Thea Gilmore “These Quiet Friends”

Gorgeous and intimate album of covers from the peerless Thea Gilmore.

Thea Gilmore is one of our most intelligent and challenging singer/songwriters and her 20+ year career has seen her release a host of memorable records. The majority of these feature Gilmore’s own compositions but anyone fortunate enough to have seen her live shows will know she has never been adverse to offering up some unusual and unexpected covers. In 2004 Gilmore released an album of these covers. She described ‘Loft Music’ as an addendum to her CD, ‘Avalanche’. She called it a “this is where I came in” piece, recorded in homage to the writers and performers whose spirit stood with her during ‘Avalanche‘s’ execution, and likely her entire career to 2004, when ‘Loft’ hit the UK.

Twenty years later Gilmore returns with a belated second volume of covers. On ‘These Quiet Friends’ Thea Gilmore brings together songs that have served as quiet anchors through her life—offering strength, comfort, and joy exactly when they were needed. “These songs have been like mates to me” Gilmore says. “They’ve marked important moments and provided warmth, strength, or even just fun. I hope I’ve done them justice.”

Anyone familiar with Gilmore’s work will know that, as well as being able to belt out a rocker with the best of them, her gorgeous, silky vocals can wring every last drop of emotion from the slower numbers. ‘These Quiet Friends’ is an apt title for this album. One every track, from the opening, almost spoken Liza Minelli classic ‘Cabaret’ to Guns N’Roses ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, Gilmore brings them all down to an almost obscene level of intimacy with the most minimal of fuss or accompaniment.

As with all covers, comparisons with the original versions will always cloud opinion. The more familiar the track the harder it can be to shift the original out of the way and judge a new version on its own merits. So, for instance, for the millions of Springsteen fans out there, Gilmore’s stripped and pared-back version of ‘Dancing In The Dark’ is either going to be seen as folly or a fine and brilliant interpretation of a classic. That said, even the most die-hard Bruce aficionado would surely concede that Gilmore’s interpretation allows a whole new level of feeling to be attached to his lyrics.

And therein lies the heart of the album; each track pared back to such an extent that a new and more intense meaning seems to attach itself to each line, Gilmore’s vocal cascading like melted caramel over each and every word. Opinion on her best interpretations will, of course, be subject to personal taste but The Gin Blossom’s ‘Hey Jealousy’ stands out for the gorgeous piano accompaniment and as for The Bunnymen’s ‘The Killing Moon’ well, Gilmore just kills it.

Thea Gilmore hits the road in the next few weeks and is playing the smaller, more intimate venues that suit her peerless vocals to the max.