PRESENTS I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE GONE
Following on from the Primal Scream frontman’s brilliantly-received
previous release for Ace, ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’ (accolades
included being short-listed for Rough Trade’s compilation of the year),
Bobby Gillespie brings us another slice of the music that soundtracks
his life. And in this case, it’s his touring life. Drawing on the
experience of ‘the way that the noise and clamour of the road can tire
you out, wear you down and frazzle your nerves to shattered fragments of
jangled exhaustion’, these are the records Bobby turns to for solace,
for comfort, for empathy and for resourcefulness.
The compilation features an introduction
from the man himself, talking us through his personal choices as though
he’s sitting cross-legged on the carpet going through records with you
in his lounge. Also long-time cohort of the band, Kris Needs has written
extensive liner notes, serving up an intensive track by track insight
and analysis.
Titled after and kicking off with the Willie Nelson
track of the same name, ‘I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone’ leads us
through a darker and deeper exploration than it’s predecessor, featuring
Nick Cave’s funereal version of ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ and Ry
Cooder’s sparse and beautiful reworking of ‘Dark End Of The Street’. And
we get there via such greats as Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Donnie Fritts,
Crazy Horse, Lee Hazlewood, Al Green, Thin Lizzy and so many more.
In
Bobby’s own words: ‘These songs are soul savers to soothe frayed and
battered nerves and to ease and settle the heart. They work on me like
medicine every time. I would like to share this wonderful music that has
given me strength, joy and inspiration over the years with you the
listener, so that you too might get the same feelings of protection and
inspiration that I do whenever I listen to these songs. We're all
travellers on some kind of road through this life, and we all need
respite from time to time - the music on this compilation is soul food
of the highest order - I hope you enjoy it.’