This is the excellent 3ème Gauche session that Tom took part in during a visit to Paris early in September of 2015. Originally released as two separate tracks, this is a single clip with both songs included. There's also some MP3s below to download.
To put this into context, it was around this time that Tom began experiencing some health issues which would begin with his doctor prescribing bed rest, and end almost 8 months later with a tour of the United States having been cancelled as well as other promotional engagements.
I bring this up because there are times when his voice has a rare gravelly quality during this session, something which is unusual. We're so used to that smooth baritone, but there are breaks every so often here that hint at a possible fragility. Because this is an acoustic gig, any deviations from the norm are right out there on display and it increases the delicate nature of what's being played, giving a whole different colour to the performance. You can really hear it during the "forever young..." line of Forgiveness, for example. Was this an early indicator of the viral infection that took Editors off the road for an extended period of time? If so it's both unwelcome in its eventual destructive power but fascinating in how it altered the sound of this.
In my opinion, this session has the definitive acoustic version of this Life is a Fear. When you hear a tune that made it onto In Dream as a slightly disco number like Papillon reduced to this, it becomes an entirely different track with a new meaning. The simplicity and the emotion that runs through the track is perfect, and as I write this in 2018 I don't believe I've heard it delivered better. It has that rare quality in that I just love it, but I'm not totally certain what it is that I love. There's just something there. After all, it's Mr Smith and a piano which we've heard before, but on this occasion all the wheels are all in motion and it just works so well. From the first intake of breath you hear prior the song beginning to the last note, with all the slightly raspy vocals in between. It's completely beautiful.
So maybe this session profited from Tom's health not being 100%, but I'd rather appreciate it as a rarity rather than a regularity given the chaos it also brought. Enjoy the music ;)
stream it here
MP3s
Forgiveness - download here
To put this into context, it was around this time that Tom began experiencing some health issues which would begin with his doctor prescribing bed rest, and end almost 8 months later with a tour of the United States having been cancelled as well as other promotional engagements.
I bring this up because there are times when his voice has a rare gravelly quality during this session, something which is unusual. We're so used to that smooth baritone, but there are breaks every so often here that hint at a possible fragility. Because this is an acoustic gig, any deviations from the norm are right out there on display and it increases the delicate nature of what's being played, giving a whole different colour to the performance. You can really hear it during the "forever young..." line of Forgiveness, for example. Was this an early indicator of the viral infection that took Editors off the road for an extended period of time? If so it's both unwelcome in its eventual destructive power but fascinating in how it altered the sound of this.
In my opinion, this session has the definitive acoustic version of this Life is a Fear. When you hear a tune that made it onto In Dream as a slightly disco number like Papillon reduced to this, it becomes an entirely different track with a new meaning. The simplicity and the emotion that runs through the track is perfect, and as I write this in 2018 I don't believe I've heard it delivered better. It has that rare quality in that I just love it, but I'm not totally certain what it is that I love. There's just something there. After all, it's Mr Smith and a piano which we've heard before, but on this occasion all the wheels are all in motion and it just works so well. From the first intake of breath you hear prior the song beginning to the last note, with all the slightly raspy vocals in between. It's completely beautiful.
So maybe this session profited from Tom's health not being 100%, but I'd rather appreciate it as a rarity rather than a regularity given the chaos it also brought. Enjoy the music ;)
stream it here
MP3s
Forgiveness - download here
Life is a Fear - download here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
