Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly - an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘽𝙮 𝙈𝙮 𝙎𝙞𝙙𝙚 - 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

Charles has nothing but time…

Last week I talked about not taking life too seriously. I also talked about work and how it can truly crush the spirit and make you a bit of a drone. Well, actually I didn’t say that. But that’s what can happen with work. It can get the better of you and start to own your soul. We only get two chances at pure freedom. One, when we’re too young to appreciate it, and the other when we’re too ill to enjoy it. Both ends of the spectrum, and both ends of life, as we know it. In the middle we are in our prime. And yet, in the middle we are too busy and too stressed to even contemplate a bit of relaxation and fun. Typical! God plays these little games from time to time. Well, in between natural disasters, of course. It’s his own “me-time”. So yes, that middle of life… The majority of life. We toil and we worry. We fret about the future. And it all just seems so endless. Weekends are spoiled by the impending knowledge that another Monday is soon to be thrown on your desk. The sun is shining, and yet you cannot enjoy it because… EMAILS. There is little more depressing than a grey inbox. Have you noticed that despite your screen predominantly being white, it feels grey? Pale, dead, depressing, lifeless grey. And you think back to those days when you used to go out all the time, feel free, wear what you wanted, do what you wanted, and be who you wanted. You had great ambitions and the future was bright. Well, now you realise that the future is not orange but in fact grey. And oh so current. What happened…?? Well, we mustn’t dwell on what happened, but instead on what is happening. Life is happening. And you must simply get on with it. Why? Because there will be a time when you are NOT doing the mundane. When work will be a thing of the past. When you are once again free! There is a caveat, however…

No, I am not talking about death. That really would be quite a caveat. I speak of retirement. Rather sadly, there are many people in their forties and fifties who dream about retirement. Not because they are so exhausted, but because work is either cripplingly soul-crushing, or they are just too bored for words. There is this feeling of wasted life. Retirement is supposed to be seen as a treat for having worked so hard, for so long. But in fact, it is more like being discarded and thrown on the heap, because you are no longer fit for purpose. And the conveyor belt goes on - out with the old, in with the new. “They” don’t want you to see it like this, of course. The joke is, once one reaches this grand old age, one is often not only unfit for the purpose of work, but unfit for the purpose of almost anything! Health, you see, is everything. Something most of us take for granted in younger years. But finally, here is your chance and legal right to enjoy yourself, and there you are, hobbling along lopsidedly, blind as a bat, deaf as a post, and shaking like a jitterbug. Yeah, that’s the caveat.

“Now I can finally go on that cruise, where I can sit and feel seasick. Finally I can see all that beauty. If only all that beauty wasn’t long gone, and my cataracts weren’t obscuring it all. Having FELT old for quite a while, I am finally comfortable in actually BEING old. For it is official. Retirement equals old, no?”

These are the usual thoughts of someone recently retired. That and boredom. The thing is, it isn’t always like this. More and more, we are seeing a rise in the health of older people. So of course, “they” keep upping the age of retirement… God and his box of tricks, again… There does however come a point where the common man wins. Where one hits retirement before the entire mind and body is completely kaput. The common man becomes uncommon. A trophy of a man, rather than atrophy of a man. Let me explain.

I will be speaking not of an idea, but of a genuine person. A man who has beat the system. A man who has come out on top. He is not young, but he is far from old. Some might argue this fact, but what is age but a number…? This man is as capable as any man of half his age. He has worked most of his life, as people do, but as of last May, was given the chance of freedom. Did he wonder if he might be bored? Would he perhaps miss the work and the colleagues? Well, while he might miss the people, there was no hesitation. He took this chance of a lifetime. Freedom at last! Please welcome Rich Allen, the man we all hope to be when we are that age. If you ARE that age or older, how’s your back? I said, HOW'S YOUR BACK?? Oh never mind, I’m not waiting for you to ring up the company that replaces the battery in your hearing aid “because it’s just so gosh darned fiddly”. Sorry, that was cruel humour at the expense of the oldies. The good news is, old people aren’t nearly so easily offended as the young. They can take a joke. Hence being a big fan of older people. They’re just more FUN!!! And hence the topic of Rich Allen. This man lives for fun. Let me take you down, ‘cause I’m going to…

Born on the cusp of the swinging sixties, before George Harrison could legally drink a beer, Rich’s sixties are still very much swinging. Far from being an old fart, he gives off the air of San Francisco in its hippy heyday. I am never sure whether to spell it ‘hippy’ or ‘hippie’ - what’s your preferred spelling? Either way, it’s groovy. I think his way of being stems from his liberal views, his religion, and his manners. Basically, the boy were brung up good. It is very common to get a little more - how shall I put it - disgruntled, as one ages. A natural sheltering in life becomes a barrier, and then becomes a guarded wall with a spitting army at its peak. Views and opinions become facts. You’re right and everyone else is wrong. The old days were better and the new days are worse. But Rich is just SO the opposite. Nearly a year into retirement, and it is just positive after positive for him. Partly down to his innate ability to see the good in people, but also because of his health. Save a thin pair of glasses, he is basically in tip-top shape. THIS is how he beat the system. He is able to actually ENJOY his retirement. And it is perhaps this that has made him young again.

