Oklahoma singer, songwriter shares over fifty years’ worth of material.
‘Souvenirs‘ very aptly demonstrates that it’s never too late to fulfill a lifelong dream. Well into his Seventies, this is Dick Loftin’s first album. He has been writing songs since he was fifteen, and of course, a number of these ten songs have been around for many years. It is a collection of very simple, heartfelt material played acoustically that works very pleasantly indeed.
Loftin explains, “In 2020, I was diagnosed with liver disease. It was serious, and I felt like the clock could be ticking for me. I worried that if anything happened to me, the songs would vanish, and no one would ever hear them. In 2021, I had a liver transplant. While I was recovering, I realized I had a lot of unfinished business, top of the list being the songs. “Souvenirs” is the result.”
Certainly, fans of Gordon Lightfoot or Harry Chapin will appreciate what a genuine emotional storyteller he is. He covers subjects such as love, loss, and displacement, among others. He may not have the strongest, most distinctive voice, but that has definitely done Sid Griffin no harm at all, and many of his inflections bear a genuine similarity.
If he didn’t go through the anguish of being ‘let go’ from his job despite being a model employee, then the emotion in the track ‘For the Good of the Company’ is quite extraordinary. The fake concern and deadpan attitude shown by the company will certainly resonate with many. The anguish again comes to the fore in ‘If you would only let me try’. He is desperate to be given another opportunity to save the relationship, but is resigned to the fact that it is over. “Now I feel so different, there is nothing to look forward to, there is no one I could turn to the way I could turn to you”. It has a wonderfully plaintive and brutally honest feel to it. The sense of loss is palpable.
All the tracks have been beautifully written and simply crafted, making this a sincere, likable album, perhaps for the more mature listener. With well over fifty years’ worth of songs in his bank, this may just not be the last album that Dick Loftin shares with us.
