It is once more worth recounting quite what a journey we have had with Savannah Gardner, 12 months ago our first encounter with her was at a Songwriters Round where she maybe laid the seeds that would culminate in this review.
Twelve months later and it is hard to remember a time when she was not such an omnipotent figure on the London scene popping up everywhere. Like all overnight successes this rise to fame has been many years in the fruition, the album "Recovering Good Girl" houses some tunes that have been floating around for a while and maybe have appeared in earlier versions but it is this collection of songs, masterminded by Dale Davis (Amy Winehouse) on production duties, that will be the definitive ones. It is also going to make a lot of people realise that they may know Savannah's work but perhaps not the titles of her songs and when they get to properly absorb the lyrical content there is even more to savour.
The album opens to the title track and a choir of "oohs" before a distorted Savannah sings the opening verse. which tells of Savannah trying to escape expectation and conformity. The sense of the need to escape is etched into each line - Savannah's live introductions to this song have always talked about being ""afraid of upsetting other people, pleasing everyone else at the cost of my own happiness, and being what everyone else wanted me to be" - the lyrics to this song bring those feelings home in graphic detail.
"All I need is a little dough to get me out of this town
Dye my hair and change my clothes before they hunt me down
Catch the San Diego Amtrak on to Mexico
Leave this broken world behind and free my wild soul"
The second verse sees a return to normal vocals, that urge to break with conformity and the frustration attached to the hypocrisy about how views differ between whether it is a man or woman making the changes, shine through.
"All my life I pleased the Lord and I did the best I could
But when the devil calls to me I never felt so good
If selfish women go to hell while “boys just get to be boys”
Then throw me in the fiery depths I’ll make some goddamn noise"
The chorus is something of a curious mix of styles yet works perfectly, the first half rebel rousing, built for audiences to sing along to, there is an organ that makes it's presence felt, building up the overall sound. The second half takes on more of a soulful groove for the "Out and Out" parts, while the percussion neatly keeps things in order
"I’m an outlaw trailblazing my own way
Through the downpour bring on the thunder let it rain
I’m an out-and-out-and-out outlaw, a recovering good girl
Out-and-out-and-out outlaw, looking for my freedom"
It is the third verse where the darker side of breaking free starts to surface and it is painted here in quite visceral terms leaving not a lot to the imagination, It also sees a masterclass ( mistressclass?) in how to sell a line with the slightest shift in voice on that opening line..
"I’ve been the blonde I’ve been the bitch I’ve perked up his interest
Been terrified alone at night my keys between my fists
It’s a helter-skelter patriarchy but I’m a bandit with an army
I’ll break the glass and close the gap, take my power back"
With a good old fashioned guitar solo, the song eventually fades to just Savannah's acoustic guitar and her vocals once again distorted. Like all great songwriters Savannah has subliminally hooked us in with the singalong nature of the catchy chorus - but she has reeled us in only to lay a much deeper heavier tale on us.
If Savannah is a modern day outlaw then it is one from the 19th century, Belle Starr who is the subject of "Lone Rider", a character so rich she could have her own album! Always a live favourite, the recorded version has additional backing vocals on the chorus which give a soulful edge to proceedings.
"I’ll tell them my name is Belle
I’ll send convention straight to hell
I am an outlaw or I wanna be
Make all the dime novels be full of me
Running from all the lawmen after me
Leaving them in the dust"
The image of the "Wildfire" is ever more etched in our consciousness, as each year they rage across the Europe and the US, even reaching the UK last year. They bring a seemingly unstoppable force that destroys all in it's wake. Less newsworthy are the followup effects as new life starts to grow from the embers now that it has light and warmth.
It is the initial raging that Savannah introduces us to in her opening verses. After a short wailing intro from a pedal steel guitar, Savannah sings out over just her acoustic guitar, recalling the events as if they were yesterday
"I was driving west of Yellowstone
Down a long and lonely road
There were ashes rising in the air
Smoke was everywhere
The sky looked like champagne
Flowing off the mountain range
And the embers they were shining
Turning into flames
It was blinding
Mesmerising
And I wanted it"
It is only on those last few lines that the band start to kick in. The way that the word "Mesmerising" is delivered is worth the price of admission alone!!