Rich is the opposite of discrimination. He treats everyone equally. But rather, he is human. He gives them an equal opportunity to show their worth, their kindness and their goodness. In being human though, if someone is nasty or bad, he is still able to say “sod you, I’m not having anything to do with you”. And this is what I like so much about him. It isn’t endless blind praise to all, like a robot in sheep’s clothing. There is no sense in this. Also, this way, the bad people win. The good should always win, while the “seemingly bad” should be given the opportunity to be good. It is quite easy to have this frame of mind, yet it is incredibly rare! Rich has it in spades. But there’s something else this man has in spades… Musical talent.

Several nights a week, every single week, Rich is busy being young and able. Oh, er, that didn’t quite come out as I intended. I meant music. Gigs. I am pretty damned sure that Rich plays more gigs than almost all the members of the New Artist Spotlight. This musically virile chap shows no signs of slowing down. He is living the life of Riley (if you know the phrase). This is not so much retirement as: Life, Part 3 - the fun bit. Take this weekend, for example. How did YOU spend yours? I’m guessing you didn’t have a total of close to 3 hours on stage, singing your heart out, did you…? Well Rich did. He had a full-on 48 hour bingeful live music getaway. Aside from people approaching him, praising his performances, several people took it upon themselves to tell him he looked like Keith Richards. I mean, they actually thought he was Keith Richards!! His reply… “Do I look THAT old??” - The thing is, Keith Richards is around 15 years older than Rich. And Keith is not exactly known for having led a healthy lifestyle. Kellogg’s Special H is not a healthy breakfast… Which should make Rich feel pretty much invincible! I mean, if Keith is still rolling after all that drug abuse, then Rich must surely live another hundred years! And no, Rich, you do NOT look that old. Neither do you have blubber lips, neither do you have a laugh that could be dubbed over the wicked witch of the west, and neither do you hang keys from your hair. I always imagined Keith Richards bent double, trying to unlock his front door: “Nope, not that one…”

Okay, so Rich Allen is the great Floridian gigger. But what about the people who aren’t able to get to his hometown of Tampa Bay for a local gig? How are we to hear this chap’s music? Well, due to the wonders of modern science, he has been able to record and release his songs to the masses via something called the internet. But unlike the ultra modern way of creating everything “realistically” with a laptop in a bedroom, he has always done things the way he has always done them. In a proper studio with microphones recording real instruments played by talented musicians. Ahhhh. How comforted I suddenly feel. It does make sense, doesn’t it. “I want a duduk on this track. Now where can I find a very realistic virtual instrument plugin of a duduk?” - Why BOTHER??! Just hire a duduk player! I think you’ll find that pretty realistic, on account of it being real!! It just simplifies the matter. Hence why Rich opts for the old method. There is also the romance of it. When you KNOW everything you’re hearing is played by people, it suddenly means more. It is more personal. It is closer and basically better. Of course, convenience (and price) can sway people the other way, but Rich now has the time! Yet he has something more important than time. Impotence. Sorry, impetus. The songs.

For years, Rich has been releasing stunner after stunner. Listening to his back catalogue so far, is like listening to a great artist’s “Best Of”. You know, when they collect together the good ones, and chuck the junk. But still there always manages to be a couple of duds near the end - their latter years. Well Rich’s latter years are his best. And there are no duds. Just none. I actually made a playlist of all his songs in chronological order, and it’s just flawless! I play it regularly. This is pretty much unheard of, not just in the independent world, but even in the mainstream. There are always duds. But not for Rich! Those of you who are familiar with his music may have noticed that he hasn’t released anything in quite a while. Was he too busy with his gigs? Was he slacking? Had he run out…? Don’t be absurd. In his usual youthful spirit, he fancied a change. Over the past few months he has been putting together a series of stripped back acoustic recordings of brand new songs. Acoustic, I hear you cry!! Well, not quite. Rich is known for the beauty in his sound. A certain resplendence that is especially rare these days in music. He is not so dumb as to do away with everything we all love. Not dumb at all, in fact. This new series of songs is acoustic in the sense of having no drums, no electric guitars, no electric organ, and no electric bass. But by JOVE, it is luscious. The first of this series is his brand new single, By My Side, released just a few days ago. We all - hopefully - are familiar with the gorgeousness of his hit song, “Did You Cry?” - the one that won him the SSA Songwriter of the Year Award. Well this new song manages to capture that same eye-watering beauty and sadness, but all in a much more open, honest way. He is emptying his heart to you. The emphasis is on the strings, woodwind and mandolin. And with a lack of oomph from drums and gritty guitars, there is more focus on the voice. It somehow means more. Emily, his usual backing singer, is allowed to let it all out and cry with the man himself. Yet ultimately, this is a song of love, not of loss. In having no drums, Rich opted for percussion. He was fortunate enough in getting one of the world's leading percussionists to play on the record; Daniel Sadownick. While the name might not ring a bell, he has played for Steely Dan, Joe Bonamassa, and most recently Taylor Swift, among many others. How cool is THAT?? This really emphasises the professional quality in Rich's work. The song's arrangement is stunningly sensitive. It heaves and sighs in all the right places. And so, the flawless catalogue of songs continues. Rich Allen is back, fresher than ever.

