In today's guest column, we have the fabulous Little Name talking about Jimmy Campbell's By the Light of a Lamp...
"I'm a complete newcomer to Jimmy Campbells music and yet utterly smitten. A creative genius with a gentleness not usually seen from our shores.
I was introduced to his music by a friend after Jimmys death, and kept returning and returning to his myspace page until I got hold of his music proper.
How I was completely unaware of this local Nick Drake is beyond me. In a way it's unfair to compare Jimmys songs to anyone else but the gentleness and acoustic ambience does lend itself to that comparison. A lilting tune and whistful lyrics make "by the light of a lamp" a pure gem. Not to mention the beautiful orchestration.
Although not all Jimmys songs are like this it is these ones that Im drawn to and yet it must be recognised how versatile and accomplished he was and I could go on to talk about In my room, Mothers Boy and the pearlescent Micheal Angelo but it is By the Light of a Lamp that I offer up for this blog.
What is so engaging about Jimmy's songs is their scope and, lyrically, their capacity to complete a whole narrative in 4 minutes or less. A world is made and is easily inhabited.
The song starts with an acoustic guitar, brass and a low hammond organ until Jimmys voice slides in for the first verse. He sings of cafes, emotions, hotels and conversations all backed by an atmospheric orchestration that creates a filmic feel to a song that is rounded, full and gives the listener a sense of satisfaction and completion like finishing the most perfect of novels.
It is this ease, creativity & natural ability that is so captivating in Jimmy's song writing. These things are ultimately so rare that they can only be matched by the likes of Jaques Brel in their musicality, pathos and storytelling.
It's a shame the most talented of artists are only recognised when they are gone."
To find out more about Little Name, see www.myspace.com/littlename2.