Posted by Nick Courtney 9th February 2006 CHARLIE DORE is to perform at Roger Courtney's Open Mike Music Club "SLEEP ALL DAY AND OTHER STORIES" Charlie Dore has looked at the songwriter’s art from both sides now. Initially a highly original, much vaunted solo artist (her self-written All of which has been fine and dandy for Celine et al, for their fans and, From the moment you pick up Sleep All Day and Other Stories, you’re “If I had to place it within a genre, I suppose I’d have to say it’s So, if you can imagine what might happen if you shut the McGarrigle “Am I feeling OK?” she asks, in anticipation of such a reaction. “Yes, Why then has she opened up to such an extent, after years of putting “For the first time in a long while, I was writing with no-one but “But that just wasn’t appropriate here. What I wanted to create instead Not that Charlie has become disenchanted with the business of “I still enjoy the process massively,” she says, “although I’ll admit But being so successful at her ‘day job’‚ meant that it was hard to put “To take myself seriously and not keep shunting this back in favour of There was, she admits, a lovely freedom to having no-one (A&R man, Written simply and organically with her long-time collaborator and “I wrote some notes a while back analysing what was the subject-matter And so on and so on ... Not songs likely to find their way onto the What next for Charlie? Well, the work of the successful incidental And she continues to perform occasionally and schedules-permitting with Then, of course, the phone continues to ring with requests that she www.charliedore.com
on September 26, 2005, 11:30 pm
172.201.84.174
single Pilot Of The Airwaves reached Number 13 on the American Hot 100
back in 1980), she went on to ply her gifts for inspired melodies, big
harmonies, memorable-at-the-first-hearing choruses and clever, quietly
subversive lyrics in the wider commercial marketplace, and with great
success: Tina Turner, Celine Dion, Lisa Stansfield, Jimmy Nail, Sheena
Easton and Hayley Westenra are just a handful of the diverse artists to
have had major hits with her compositions, or to have included them on
platinum or multi-platinum-selling albums.
indeed, for Charlie and her publishing company, but, well ... What about
her own fans, those entranced by the 1979 debut album Where To Now?
or its successor of two years later, Listen? There‚s been precious little to
sustain them in the interim. In fact, nothing other than 1995‚s third solo
album, Things Change.
aware you’re handling something conceived outside of all current
marketplace and commercial concerns. And when you hear Charlie’s
crystalline vocals and cool, considered tone, you’re left in no doubt
at all that the 10-song collection has been a labour of love, made
without compromise or concession.
alternative country-folk, but with Americana as a cousin.” she says. “I
really like the simple, straightforward country thing, but I can’t deny
that I’m a total Beatles child too, having grown up with them and
loving them still today.”
Sisters in a room with Gillian Welch and made them listen to Lennon and
McCartney all day ... This album might just possibly be the result.
In terms of mood, its songs are by turns introspective, acerbic,
rueful, even gently malevolent (and more besides), prompting Charlie to
laugh at the notion that listeners might imagine the lyrics are taken
straight from her bedside diary.
thank you, I’m very OK. But I can understand what might prompt the
question. Some of the lines here could certainly make you wonder.”
less revealing words in other artists‚ mouths?
myself in mind. I felt freed up to be as dark as ever I wanted -
something that’s not really appropriate when you’re working
as a pen for hire,” she judges. “I think that even in extremely good,
technically faultless pop songs, you can still trace the footsteps of
the professional songwriter, identifying those little tricks and slick
moves that all of us rely on.
was an album that was truly personal, and which spoke honestly and from
the heart - my heart. I’m not saying every single lyric reflects a real event in
my life but certainly each song is definitely coloured by my own experiences.
You can’t achieve that with a rhyming dictionary and a bunch of pretty phrases.”
commercial songwriting.
the fact that the star-maker aspect at the other end of it has become
so formulaic is just a little depressing these days.”
aside the time even to think about putting together this, her first
collection of original, self-performed material in eight years.
other deadlines, I ended up setting aside two days a week just for me.
By treating this as if it were one more among the various projects that
I was working on, it finally started to come together.”
manager, artist, whoever) to please but herself.
musical partner, Julian Littman, the songs on ‘Sleep All Day and Other
Stories'really don’t sound quite like anything, or anyone, else. So
what are they about? Charlie smiles, and reaches to
take a small book from her bag.
of the songs I’d collected together so far, and I can read from them to
you,” she offers. “Let’s see ...‚ ‘Vodka’: obsession/ abandonment.
‘Sleep All Day’: wistful take on abandonment and denial. ‘Last Night
You Said’: ironic slant on open relationship from wounded party’s point
of view. ‘Learning To Breathe’: wistful optimism. ‘Dirt Makes Excellent
Toothpaste: world-weary, ironic rant. ‘Cartoon’: upbeat! yes! ‘Left’:
bereavement. ‘Disremember Me’: end of relationship, again!, oh dear!"
next Britney or Christina album, then. But therein lies their charm and
quiet, insinuating appeal.
music partnership of Dore & Littman (they composed for two series of
the highly popular, Scottish-based ‘2000 Acres of Sky’), will be heard
again soon in another BBC TV drama, ‘Roman Road’‚ starring Alan
Davies and John Gordon Sinclair.
the five-person comedy collective, ‘The Hurricane Club’ and has recently
made with them a seven-minute film short that will be shown on the festival
circuit next year.
turn her more commercial-minded talents to writing new material for
this or that pop act, not just in the UK but all over Europe and North
America. She is, in short, a very busy, motivated and in-demand talent.
But if you'd like reminding of what a very good singer-songwriter she
was and still is - or, indeed, if you'd like to discover that fact for
the very first time - listen to this new and long-awaited CD. It is
quietly, compellingly lovely.
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