Michael Beck - Anymore (Nixi Music)

While you could never accuse Michael Beck of making music that was overplayed or bustling with sounds, “Anymore” is a song that finds him at perhaps his most chilled. And rightly so. Michael perfectly understands that it isn’t just the sounds you make or the things you say that create a song’s essential qualities and characteristics but also its less tangible qualities that are important. Qualities such as the atmosphere that you make around the sounds, the vibes that emanate, and those all essential spaces that allow the music to breathe, the light to shine through, and for all manner of additional sounds to pool and percolate, perhaps unplanned, in the pauses between one note and the next and as one lyrical line fades out and the next is ushered in.

Vocals and guitar duties are shared between Michael and his good friend Steven Walters but the story behind the song’s creation belongs to another. Although suffering through a long period of illness, having undergone surgeries and treatments, and being given a prognosis that amounted to an early death sentence, David M. Bailey, against the odds, survived the ordeal. He then spent the next ten or so years until he finally succumbed to cancer, sharing the wisdom garnered from such an experience via music and writing, songs and albums, and live shows. “Anymore” is just one part of that beautiful legacy.

Having played it live with Steven Walters, Michael Beck sought permission from David’s family to record his version of the song. His gentle take on “Anymore” is one of delicately picked guitar lines, drifting sonics, subtle beats, and the two men trading vocals. As the song moves along, it wraps itself in delicate layers—an emotive, distant trumpet breezes through, electric guitars echo in the distance, and understated string textures help soften the music and soothe the soul.

And it is a song that gives us plenty to think about. It muses on how we live our life and how we face what comes after it. It reminds us that life is short and perhaps only the first stage in a longer journey, to a place yet unseen from our mortal vantage point. And it reminds us that this short, sweet life is better understood if we slow down and savor it.

Buddha once said, “It is better to travel well than to arrive.” So, remember to travel well. The arrival at that final destination is unavoidable, so all you need do – all you can do – is enjoy the journey.

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