I’m sure most singers also consider themselves poets, but that would be to assume that the two forms are automatically interchangeable. They are not. Poetry is so much more than words; it is delivery, nuance, and it requires a control and understanding of language – all things that are obvious when you listen to someone like Larry Beckett bring the two worlds together.
Beckett has been at this a long time, and the fact that, as a lyricist and arranger for Tim Buckley, he co-wrote “Song of the Siren” assures his place in history. Currently, he has his focus fixed on another musical icon, Jacques Brel, and an album of 14 reinterpretations of his songs, Though We Have Only Love: The Songs of Jacques Brel, is due out early next year.
As a taster, following the first single from the album, “Song of the Old Lovers,” he now gives us “I Love You,” or in it’s original French, “Je T’aime.” Beckett believes that Brel’s songs have never been faithfully translated into English, indeed not in a way that retains the beauty and authenticity of the original, and I’m inclined to agree with him. This album, and indeed this single, is him making amends for that oversight.
And so, what he delivers here, aided and abetted by long time collaborator Stuart Anthony, is a perfect blend of the song’s original essence, rendered into a more considered delivery reminiscent of another musical poet, Leonard Cohen, though here more accessible and certainly less dark.
With Beckett delivering the words with the required understated passion over his cascading piano, and only the deftest of additional sonic textures, nothing gets in the way of the direct, honest, open, and emotionally vulnerable sentiments. In the right hands, even the simplest of words can be powerful, and Beckett proves that unquestionably here.
Brel and Beckett make a brilliant pairing. Love is perhaps the most prevalent subject matter in all art forms, but also the subject that has been so often mishandled and underserved. But the combination of these two artists, brought together from across the years, is the epitome of the timeless love song. It’s as simple as that.
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Website
