On the first spin, “I’ll Be There” might seem like a simple song, and indeed it is. Simple, as in spacious, delicate, immediate, a song not burdened by over-complicated arrangements or a desire to seem big or clever. Ironically, it is just that unassuming quality which does make the song big and clever in a much purer sense. Perhaps not big sonically, nor clever in an over-wrought lyrical way, but undoubtedly big-hearted, and appealing in its sheer infectiousness.
Here, Doron Karavani reminds us that less certainly and demonstrably is more via a song that is a collection of gentle guitar rhythms and majestically pulsing bass lines, through delicate beats that are just enough to tether the song in the real world and piano lines that seem to drift rather than drive. And then, surprisingly, the most deft trumpet line drifts through, leading the song towards higher sonic grounds.
But the real joy here is the sentiment, the message in the lyrics, that simple understanding that whoever the recipient of the song is, they have someone that they can trust, someone who is a safe pair of hands, someone who is there for them.
And such simple truths, like the delicacy of the music that drives them, are the real power behind this beautiful and heart-warming song.
