My Favourite Album - Beth Hirsch

 

Gigantic is passionate about music and we continue to search out those who share our love and ask them to tell us all about the LPs that changed their lives and had a profound impact. This time, we are joined by singer\songwriter Beth Hirsch!

 

Born and raised in Tampa, Florida; Beth Hirsch is renowned for having made a guest appearance on French ambient electronica pairing Air’s definitive jazz infused 90’s album ‘Moon Safari’ – providing lyrics and vocals for the tracks ‘All I Need’ and ‘You Make It Easy’. Hirsch has since released three solo albums centred around her love of folk rock.

 

This month sees the release of Beth Hirsch’s latest studio album ‘Love Is For Everyone – LIFE’. Combing original material with remixes of classic tracks from across her career, her latest record is the perfect summarisation of her career so far as realised with the aid of an impressive roll call of collaborators including French composer Tristan Bres, Grey Tropical, producer Vincenzo Callea, songwriter Rosita Kess plus old friends Phillippe Balatier and Pascal Reva.

 

Released via Last Man Music on Friday 30th October, CLICK HERE to pre-order your copy of ‘Love Is For Everyone – LIFE’ on MP3, cassette, limited coloured vinyl and to pre-save on streaming services.

 

 

 

 

What album Is It?

 

Marvin Gaye – ‘What's Going On?’

 

When Was It Released? 

 

1971 

 

 

Where Did You First Hear It? 

 

I had just moved out of my flat in East Paris in the mid 90's and wasn't sure where I was going next. A couple friends invited me to stay at their place while they were traveling. I found this cassette, popped it into my Walkman, and took a long walk in the rain. It rained for days to follow and I kept taking walks and playing it over and over again. When I bought the album and saw this full length shot of Marvin Gaye on the back cover, it made me feel like I had been walking with him the whole time.

 

 

What Does It Mean To You? 

 

It signifies pure musical genius. It represents the painful racial and class segregation that I had witnessed as a child. I had always loved soul music, and greatly enjoyed disco. When disco suddenly "died", my peers and I were thrust from Donna Summer's ‘Macarthur Park’ to Molly Hatchet's ‘Flirtin With Disaster’ (Can you imagine that sequence on a playlist? :), it was an abrupt and transitionless ending to the soundtrack of my 70's childhood. Luckily, I was exposed to many other wonderful music genres in the years to follow, but listening to this album felt like a new home and sparked within me a desire to make meaningful albums.

 

 

Talk Us Through Your Favourite Songs And Lyrics On The Album

 

‘Right On’ –  It's the coolest and most uplifting song of the album - percussively and melodically - despite the poignancy of the lyrics.

 

For those of us who live
Where peace is craved
For those of us who live, uh-huh
Where hatred is enslaved, alright
For those of us who live a life
Yea, surrounded by good fortune and wealth
Talk about it
Those of us who live a life
Hey, hey, hey enjoying ourselves
For those of us who got drowned
In the sea of happiness
For the soul that takes pride in his God
And himself and everything else

 

 

 

And ‘Flying High (In the Friendly Sky)’ is a magnificent poem about addiction... 

 

Flying high in the friendly sky (Flying high)

Without ever leavin' the ground, no
Rest of the folks are tired and weary (Oh Lord,)

And have laid their bodies down.

 

I go to the place where danger awaits me
And it's bound to forsake me
So stupid minded
I can't help it
Oh yeah, so stupid minded
But I go crazy when I can't find it

 

In the morning, I'll be alright, my friend
But soon the night will bring the pains
The pain, oh the pain
Flying high in the friendly sky

Without ever leaving the ground
And I ain't seen nothing but trouble baby
Nobody really understands, no (help me somebody)

And I go to the place where the good feelin' awaits me
Self destruction in my hand
Oh Lord, so stupid minded (Help me)
But I go crazy when I can't find it

 

Well I know I'm hooked my friend
To the boy who makes slaves out of men.
Oh believe me
Flying high in a friendly sky
Oh believe, flyin' high 

 

 

And then how it seamlessly threads into ‘Save The Children’...  

 

This record has been so recognized and celebrated that ordinarily it would feel cliché to write about it. But, just like living in Paris, I was somehow able to carve out my own relationship with it and it has nourished me in ways that I'm thankful for to this day.