This album had a monumental impact on me in August and September.
I really can't say enough about My Favourite Faded Fantasy by Damien Rice. I have liked Damien Rice since hearing his song Older Chests from his album O. After no releases for over 8 years he finally released this album. Not sure how, but I never listened to it until a trip to Seattle in August. The whole album is beautifully written; he has a way with melodies that is so simple yet anthemic. The combination of this album and the city and scenery of Seattle itself unleashed a wave of inspiration in me that I’ve never experienced before. More on that in another post.
Top 5 moments:
1) the chorus melody on The Greatest Bastard - seriously, simple yet anthemic. Also, the string feature later in the song is gorgeous.
2) the entirety of Colour Me In - some day I’ll cover this song. Beautiful writing.
3) the cello part and extended ending of Colour Me In - worth giving additional attention to; he didn’t have to extend the ending but he did and it is very nice
4) the verse 2 lyrics on The Box -“don’t give me love with a notebook of rules, that kind of love’s just for fools”
5) the “Not Now” outro on Long Long Way - honestly as simple as it gets from a writing perspective, but it is exactly what the song needs
A trip through the album is a very cathartic experience and while it is basically just a bunch of songs about girls, it is beautiful and enduring. This is one of those albums that will always draw me back to the setting I first heard it in, along with the explosive season of inspiration that followed. Again, more on that later.