Irish rockabilly singer-songwriter Imelda May is a workhorse of a musician. She's released three albums since 2002 and toured each of them all over Europe and the U.S. YouTube is rife with videos to choose from, including performances at Lollapalooza 2011 and festivals in Spain and Ireland. I chose this indoor Spanish concert because generally the sound is better than the festivals -- it doesn't bleed as much and the singer doesn't have to scream, though the roughness in May's voice works in either venue. (The first minute of video is a bit muted, but the sound crisps after that.) I also like how close the cameras gets to the rest of the band, the bluesy trumpet solo, the upright bassist thumping along for an entire hour.
And how about May herself, rocking a modern, swirled pompadour ponytail, a skintight black-and-white striped dress, and red heels. She wrote all the songs herself, and she leads the band in every sense, keeping time on her hip with a tambourine for most of the show. Her voice contains traces of Billie Holiday, a southern rockabilly growl with an Irish accent, and a soulful moan that reminds me of Adele at times. Is it any wonder I'm smitten?
In the U.S., we haven't had much rockabilly in the Top 40 since the heyday of the 1950's, when the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins ruled the charts with "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Blue Suede Shoes." Imelda May is the best I've seen at recreating the energy those performers had on stage and in their vocals. Could Imelda May find the formula to bring the genre back to the spotlight, even for a single or two? That's what I'm hoping for, but in the meantime she's keeping busy -- last week she and her husband, guitarist Darrel Higham (who, by the way, definitely has an Elvis thing going on), announced they're pregnant with their first child, due in August. But that won't stop her from finishing her April/May tour of the U.K. and Europe, including a stop at Royal Albert Hall in London. Keep the new YouTube videos flowing!
No comments:
Post a Comment