The chorus sees Savannah find a poetic beauty in the destruction surrounding her and applies it to her personal life.
"Wildfire light up my soul
Wildfire burn through the hole in my chest that he left
When he put us to rest
Wildfire, turn my cold heart gold"
The final repeated word of the chorus provides Savannah a springboard from which produce two marvellously extended notes.
The next verses fill in the backstory of personal heartbreak, the imagery from the opening verses now being used on herself.
"He was my first love in the dark he lit me up
But when he took his love away I felt the deepest shame
It was striking
He was the lightning
I wanted it"
It is the bridge that brings the two worlds together, the devastation and the rebirth.
"Clearing out the forest floor, settling my inner scores
I had to change I had to hurt, I had to rage I had to burn"
Savannah brings to the table a timbre quite unlike anyone else, it somehow captures and transmits the mood of her lyrics perfectly, you share the beauty at what she is viewing yet you also feel the hurt that she is suffering.
The opening lines to the third chorus have a tremendous world weariness to them, of someone worn down. Each time round the third line of the chorus changes, the final time being the most devastating, it signals a rebirth and the band kick in and Savannah's vocal is reinvigorated
"When he chose her instead"
Savannah's final extended notes give way for the band to have their own moment to shine with an extended outro.
It is an absolute four minute gem
To lighten the mood a little "Home Again" is a travelogue as Savannah travels from New Orleans, through Memphis to the Carolinas. It is packed with personal reminiscences and details which go to make it all the more believable. The sheer joy is there in the vocal as Savannah says
"I met a boy down at Earnestine’s,
He kissed me good by the juke box machine"
Musically it's a shift in styles with percussion and piano most prominent.
Another one of those live favourites comes with "Tomorrow I'll Be Free" a barnstorming song that is usually accompanied with such a lot of hootin' an' hollerin' that we've never had a chance to pay much attention to what is being sung. It's Savannah's acoustic guitar and a faint electric one that lead us through the recurring chorus and opening verse
"Tomorrow I’ll be lonely, tomorrow I’ll be blue
Cause when the morning comes in I’ll be missing you
You told me you were leaving, you won’t be back again
You found another woman and now I’ve lost a friend
The devil’s in the details and the truth is in your eyes
You never really loved me, you never really tried"
It's quite a brutal little verse hidden in the overall jauntiness of the tune that heads off like a speeding freight train.
The second verse is no lighter
"When everything was easy you said I was the one
Like something out the movies, an angel from above
But when the roses wilted and the shine began to fade
You went treasure hunting and you got yourself laid"
The mid section sees the arrival of an organ and some rip roaring guitar work
It is only in the final section that there is something of a change in thinking, turning the negative into a positive and so a song of depression about being dumped becomes a beacon for what the future will bring.
"When the sun goes down and your bags are packed
I’ll pour my wine and cry out
That I’m better off with a love that’s true
Someday I will shout out
Tomorrow won’t be lonely, tomorrow won’t be blue
Cause when the morning comes in I won’t be missing you
I’m bathing in the sunshine, bathing in the sea
Tomorrow is a new day, tomorrow I’ll be free"
The final words delivered in a spoken voice after a short gap when the band have stopped playing and followed by a celebratory cheer.
Belinda Carlisle once sang "Heaven Is A Place On Earth", Savannah takes it a step further finding heaven in small everyday things. It is delightful classic country over which Savannah lays a most honest caring vocal
"Heaven is a feeling, it’s the sun on your face
It’s coffee in the morning, your Mamas warm embrace
It’s a meal around the table, it’s living in grace
Heaven is a feeling, heaven ain’t a place
All the angels are at work
They walk with us on earth
She’s the lady on the train asking if you are okay
All the angels are at work"
It's a simple mixture of piano, percussion and pedal steel with suitably heaven like backing vocals that make it so special.
