Bailey, Glyn: Oran’s World

Welcome to Oran’s World. A place of wonder but one which also wonders exactly what it’s all about and whether people really care enough to find out. It’s a world constructed by the ever evolving Glyn Bailey, here operating as a solo artist but still featuring collaborations and a few familiar faces from projects and bands gone by.

As you enter this place, so it feels as though you’ve been whisked back in time, the grandiose, sympathetic arrangements nodding to simpler days as we arrive in “Oran’s World� and use his imagination to examine a host of ideas that suggest one thing but often mean another. Many layered voices and Bailey’s keen, deep, resonant voice seemingly laying out the themes for what initially has the atmospheres of a story set to music, as strings, brass and woodwind create the scene. Horses bray, bells shimmer and the curiosity grows before “Birdsong� continues the theme, although here there’s already a hint of melancholy that’s celebratory. Even in this place of apparent light and hope, questions are asked, modern culture of hate against acceptance and technology against nature explored in a way that never feels the need to wag its finger at you.

With cover art and a lyric sheet that merely fire the imagination further in this storytelling style, your pointed towards realms that the likes of Tim Bowness or Paul Morricone conjure, but not so much musically as through the atmosphere and sentiment of entering the psyche of yourself and those around you to ponder the choices we make and those we have no option but to follow. Amongst all this “Dinner With Bowie� is a lament for the great man but one that defiantly refuses to be morose, whereas “This Man� spins us round and round and lands us in TV theme tune land - undoubtedly one of my favourite places to be. If you experience this album on vinyl (with the fabulous sleeve art and the top quality of the vinyl itself it’s the way to do it), sequencing is also key here, “Honeypot� closing out side one in confident but never overblown style. Whereas that same role is given to the beautiful, heartfelt “The Presence Of Love� as the album comes to an end and leaves you with a feeling of loss and yet utterly fulfilled.

More a rounded, complete experience than an album, Oran’s World is uplifting and yet somehow seems to dash your hopes on the rocks in the gentlest, more caring of ways. As all excellent albums should, Glyn Bailey’s latest excursion asks many questions, while merely suggesting you look for the answers. The journey along the way is both captivating and rewarding.

Track Listing
1. Oran’s World
2. Birdsong
3. The Guru
4. Autograph
5. Honeypot
6. This Man
7. The Last Laugh
8. Songs Of The Sea
9. Dinner With Bowie
10. The Presence Of Love

Added: December 20th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Glyn Bailey @ bandcamp
Hits: 56
Language: english

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