To not bring attention to this piece and to Rich as a wonderful person, would be sacrilege and frankly downright silly. It was unavoidable. I really do consider Rich Allen a heavyweight of the independent music world. And to me, he doesn’t look a bit like Keith Richards. Ronnie Wood, on the other hand… Stoned either way.

Old aged pensioner…? O.A.P. actually stands for Original and Perfect. Either that or Old as Puck.

• New Artist Spotlight
  • 7 hours ago
  • 8 min read

Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly Connolly - an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙮 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 - 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣 

Charles refuses to go…

I am somewhat known for my regularity. Without fail and without the need for prodding, poking or coaxing, I will deliver another instalment of my column (article/piece/chunk). But this has been a weak week. I have become irregular. Things have stopped working and come to a standstill. Let me explain. 

Usually I lead a relatively comfortable life. But this past week I have been decidedly uncomfortable. Usually I would pity the down-and-outs, but this past week I am actually quite envious of them being able to go not just down but also out. Work has been a struggle. But so has standing up and sitting down. Most of my life is pointful sitting down, but lately this has been the pointless variety. Let me explain. 

Texture in food and drink is a much underrated thing. We all talk about the taste, but so much of our love for what we consume is down to texture. Nothing worse than a soggy batter. Or when someone sits on your packet of crisps (potato chips, for you Americans), as they're pulverised into crumbs. Melted ice cream? Now that's a sad thing. Think how cold water thinly and willingly trickles down your throat on a hot day - could you imagine if it was like treacle? With all these victuals, the taste remains the same, yet we would be so disappointed and unfulfilled. Despite being fully filled. It's all about consistency. Let me explain. 

This past week I have been drinking an awful lot of water. More than usual. And eating an awful lot ofprunes. All in a vain attempt to alter my inner consistency. You see, I was naturally being thick, whichis unnatural for me. These days, diet is both talked about ad nauseam and completely ignored. Mine - a decent and relatively healthy one - has not changed. And yet, here I am, unable to go. Otherwise perfectly healthy. But this lack of peppy motion is also accompanied by other uncomfortable symptoms. What an absolute pain it all is. I hope you get the picture by now without me having to vulgarly spell it out all over the place. Not that I’m able to.

Sitting on a different seat to usual while I wait and try and inevitably fail, has allowed me to ponder perhaps even more than usual. I thought more about consistency, and realised the lack of it these days.Or perhaps things are just as consistent, but not in the most ideal of ways. If we look to public services, we see the demise of the term “service”. The National Health Service (for those who have one) leaves so much to be desired, that I haven’t even bothered to contact them about my "predicament". They will inevitably and predictably fail. Their consistency has plummeted. The policeforce is an absolute joke and almost non-existent, to the extent where crimes are not even being investigated, let alone solved, or even (heaven forfend) prevented! What about the lighter side of life? The quality of fresh vegetables? The design of a modern lamppost? The hames they made of repairingthat pothole? No consistency whatsoever. Or rather, perfect consistency: consistently poor.

And then there’s music. The ‘one hit wonder’ rarely means that the artist only released one song. Theysimply only released one GOOD one. Which doesn’t sound great when put like that. Yet when pickingan artist out of a hat, most people can only name one or two (or at most, a handful of) great songs. In anutshell, this is lack of consistency. They might release a humdinger of a track, but then release a bit of a stinker. The following one might be pretty good, but not as good as that initial one. Up and down and up and down. Not consistent. And ultimately you get bored or frustrated and move on, in the hopeof finding someone with a little more quality control - something Spotify drastically lacks (but also something Spotify cannot really do). I just don’t understand why artists cannot be more discerning andhonest with themselves. “This one’s not great, I think I’ll dump it” or "It's a great song, but the sound isn't good enough". There’s nothing wrong with that. And frankly there’s everything right about it. Especially with the millions of competitors these days. It’s been said before, but be the best version of yourself, at all times. Not just occasionally. It seems obvious, but it is pretty rare. It’s the very reason why everyone has different favourites by The Beatles. They may have variety in genre, but not in quality. For me, The Beatles are the epitome of consistency. Even if you don’t love it all, you have to admire their quality control. In the words of Reverend Lovejoy, "It's all good". The very best business model is to simply give the people what they want, and they will flock.

