It’s a rare to hear anyone complain that life’s too long. Unless they’re a Smiths fan, perhaps. Life is very long when you’re lonely, after all, and if time flies when you’re having fun then by contrast it sure as hell drags when you’re miserable and moping.
Reynolds’ bearded face stares enigmatically out of the cover of this two-disc compilation. Looking ponderously up from the camera lens, half his face in shade as he smokes a cigarette, the photo shot in moody, contrasty black and white with minimal grey scale, there’s a strong sense of the classic, the vintage about it all.
But as Anthony Reynolds is very much alive and well, it’s not a complete retrospective in the conventional sense, but it does reflect on his output in the years spanning 1995 to 2011. Featuring tracks recorded with his former band Jack and offshoot project Jacques, as well as solo material, it makes either for a welcome introduction or a useful summary of his musical work to date.
Those who – again like me – may have discovered Reynolds through his recent foray into experimentalism in collaboration with the help of a few others including Boo Radley Martin Carr, creating a sonic backdrop to recordings of novelist Colin Wilson, are likely to be in for a surprise.
‘Life’s Too Long’ is neither experimental nor fusty folk. Perhaps more surprisingly still, it’s not all about lugubrious downbeat introversion, and instead reveals Reynolds to be an extremely adept purveyor of clever pop tunes. It’s the Anthony Reynolds who graces the back cover and the last page of the CD’s booklet that resides more predominantly in the music here: a slightly foppish, dandy character in appearance, ‘Life’s Too Long’ is brimming with wit and flourishes. If any comparisons are to be made, it’s with Jarvis Cocker and the savvy, crisp yet quirky pop stylings of Pulp, and perhaps Neil Hannon. There’s a sense of the grand, the epic, not to mention the odd, about Reynolds, too, a significant nod to Scott Walker (as you might expect from a man who penned a biography of Scott Walker and the Walker Brothers).
|
Over the course of the two discs and some 30 tracks, Reynolds leads the listener through an array of luscious, sweeping string-soaked pop pizzazz, often suffused with a sense of self-effacement and very British humour, steering us through kitchen sink dramas and vignettes from the everyday. At times dark, at times flippant, Reynolds is a master of balance, gritty scenes played out against a backdrop of carefully crafted tunes that successfully juxtapose urgent guitars with orchestral elements. He’s also more eloquent than your average lyricist, something which certainly serves to set him apart from the bulk of dreary monosyllabists who pass as songwriters. Namedropping Bukowski on the Suede-like ‘Cinematic’, Reynolds is clearly both literary and literate (which may explain why he’s only attained cult status).
‘Life’s Too Long’ is a true gem of an album that’s well worth seeking out. And even if perfect pop with a slant’s not your thing, I strongly recommend reading the hilarious interview Reynolds conducted with John Taylor of Duran Duran that’s on his website.
Anthony Reynolds Online
|
