Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Sarah Gillespie: Stalking Juliet

404

Sarah Gillespie: Stalking Juliet

By

View read count
Sarah Gillespie: Stalking Juliet
Stalking Juliet is the first album from Sarah Gillespie, a UK-based singer and songwriter. Musically and lyrically this record constantly surprises, challenges and rewards in equal measure.

Gillespie has written all of the album's 11 tracks—two of them in collaboration with producer and arranger Gilad Atzmon. The songs have strong melodies and in some cases seductive hooks, but this is not a light and frivolous take on the world. Gillespie gives no indication of self-pity or bitterness but many of the lyrics, as well as some of the instrumental arrangements, suggest an anger about the experiences that have inspired her to write these words. This is by no means a bad thing: the anger is leavened with humor, and produces some memorable lines: in one case, where a character is described as "rolling your eyes like a sugar high child." Gillespie has a powerful voice which eloquently transmits this anger and disdain, and would be far less suited to passivity or self-pity. Titles such as "Big Mistake," "How the Mighty Fall," and "Call Me Stupid, Ungrateful, Vicious and Insatiable" —the latter a co-composition with Atzmon—clearly reflect their lyrical content.

Musically these songs show influences as diverse as country, rock and Middle Eastern styles, while "Houdini of the Heart"—another Atzmon co-composition—could have emerged from a work by Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill. Atzmon is best known as a saxophonist and, indeed, his sax playing is crucial to the overall feel of much of this album; but here he predominantly plays accordion, with touches of harmonica on many tracks. Billy Adamson's electric guitar is used sparingly but to good effect, particularly on the beautiful "Million Moons," while Asaf Sirkis and Ben Bastin are a key rhythm section throughout.

Tales of lost love, broken hearts, broken promises and, occasionally, true romance, permeate this record. Gillespie delivers the songs with honesty and passion, and even when their meanings are unclear she still creates an implicit understanding of what's going on. Her voice is original, hard-edged much of the time with a husky and seductive tone at the lower end of her range. This is an assured debut from a performer of great potential.

Track Listing

Stalking Juliet; Big Mistake; Close Range; How The Mighty Fall; Malicious Simone; Million Moons; Ahmed and Dangerous; Houdini of the Heart; Don't Be Sorry; Call Me Stupid, Ungrateful, Vicious and Insatiable; Sleep Talking.

Personnel

Sarah Gillespie: vocals, guitar; Gilad Atzmon: accordion, alto and tenor saxophones, clarinet, harmonica; Asaf Sirkis: drums, urdu; Ben Bastin: electric and double-bass; Billy Adamson: guitar; Sameer Makhoul: violin, oud; John Turville: piano; Emma Stockton: backing vocals (2, 5).

Album information

Title: Stalking Juliet | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Egea Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.