Song of the Week No. 9 - Tony Gould - Follow the Flowers

The current artist on inexplicably high rotation in my iTunes is the wonderful Tony Gould.  One of those recent instances was in the car driving my mother to an appointment.  "I don't like this kind of music", she observed, "I cant quite explain - it seems kind of grating".  That's a shame, but it's okay.  I'm sure it's all to do with what you've grown up with and where you stand on the spectrum between the attraction of familiarity and the attraction of the new (Mum has a track record in this regard - on another recent trip she criticised Ella Fitzgerald for messing with the melody too much - what can you say to that?).

I have always tended toward the novelty end of the spectrum, and the weave of the harmonies in tracks like this one is for me, exciting like good food - sweetness, tartness, bitterness and richness combining in layers that change with each moment.  There's no doubt that having knowledge of areas like jazz and modern classical music helps with the appreciation of music like this.  I suspect, though, that even if I was too young to have any background at all, I would be captivated by this because it's so textural - you can feel the chords as much as hear them.

I'd like to test that theory on some kids.  In fact, this is from the Hush collection, so obviously somebody else thought Gould's work would be good for stressed young souls - gentle, moody and playful, it hits the spot for me.

Follow the Flowers on iTunes (if the link doesn't work for you, just go out and buy yourself the album.  It also features luminaries David Jones, David Griffiths, and Friend of Aquiline Imogen Manins).

**Postscript: In a further incidence of synchronicity, the morning after posting this, I was rubbing vice-regal shoulders at Government House for the launch of the wonderful new Hush Treasure Book, when who was there but Tony Gould, along with David Griffiths, giving us a gorgeous version of Is It Spring Yet?  How beautiful life is.

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