Buy In The Still Of The Night and Come Home here (iTunes)
Listen to Debbie's instrumental version of Night Changes here
**50 YEARS OF POP WITH DEBBIE GIBSON**
Don't worry folks. I can still add up and am fully aware that without the use of a time machine Debbie Gibson is not celebrating 50 years of providing excellent pop music to the industry! (Although it is 2015, year of the "future" in Back To The Future so who knows what might happen)... As I stumbled across Debbie's version of the current One Direction song Night Changes (more on that in a moment) it got me thinking that as this month is the 25th anniversary of when The Wonder Years original soundtrack was released in the UK it gave me the perfect opportunity to reflect on how 50 years of pop has influenced Ms Gibson and how she has influenced the current pop landscape. Read on my curious friends :)
- In The Still Of The Night (from The Wonder Years) ~ Debbie's first cover version came shortly after her two chart dominating albums (Out Of The Blue and Electric Youth) and took us back to those halcyon days of pure melody and lyric driven pop music with her sax-driven interpretation of The Five Satins 1956 doo-wop classic. There was a delicate balance that needed to be adhered to with this song - it needed to appeal to those who expected a reverence and deference to the era The Wonder Years television show was set in (60s) whilst appeasing fans not familiar with such music as a stop gap before the next album. It worked perfectly. Because Debbie's own compositions across her two albums in the late 80s were largely influenced by the timeless music, she was already schooled in the structure of such music and understood the nuance of the era. The production of Debbie's version seemed to traverse the expanse of time to provide a bridge between her own saxophone infused numbers like Foolish Beat and Should've Been The One (the transposition, I think, to C Major really helped this transition). Her vocal encapsulated the angst and emotion of the lyrics while making it feel fresh and new (and because lyrics like this never age). Beautifully done and if you haven't heard this version before it's well worth checking out.
- Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (from Think With Your Heart) ~ Debbie had already teased a short snippet of this song on her Live Around The World VHS but it wouldn't appear fully recorded until her flawless Think With Your Heart album in 1995 (hey! 20 years old this year then). Her version of The Shirelles evergreen fitted exquisitely alongside her album of tender, piano-vocal-orchestral ballads. Lyrics fueled by self-doubt and ponderence temper what should be a sweet moment of yearning and passion are performed by Debbie so evocatively that it stops you in your tracks. There's a tangible feeling of melancholic pathos as the elegiac strings and backing vocals swirl around her fragile insecurities. There's a sense that this is an innocence lost moment, the first time this has happened - which makes it fascinating to compare to Bette Midler's recent version (on It's The Girls) which gives a more world weary approach. Both go to demonstrate how artists can extrapolate the emotions and sentiments from great musical art to match their own way of performing. Glorious.
- Come Home (original song from The Wonder Years) ~ as her second contribution to the Wonder Years soundtrack, Debbie penned her very own ode to that bygone era in the very charming indeed shape of Come Home. Very much in the ilk of her campfire mixes (see both We Could Be Together and Comes Right Back), this song both captured the family friendly ethos of the show whilst giving a voice to anyone who has grown up feeling like an outsider in the world. Very thematic of electric youth. I was (and still am) besotted with this song - it's lyrics have spoken to me in different ways over the years. "In the real world you're not always welcome"... spoke to me first as a gangly loner of a teenager more interested in piano and books than sports and girls, then as a comforting reminder of those who love you for who you are when I came out. Since then it's my go-to song whenever I feel a bit down or sad - the prospect of being uplifted by family (whether relatives or the family you choose yourself). After 25 years the message still rings true - "isn't it nice to come home".
- Night Changes (One Direction cover) ~ You may have heard of boy band du jour, One Direction ;) They've pretty much conquered the world and their latest single "Night Changes" is a mellifluous, melodic charmer that will surely stay the course longer than flashy album lead off single Steal My Girl. I'm more than delighted that Debbie chose to let us see even such a brief snippet of her singing the song as it not only inspired this post but brings the story full circle - teen queen of her day sang the hits from yesteryear and now those of reigning chart champs. Even this short verse/chorus brings out the contemplative nature of the song whilst her delicate, fragile piano melody is a mesmerising cadence that is intrinsic to accentuating the elegance of the tune. We're guaranteed at least one original new Debbie song this year (via her upcoming movie The Music In Me) but this has made me all the more desperate for more. Hopefully not only in my dreams...
25 ~ Walk The Moon, Avalanche (NE)
24 ~ Take That, These Days
23 ~ Kylie ft Enrique, Beautiful
22 ~ Bleachers, Like A River Runs (NE)
21 ~ Christopher, CPH Girls
20 ~ Kelly Clarkson, Heartbeat Song (NE)
19 ~ GRL, Lighthouse (NE)
18 ~ Olly Murs, Wrapped Up
17 ~ Take That, Let In The Sun
16 ~ Ola, This Could Be Paradise
15 ~ Satin Circus, Crossroads (NE)
14 ~ Erasure, Sacred
13 ~ MAX, Darling
12 ~ Walk The Moon, Shut Up And Dance
11 ~ Taylor Swift, Out Of The Woods
10 ~ McBusted, Get Over It
09 ~ Auryn, The Last Song
08 ~ Maroon 5, Sugar
07 ~ Gravitonas, Castle In The Air
06 ~ One Direction, Night Changes
05 ~ The Overtones, Something Good
04 ~ Madonna, Living For Love
03 ~ Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars, Uptown Funk
02 ~ Taylor Swift, Blank Space
01 ~ Olly Murs ft Demi Lovato, Up (3 weeks)
No comments:
Post a Comment