm just giving my opinions, but I do like to get things right.
The first thing we hear as the album starts is that unmistakable sound of orchestral instruments being tuned up and prepared to play. I think. Look, I'm not an expert on this, but that's what it sounds like to me. And I've always loved that sound, as I feel like I'm being told that something important is about to begin. That would be true here. Immediately, we get started with a song called "False Hope", where we get to hear the first of some incredible and thematic lyrics that will continue on throughout. After that, we get the title track, "Hey, World (Let's Start Over)". Interestingly enough, though I do see this as a breakup album, this song really has nothing to do with that, as far as I can tell. It's more about Spencer venting his frustrations about all the horrible stuff that is still happening in this world. I can relate. I've written about those things quite a lot myself. And he seems to be going beyond himself here, talking about everyone's pain, not just his own.
"Empty Room" comes next and it is such a soulful sounding song. You can tell through this one what kind of music Spencer was influenced by whilst making this album. There's such a great flavor of R & B all over this. And there's also a wonderfully simple video that goes along with it. You can see all of the emotions being shared through the song also being expressed through the look in his eyes. Then, we have "I Can't Stand Up", which I think has some of the best lyrics. You can feel a sense of helplessness and asking to be held up by someone you love.
After that is "Water Under the Bridge". This might be my favorite song on the whole album. It certainly is the one that made me feel something more than any other. I may have even teared up a little at this one. Just the longing you can feel here is heartbreaking and the melodies in this song are astoundingly beautiful. This one absolutely took hold of my heart and has not let go yet. "You're Gonna Love Me Again" made me think one thing. I don't know what caused this breakup of which he sings, but he must have done something bad if his former love won't take him back. Especially if that person heard this. I mean, one listen to this song and I'd take him back in a second. But maybe that's just me.
"Man Burning" feels like the most aggressive track on the album, both musically and lyrically speaking. A lot of the songs here are, as I mentioned, heartbreaking, but I can sense a bit of anger with this one. Of course, that can often be part of a relationship ending as well. Next comes a song called "Forgive". Of course, there's a song called "Forgive" on an album like this. It's very appropriate. It seems to speak to that longing, yet again, to want someone back, but sometimes you may wonder why you want that at all.
The next to last song is called "Next To Last". Clever. To me, it has the most unexpected musical sound, and I love how he expresses the feelings about knowing you're gonna get hurt if you hold on to something you probably shouldn't. Yeah, I can relate to that, too. Though I wish I couldn't. Lastly, we have a track called "Avenue F" and it is a very strong ending to this fantastic album. It starts of very softly, almost making me think it would be a piano ballad all the way through, but it does build and it ends on what could easily be called a fanfare, where those wonderful orchestrations come in again. It just sounds so symphonic, for lack of a better term. It sounds like the end and it was the perfect way to do it. And when compared to what we hear at the start of the album, it's as though we got some lovely bookends for this masterfully created work of art.
So, in case it isn't obvious, I think that Let's Start Over by Spencer Gibb is an incredible album. I mean, if I'm forced to make a complaint, there are a couple of swear words in there, which I tend to not be a fan of. But, hey, it's his album. He can do what he wants. Seriously, though, this man is quite a brilliant musician and songwriter, something that is obviously in his blood. But I think it also comes from his own passion as an individual and as an artist. He's clearly a gifted storyteller and he isn't afraid to expose his heart through his music. I don't know what else that Spencer Gibb has in store for us in the future, but if it's anything like this, I will not be disappointed.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