Savannah's forthright vocal on the final verse is simply sublime
"Heaven is a feeling, you can find it every day
It’s laughing with your best friend, giving your daughter away
It’s cooking for your family, it’s the smile on your face
Heaven is a feeling, heaven ain’t a place"
It's sentimental yet somehow warms your inner soul to hear it expressed so eloquently.
"City Of Cowboys" is another of those tunes that tends to come in the live set when the audience are at their most boisterous - so rowdy that perhaps we've never really got a chance to listen to the words. It comes with the oddest stop / start arrangement, for the verses that lead into that inviting singalong chorus.
The verses all but see Savannah directly speaking to the crowd, almost in an old style music hall way as dhe regales us with her attempts to change someone for the better
"I’ve got a confession
I’m learning my lessons the hard way
A common misconception
Thinking I could make him change
I’d be his saviour
I’d be his saint
I’ll fight his problems
With my love it will be okay"
A later verse highlights the male sex at it's worst once more
"Another revelation
To question my faith and my pride
When I trusted a man
Who said he was a mentor, a friend
I reached out a hand, he wanted my body
Give them an inch they’ll take a mile"
It would be easy to imagine the chorus would be downbeat but it displays an indefatigable spirit - one that will not be extinguished from one that will continue to chase their dreams no matter what obstacle is placed before them. It is best summed up by the final assault on the chorus
"My heart’s on my sleeves, there are holes in my jeans
I’m all ripped at the seams but I’ve still got my dreams
I’m a lonely cowgirl in a city of cowboys
My heart’s been broken and used
But my dreams are made up of sycamore branches
And my dreams came long before you"
Musically throughout there's an ever building array of instruments - it may initially be just acoustic and pedal steel but that soon builds with additional vocal, piano and percussion to name but a few.
"High Desert Memory" is another of those tunes that we always though was called "Dead End Relationship!" - it's fast paced. driven by the speedy percussion, lyrically full of allusions to the cowboy life - This is a break up wild west style, the good times are long forgotten
"You’ve got the nerve to say I’m better off without you
Is this the showdown am I meeting you at high noon
Who’s gonna fire the first shot, you want to talk till we drop
There’s nothing left to say it’s too late
Here in this ghost town it’s not easy to remember
The golden days and all the dreams we spent together
Who’s gonna step on the line, who’s gonna win with goodbye
There’s nothing left to say it’s too late"
The chorus is punchy and pithy both lyrically and musically putting us in no doubt where things stand
"This is a dead-end relationship
Tumbleweeds are rolling down the street
There’s no point reviving it
It’s a high desert memory"
there is a teasing little a capella section where for a millisecond there is almost a chink of light for a reconciliation but it soon shut down and well and truly nailed shit with the next frantic chorus.
"We could go on like this
But why waste the time
Call it a draw and quit
I won’t change my mind"
The final song of a quite splendid album is the anthemic "Heartbreak River", its fiddle introduction almost gaelic in the mood that it sets. It almost lays a code to be lived by accepting that there will be bums along the way but that the end result will be the right one.
"I'd like to look back on my life when I’m older
And be proud of the woman I became
I’ve got choices to make, promises I’ll break
And sorrow may even be my friend
But I’ll never regret what I’ve already done
And there’ll still be days when I wanna run
There’s a heartbreak river up ahead
It’s a lonely road to be had
But spring will come and when it does
The colours will come flooding back"
The themes of regrowth and hope for a brighter future in the last two lines of the chorus tie this collection of songs together neatly, for they have been laced throughout the album. The person leaving town for a new life in the title track, the shoots of recovery in "Wildfire" the ongoing dream in "City Of Cowboys". There is a beautiful section in the middle of the song where Savannah just cries out a chant of "whoahoa"s that perfectly captures the richness of the track.
Nine songs sung in Savannah's unique style are richly rewarding, she has an unerring ability to want to entertain and there are great tunes throughout, matched to lyrics that make you pause to think about them long into the night. It is an unqualified success from start to finish.