• Band / Artist : Lesley Gore
• Genre : Pop / Rock
• Sample Track Download : N/A
• Buy CD : Buy
• Buy Digital Download : iTunes
• Rating : 9 out of 10

Fame can be a fickle thing. Many people receive their “15 minutes” and then fade abruptly into the dim and distant past. Some ease into obscurity gracefully, never to be heard of again. More infrequently some fade, only to resurface a year or two later. It takes a very special kind of artist to stay out of the limelight for 30 years, only to resurface with something so extraordinary that you wonder why they stayed away for so long. This is the case with Lesley Gore. For anyone who doesn’t remember the 60s first hand the name Lesley Gore may not mean a lot. Forward to the 80s and a song called “It’s My Party” by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin, remember that one, or indeed the 60s original, that was Lesley.

For anyone expecting upbeat pop, you aren’t going to find it here. What you are going to find is something to put you the mood for reflection and a voice that has mellowed and aged like a fine wine. Lesley’s voice reminds me a lot of Joni Mitchell’s 2000 offering Both Sides Now and indeed that title track. Yes the voice isn’t as sharp and perky, but it’s lush, complete and as sexy as hell.

This whole album is an incredible collection of songs. The title track in particular just blew me away the first time I heard it. It was this, that sewed the seed of desire to get the album in post haste for review. Consisting of 10 tracks, which includes re-recordings of two of Lesley’s earlier tracks, namely “You Don’t Own Me” and “Out Here on my Own”. The other 8 tracks are all written by or in conjunction with Lesley herself, Mike Errico and Blake Morgan, who also provide musical accompaniment. For me though, the reworked tracks are just fillers for the rest of the album. It’s the new material that allows Lesley to radiate a warmth, lacking from so much music. As I’ve said numerous times, I’m a big fan of the title track. Other standout tracks for me are “Cool Web” with it’s jazzy texture and “We Went So High”, with it’s simplistic piano accompaniment, absolutely beautiful.

I’ll leave you with this snippet from Lesley’s own website, I think it sums things up nicely:

“Ever Since is a Lesley Gore postcard, sent from the journey she’d always said she was going to take. Fans who have traveled with her will have a new reason to love her, and the people who haven’t checked in with her in a while will fall in love all over again.”

Conclusion : This has been one of the albums I was very eager to get in for review. Once I heard the title track I was smitten. This is a lush, sensual, gorgeous, wonderful album. I just hope I don’t have to wait another 30 years for the next one.