Reviews
The Gleeman Album: You'll Land Among The Stars
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 8
Website: https://www.thegleeman.co.uk/
The first of two planned mini-albums following on from his 2024 debut 'Something To Say' Dean Morris, at 54 making a case that age should not be a barrier to success in the music industry, is in decidedly radio-friendly musical form.
Featuring co-writer son Daniel on acoustic and Fred Abbott from Noah and the Whale on electric guitar, riff strumming, fingerclicking and choppy album opener 'Our Teenage Years' is a wistful reflection on more carefree times ("Playing guitar till our hands were sore/Drinking beer on the porch, sneaking out of the back door/Spending days in the gym trying hard to impress…smoking pot all day while skipping school… hanging out at the popular dives with fake IDs") back in the day "when youth was on our side" and him "wishing that I could go back in time".
Slowing it down, 'All My Days' is a more meditative song about seeking a love and commitment that last and the compromises you're prepared to make to do so, rather than. like the narrator here, holding out for an idea of perfection that you may never find and ending up alone ("I will wait, I'll not settle for second best/I hope I'm not on my quest/All my days").
The circling fingerpicked and piano accompanied 'Singing In The Rain' is another wistful number, here serenading in seeking forgiveness ("You won't pick up the calls from me/You won't answer your door/But I cannot cope with being left on read anymore…I wrote this song for you/It's all that I have left/I'm here with my guitar on your front porch/With verses and refrain/Trying to explain"), ending with thunderstorm sounds and a faint spoken word outro from his daughter Annabel.
Part of a relationship song cycle, Amelie Rose on harmonies, Rosalind Gladstone on cello, bassist Simon Maitland, Ash Soan on drums and Abbott on keys 'For A Second Time' carries over the sentiment in looking to rekindle the spark some years down the line from pulling the plug on the wedding, reconnecting on social media and, both still unattached, asking "Could you fall in love with me for a second time?". You've seen the rom com, so you decide how it ends.
By way of musical contrast but with a connected lyrical thrust, 'Gotta Get On' is an urgent vocally tumbling poppy duet with David Grant, trumpet punches and drums that, in 90 seconds, tells of couple heading for the 1849 California gold rush but one of them having second thoughts and having to be persuaded to board the boat ("I would love to stand around and shoot the breeze/But honey please/You know that there's no time for a battle of wills/There's gold in them there hills").
An earnestly sung strings arrangement piano ballad, Don't Let Me Down' , from whence the album title comes, apparently derives from someone with whom he was about to professionally embark on a significant journey not holding up their end of the bargain ("I chose you to be there by my side/I'm hoping that you are just not coming along for the ride…I have entrusted you with everything I am/So get on board, this train is leaving town…I'm a shoot for the moon kind of guy/And if we miss, we'll still land among the stars"). Of course, it also works alongside the other songs about a failed love story.
At the other end of the spectrum, written in 1991, resonantly fingerpicked with piano accompaniment 'You Are My Friend' (apparently performed by his sister at his wedding) is an ode to enduring support and loyalty ("I know sometimes we may fall out/We may argue we may shout/But beyond a shadow of a doubt/You know we'll always work it out/'Cause you are my friend/You've never let me down/I trust you with my life/And I am your friend too/There is nothing I wouldn't do for you/If you asked me to"). You can feel the lump rising in your throat. Sally Herbert on violin and viola, Ian Burdge on cello and the sound of a heartbeat, it ends, appropriately with 'My Final Song', a poignantly reflective and anthemic parting hymn contemplation of mortality and gratitude in which the lines "thank you for listening/For hanging around/Please excuse me now/I am onward bound/The melodies we shared will linger when I'm gone/Farewell, for this is my final song" work equally effective for a show or life closer. Funeral directors should add it to their playlists forthwith. As the title has it, this is stellar stuff.
Mike Davies
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