Tag: Something To Say

Here at folking we’ve been following the career of The Gleeman for a couple of years; a career peppered with excellent singles, fine songwriting and intriguing ideas. For the record, The Gleeman is Cornishman Dean Morris and he’s spent the time paying his dues before issuing his debut album, Something To Say, which we’ve been reporting as imminent for the last two years. It’s still imminent but it’s a lot closer now.

The album opens with ‘The Legendary Planetary Émigré’ which demonstrates Dean’s slightly off-kilter humour while simultaneously being an idea that I’ve dreamed of for several decades. ‘The Hurting’ sees The Gleeman in serious mood. Superficially it sounds like the story of a broken romance and in a sense it is, except that it is actually the story of an elderly couple living with the shadow of death. It’s a brilliantly touching song with a rich arrangement smothered in strings and lets us see a different aspect of Dean’s writing. ‘Borrowed Time’ seems to cover a similar situation from a very different point of view but I could be wrong.

‘Marie’ is one of those singles, an up-tempo, uplifting song decorated with brass which essentially says that you can be anything you want to be – “your happiness is what’s at stake” is perhaps the key phrase. ‘Breathe Again’ is about the beginning of a relationship after, presumably, a break up. It boasts a clever, if slightly old-fashioned, lyric and another rich arrangement. Another top track. ‘Gunslinger’ is a delightful flight of fancy and ‘You Are Not Alone’, pared back to acoustic guitar, reminded me irresistibly of Paul Simon – that’s a compliment, by the way.

We liked ‘Somebody’ on it’s single release. It’s another upbeat, brass-rich song dealing with “the dating game” and you’ll be pleased to know that it all seems to work out right in the end. ‘A Better Friend’ tells of nostalgic regret while ‘Waterfall’ takes an opposite point of view and a slightly jaundiced view of celebrity – another clever piece of song writing. ‘You Will Always Be my Home’ is a return to nostalgia and another early single, ‘Better Day’, is pure pop as Dean is full of the joys of spring, decorated with more brass. ‘Blink Of An Eye’ is built on a lovely acoustic part – seize the day, indeed – and finally, ‘Feel’ hints at the ideas contained in ‘Waterfall’.

Something To Say is a complex album. Just when you think you have a handle on what The Gleeman is all about he’ll go off and do something different. He’s a fine songwriter and can present different aspects of an idea in juxtaposition although you might be left wondering which is the real Gleeman at times. I promise that you won’t stop thinking, however.

Dai Jeffries

Artist’s website: https://thegleeman.co.uk/

‘Better Day’ – official video: