Danny Colligan - The Greatest Thing

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This week I saw Book of Mormon: The Musical for the third time (one Broadway, two London). It was, of course, as excellent and funny and heartwarming as I remember and expected. There were some tremendous performances from the main cast and ensemble - and one of my favourite past times is seeing what else they have been up to by perusing their bios in the programme, then stalking them on twitter. One performer that stood out for me was Danny Colligan in an enthusiastic and totally committed performance as Elder Davis. I found that he's been recording his own music - and, although only at the demo stage, his song The Greatest Thing resonated with me so much that I just had to write about it. You can listen to the song above - Danny, in it's You Tube description, seems charmingly almost embarrassed by it's demo state. He shouldn't be - the architecture and fabric of a good song will always shine through and it does so brightly here. Set to a mellifluous piano melody, it's a languorous accompaniment for his narrative about seizing love when and where you find it; taking that chance and not letting it slip through your fingers. There's a classic storytelling and structure to the composition which gives the song a timeless feel - meaning it will still sound just as fine when he (hopefully) performs whatever final version appears on a greatest hits tour sometime in the future. It's his impassioned vocal that anchors the song, letting his confident tones embody the lyrics with a nuanced confidence that serve to accentuate the meaning of those poetic words. There's also an organic honesty and earnestness to the song that allows you to relate your own experiences (or wishes & dreams for that love you've yet to fine). It's a sincerity that seems to power the song forward and allows it to crescendo to it's mesmerising conclusion. Raw it may be, but it is nothing less than captivating and certainly demonstrates a bright future for this talented young performer. Here's to more please, and soon.