“A great song can never die and should always find a new life and audience,” says Marc Almond, a performer and singer who has often used cover versions to express his life’s stories. From Soft Cell’s 1981 rendition of Gloria Jones’s Tainted Love to solo cover version hits in the 1980s and ‘90s (including Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart, Jacky, and The Days of Pearly Spencer), full albums devoted to specific artists, poets, historical song cycles, French chanson and Russian folk/gypsy tunes, Almond has never had an issue about using what’s out there to satisfy his prolific creative wanderlust.
Now aged 67 and living in Portugal, Almond, for his 27th solo album, has selected 11 songs for their emotional resonance. They are, he has said, reflective songs and “half-forgotten gems” for an “elder artist”, so throughout the album there is not only an indication of his eclecticism but also a sombre, inward-looking tone. And he’s right about some songs that are viewed either as niche or cult – which of us has ever conscientiously engaged with lesser-known album tracks by US proto-metal band Blue Cheer (I’m the Light), UK prog-rockers King Crimson (I Talk to the Wind), UK singer Colin Blunstone (Smokey Day), US singer-songwriters Don McLean (Chain Lightning) and Neil Diamond (Lonely Looking Sky)? Each version sticks faithfully to the original (as do all the tracks), underlining Almond’s steadfast and some would say wise approach to singing other artist’s songs: “Too much emphasis is made on reinvention.”
A couple of songs pass the ‘I remember that’ test: Reflections of My Life, a 1969 hit for Scottish pop group Marmalade, and Elusive Butterfly, written by US singer Bob Lind but a sizeable hit in Ireland in 1966 for rocking chair aficionado Val Doonican. The remainder of the songs segue between signature drama (Paul Anka’s title track), mournful orchestral swathes (Smokey Day) and commanding gospel anguish (Mahalia Jackson’s Trouble of the World). The result is twofold: for some, an introduction to unknown songs, and for many, yet another reason to celebrate the adventurous spirit of Almond, who is clearly not just anyone. marcalmond.co.uk
