‘Shadows And Reflections’ is the new album by Marc Almond released by BMG on 22nd September 2017. Featuring sumptuous orchestral arrangements of iconic torch songs and 60s Orchestral Pop for which he is beloved, as well as two new original compositions. The album features songs written or recorded by artists such as Burt Bacharach, The Action, The Yardbirds, Bobby Darin, Julie Driscoll, Billy Fury and the Young Rascals.
‘The Overture’, ‘Interval’ and final pivotal track ‘No One To Say Goodnight To’ set and frame the album’s mood – composed and orchestrated by long-time collaborator John Harle.
Marc says of the album:
“It’s a sea of lush strings, lilting guitar, choral harmonies and full, panoramic sound. I wanted it to have the feel of a very late 1960s Italian cinema soundtrack. Everything stems from and returns back to that final track.”
The album thematically begins and ends in an apartment.
“It’s about this guy that’s living in a luxury expansive glass apartment overlooking the city, filled with sculptures and beautiful things, an empty soulless shell, surrounded by absurd wealth. He is sitting alone and I imagine listening to this music, possibly the songs that make up this album. He’s rich in the bank but the poorest person you know.”
The album ‘Shadows And Reflections’ sees Marc delve into the mood music of “orchestral and baroque pop songs with orchestrated arrangements and productions typical of the songs of that time.” The album includes covers of the Young Rascals’, ‘How Can I Be Sure’ (made famous by David Cassidy), and the gothic pop of The Herd’s ‘From The Underworld’, of which he said, “Peter Frampton is such a brilliant early songwriter and I thought The Herd had such an intense inventiveness”. It also features tracks from The Yardbirds, with Almond commenting, “I’ve come from listening to a lot of blues based rock from the 60s”.
Julie Driscoll’s ‘I Know You Love Me Not’ also appears, with Marc saying, “It is an incredible song that I have wanted to do for many years but only now found the context”.
The title track ‘Shadows And Reflections’ is based on mod legends, The Action’s version, whilst also featured is Burt Bacharach’s ‘Blue On Blue’, which Marc sang with Burt himself at the London Palladium. Bobby Darin’s ‘Not For Me’ and the Johnny Mandel standard ‘The Shadow Of Your Smile’ are also covered on this album.
“I particularly like the strangeness of many of those 60’s records” says Marc, “the oddness about them, sometimes unsettling, out of the mould, that light psychedelia approach from the early Floyd records, Sgt Pepper and Soft Machine.”
Marc Almond’s deep affection for brilliantly arranged 1960s pop has been prevalent throughout his career and has served him well. His versions of ‘Jacky’, ‘The Days Of Pearly Spencer’, ‘Tainted Love’, ‘Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart’, and ‘What!’ have become much treasured recordings from an artist who can take an old song and bring it new life with impeccable style. A look at Marc’s popular 60s Spotify playlists gives insight into the sounds and singers that he continues to be inspired by.
Marc has announced a new UK tour starting on 3rd October at London’s Royal Festival Hall, and across 18 dates, he will perform with a full orchestra playing songs from ‘Shadows And Reflections’ as well as other known and lesser known gems from the period.
2017 cements the 60th Birthday year for the singer who the Observer noted, “has never stood still” and comes after the great success of the Top 10 album ‘Hits And Pieces’, which was followed by a sold- out Spring tour including a triumphant show at London’s Roundhouse.
Says Marc:
“My audience may not be familiar with a lot of these songs so I had to bear that in mind. Whereas if you’re an aficionado and you know how brilliant they are, you’ll see I’ve not reinvented them an awful lot because I thought the arrangements are so good in the first place. These songs just need to be put out there again so people can hear them. Me singing them introduces them to a different audience and brings them out into the light.”
Album Tracklisting:
1. Overture
2. Shadows And Reflections
3. I’m Lost Without You
4. How Can I Be Sure
5. Something Bad On My Mind
6. Blue On Blue
7. I Know You Love Me Not
8. Interlude
9. From the Underworld
10. Still I’m Sad
11. Embers
12. Not For Me
13. All thoughts Of Time
14. The Shadow of Your Smile 15 No One To Say Good Night To
Tour Dates:
3 October – London Royal Festival Hall
5 October – Guildford G Live
9 October – Scunthorpe Bath Hall
10 October – Leeds Town Hall
12 October – Portsmouth Guildhall
14 October – Ipswich Regent Theatre
15 October – Oxford New Theatre
17 October – Birmingham Symphony Hall
19 October – Manchester Bridgewater Hall
20 October – Bristol Colston Hall
21 October – Cambridge Corn Exchange
23 October – Southend Cliffs Pavilion
26 October – Poole Lighthouse
30 October – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
31 October – Nottingham Concert Hall
3 November – Bridlington Spa
4 November – Newcastle Tyne Theatre
5 November – Edinburgh Usher Hall
Find Marc Almond on his official website and Facebook.
