It was the beginning of 1990 and i took a train to Milan from Lake Como (where i'm from) just to go to this "import" music store hoping to find this new english band debut album that i read about on a (back then) popular magazine.
I still remember everything - the beautiful spring day, the coffee at the bar next to the record store, a quick cigarette (i don't smoke anymore now) and the adrenaline growing faster as i was approaching my destination.
As soon as i had the cd in my hands i felt what only big music nerds like me use to feel all the time a new "find" was getting in their possession, a strange sense of complete joy, a satisfaction that i don't feel anymore in this era of digital downloads...
I vividly remember the trip back home sitting on a train reading the booklet lyrics, the names of the players and their instruments trying to imagine what the songs would have sound like. When i got home i wasn't disappointed, as soon as "Bathed In The Afterglow" started i had a smile on my face, one of those smirks that usually means that the level of musical pleasure is very, very high; and so on, with the following tracks making my next 40 minutes feel like i never been happier in my life.
"April" has to be one of my favorite all time song with its poignant chorus "I know but you'll never know, april is the cruellest month" (the line was taken by singer Steve Roberts from a T.S. Elliot poem), other gems are "If I Should Stay", "Baby There's Nothing Going On" and "This Is Not Love", timeless melodies that the simple words "pop music" can't give them the credit they deserve.
Roberts voice was one that sounded like he meant every single word and the music was the magical encounter of guitars, bass, drums and wonderful piano playing with bits of saxophone and the mesmeric backing vocals of Susan Elleni.
Some records have the power to stop time, it happened today, for about an hour it was springtime again, 16 Tambourines had the magic, i'm a lucky guy.
Steve Roberts still make music, if you want to check his work go to www.steveroberts.eu
No comments:
Post a Comment