The album I’ve chosen to review by George Ezra - Staying at Tamara’s. I’m a bit late to the party as far as George Ezra is concerned. I knew that I would enjoy at least one of his songs, as it is one that I heard several times whilst chaperoning our local youth theatre show, and is a song that always makes me feel good - reminding me of happy times and the camaraderie of the group - how it was then (it is just as good now, but different!).
The album is in general a feel good album - I’d happily listen to it on car journeys. Certainly the first five songs are quite bouncy - and have what I would call the ‘George Ezra vibe’. The feature that comes through in the first song is that lovely deep round sounding voice - I suppose some people may call it a dark brown chocolate voice. It sounds so rich - and reminds me of Rick Astley’s sound. Although the first five songs sound bouncy, there are some darker undertones - talk of anxiety, certain words that prompt some deeper thinking. It surprised me in ‘Paradise’ to hear swearing in regard to veins - the word used does describe the appearance of veins, but although technically descriptive, I do wonder in what respect the word is used - as an expletive or as an adjective; either way I have to question whether the word is really necessary - does it add anything to the song? A further listening to the track is definitely required.
Listening to ‘Shotgun’ was always going to be a pleasure. I was surprised that it sounded a bit more mellow than I expected; this is the song that I consider to be one of the signature songs of the youth theatre. The energy of the youth theatre version is a lot more pronounced, whereas the original seems a little slower. perhaps a little more thoughtful. This is the benefit of listening to it specifically with a critical view.
‘All My Love’ is a distinctly slower song, and reminiscent of songs of the 50’s or 60’s. The next song ‘Sugarcoat’ is a similar sound to the previous songs, and sounds quite positive. I was thanful of the lyrics provided in the booklet as I couldn’t work out where the title came in - I thought George was singing about shooting a crow!
The rest of the songs on the album are more melancholic, with minor chords coming through. Without looking at the lyrics, I wondered what ‘Hold My Girl’ was actually about - and in all honesty, I don’t think reading the lyrics gave me much more of an idea. ‘Only A Human’ is definitely less cheerful, and I was very surprised by the swearing in this song. The accompaniment to the song is very simple chords.
The final song ‘The Beautiful Dream’ starts by sounding quite melancholy, and the minor chords are in direct contrast to the words ‘What a beautiful dream’.
I was very glad of the lyric booklet for this album as there were some words that were not very clear at all - they seemed a bit swallowed.
This is an album that is worth listening to again, and I did enjoy it - George Ezra’s voice is very easy to listen to, and his vocal range is impressive. I do recommend this album, as it may surprise you.
This concludes my final review for my Critic badge.
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