Which neatly brings me to my song of the week. By an artist as regular as I wish to be right now. Please welcome King Consistency himself, Mr. Rich Allen, with his latest single, Surrounded By Love. The New Artist Spotlight’s Top 20 Show often has recurring songs that voters evidently adore. But quite often it is that one song, rather than that one artist. Meaning, although that specific artist may have released 15 songs, it is only one (or perhaps 2) of their songs that sees repeated entries in the chart. This might suggest a consistency problem. It might also suggest that the general public simply adores that song slightly more than their other songs. Rich Allen, however, doesn’t have this problem. I don’t know if this means he is discerning, or if it is simply that he is incapable of anything less than greatness. But whatever it is, the boy done good. “Period” (vulgar term). Florida’s finest is more than fine. He is FIIIINE! And just like with The Beatles (ahem), everyone seems to have different favourites. So many of Rich’s singles have spent a significant chunk of time in the NAS Top 20. I shouldn’t imagine Surrounded By Love to be any different.

The song starts with a caffeinated chorus of claps as his usual backing singer, Emily Coomber, throws us that quintessentially rich wall of harmony - fast becoming a vital part of Rich’s sound. But before long, the whole band is engaged. Guitars, bass, drums, OWgan, all sounding as rich as Rich himself on vocals. Speaking of which, he has always managed a certain maturity and experience in the sound of his vocal delivery, but this time there is something else. Something that has been there in the past, but not nearly to this extent. Confidence. It is so far from arrogance, and more like modest assurance and knowing pride. There is something casually sexy about this delivery - which is more than I can say for the Royal Mail, where there is simply no delivery at all! There is a glowing ray emanating from the face of this golden boy, as his pearly whites twinkle with charm rather than smarm. Something rather magical, like he is the chosen one and he knows it, but doesn’t want to gloat. I think it could be the smile. An audible smile. Rich is so good at portraying a vast variety of emotions and temperaments from sad to happy to cheeky and warm. From cold to bitter, delightful and torn. This time we have that safe feeling. Safety with a smile, concealing nothing untoward or misconstrued. Simple honesty is all, and all he ever means or wishes. One of the nicest guys in town, basically.

The smoothest OWgan and rolling bass supply blood to the backbone of the drums. Rich liberally dishes out the melodies as the guitars counter-attack with every vocal reload. But just 38 seconds in, the celli/cellos arrive as umpire, just in time to calm a llama down. It’s like smooth, exciting velvet! Enter, chorus. Pure high, courageous comfort! The song is called Surrounded By Love. Which is exactly how I feel by the time the first chorus comes around. But then we get something akin to a post-chorus. Something I have only really heard from NAS artist Skinny Dippers. This time the fencing duel is between Rich and the Emily army. Rich shows he means what he sings by pushing his jaw forward, as if to give the microphone an “oh YEAH??” - it’s a spurs-on moment. But Emily continues on as if to say “I know, I’ve heard it all before”. She is the brandy to his temper - “Simmer, my sweet prince. I feel the same. Hush now, we have all night”. Which sweeps us into verse two with the wings of an angel. And so, up we go, to the clouds of a loving Heaven. There is no competing; no repost. All is switched on, but all is mellow, in the way that traditional lightbulbs used to glow their warm hue. Incandescent by its very nature. It is at the point of the second post-chorus that Rich really transforms from a heated filament into his fiery element. He rips up the stage like a true rock ’n’ roller, setting the scene for the firework display that is the brief yet explosive guitar solo to come. Our third and final verse takes a sadder turn, so clear in the tone of his voice (he really is so good at that), to the extent that this could be sung in a foreign language, but it would still be obvious to us. Inevitably though, Rich manages to sweeten the mood both in music and words. He would never dream of leaving the listener unsatisfied.

Continuing with the theme of last week’s fade out, Rich does indeed repeat the chorus, pretty much to the end of the song. But instead of a fade, there is something somewhat unusual. The whole song has avery live feel and sound to it. As if you are in the studio with the band. The end of this song sort of gives the impression of you opening the doors of the studio to leave while they’re still playing, and then slowly walking down the corridor towards the exit, while the band continues to play in the studio.At least, that was what I was trying to achieve when mixing it. Just something a little different. Either way, it was such a joy to co-produce and mix. I love working with such consistent artists, in order to make great poop music. Ahem, POP music.

Please, no get-well-soon pity messages in the comments (I will indeed get well soon). This ain’t aboutme. This is about Rich and his song.

I feel pregnant. I’m probably not. But for now, Rich is my baby.