‘Foolish Heart’, the latest single from Tami Neilson, is filled with epic, cinematic, sweeping strings and great sense of drama. Tami Neilson’s voice is huge, her performance full of deep emotion, as the strength of her committed delivery matches the grand scale of the song and its arrangement. Incredibly, this song was recorded live in one take in one room. Likewise, the accompanying video was recorded in one go. ‘Foolish Heart’ and its lush arrangement were inspired by Roy Orbison’s ‘countrypolitan’ sound of the 1960s. Neilson once met Orbison when her father’s band was supporting the legend on tour.
Neilson explains: “I grew up with a photograph of Roy Orbison cradling me in his arms, tucked into the pages of my baby book. I was just an infant when my Dad played a venue with him. When he met him backstage afterward, he asked if Roy would mind holding his new daughter while he snapped a photo of us. Roy’s face lit up with delight, and he happily complied. I like to think of this moment as my true christening. A tiny dusting of his magic falling onto my bald little baby head, a seminal moment of musical destiny. Driving past his old house in Nashville, I felt a deep sadness, reflecting on the tragedy and heartbreak that plagued him in his short life, and this song poured out of me. I named the demo ‘Orbiting Orbison’ — that’s as close as we can get to reaching his greatness.”
The video for ‘Foolish Heart’ is deliberately minimal, focusing all our attention on the raw emotion etched across Neilson’s face and felt in her soaring voice. The intention is to reveal the side of an artist that usually remains hidden from the audience: the loneliness of the backstage existence and touring lifestyle. Neilson says: “I wanted to capture a true-to-life moment that performers experience after they walk off stage from the applause and connection of thousands of people to being completely alone in silence as we remove the layers of artifice. It’s how we all feel when we can remove our brave faces and allow ourselves to fall apart and release the pain we carry. This is one take, made completely by humans, with their foolish hearts beating in their chests.”
New album, “Neon Cowgirl,” is due to be released on 11th July and is rich with epic songwriting and marvellous musicianship. A range of respected musicians collaborated, including JD McPherson, Ashley McBryde and Neil Finn. All the singles released so far have been of the highest quality – it’s absorbing stuff.
