Ian M Bailey - Songs To Dream Along To

  by Steve Kinrade

published: 8 / 12 / 2021

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It was the end of February this year that I was first introduced to the musical world of Ian M Bailey, and his Lost Doves project that proved to be the perfect antidote for the horrendous months I had endured on the Covid 19 NHS front line. I boastfully claimed it as my album of the year for 2021, and nothing has changed. It still is. Eight months later, with the world still struggling to attain any sense of post Covid normality, the early musical Christmas present is his latest offering 'Songs To Dream Along To', co-written with Daniel Wylie (Cosmic Rough Riders) and the smile of February 2021 is back on my face. Here we have eleven songs that we can truly help us to dream of better things. God knows we need to. Eleven songs that act as a template of accomplished song-writing and a lesson in sympathetic, assured production values. The album kicks off with 'This Is Not A Feeling' and the musical stall is well and truly set out. Sonically dream like, a combination of The Byrds and early REM, surging keyboards, divine harmonies. 'Take It Or Leave It' follows, an infectious lyrical hook and we are back in the 1960s, when optimism was an actual verb, the jangle of guitars and the swelling vocoder… Eleven songs of pure beauty. 'Everything Will Be Alright' evokes the spirit of Crosby Stills and Nash at their most melancholic best. 'The Sound Of Her Voice' with its lush orchestral arrangement reminds us of what Simon & Garfunkel brought to the world, entangled with the melancholy of The Beatles' 'She’s Leaving Home'. Another stand out is 'I’m Not The Enemy', which you could imagine Mike Mills taking lead vocal duty, like he did with Texacarna from 'Out Of Time'. The album closes with 'The Best Of Me', another melancholic song, transcended by its arrangement and the soaring harmonies. And that’s it. Eleven songs that prove that exceptional song-writing, arrangement and production are alive and well. Does it matter that such an accomplishment that is 'Songs To Dream Along To' may or may not get the chance to be embraced by a wider audience? Yes and no. Such talents need to be recognised in a world that’s fair and of equal opportunity, but we know that isn’t the case. But if Bailey and Wylie can move just one person - just one person - with their art on a musical, emotional and spiritual level, they have succeeded. Gentlemen, mission accomplished

Track Listing:-

1 This Is Not A Feeling
2 Take It Or Leave It
3 A Place To Live
4 Everything Will Be Alright
5 The Sound Of Her Voice
6 I'm Not The Enemy
7 Midday At Hope Lodge
8 What's Happening Now!
9 Just Like A Child (Dreamcatcher)
10 Slow Down River

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/Ianbaileymusicandinfo/
https://twitter.com/ianbaileymusic2
https://ianbaileymusic.bigcartel.com/

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