It was a case of interim Dennis Ellsworth as he punctuated a
short UK visit to play a couple of shows which gave fans an update on his current
situation. It also provided a timely reminder as to why he has garnered so much
praise since the decision to export his talents was made. With a new album
slated for release in September, Dennis took the option to reflect upon his whole
career as songs from all tenses were dissected, analysed and primarily
delivered in his genuine magnanimous style.
Having previously seen Dennis play a storming late night
full band festival set and open for Leeroy Stagger back in 2013, this was a far
more revelatory opportunity to grasp him as a performer, songwriter and
partially as a person, although the latter is tempered by the stage façade. He
comes across as a stoical and sincere figure on stage, while his meticulous
approach to write moving and passionate songs is a testament to an intelligent stance
on the whole sphere of the inspiration to his art. For nearly two hours in this
Shropshire community venue, Dennis permeated the minds of his audience with a
prepossessing form of inter song musing which majorly focussed on the writing
process and succeeded in bridging the many miles between Prince Edward Island,
Canada and the music scene in the old country.
With the new album in the can and now titled ROMANTIC AS IT
GETS, Dennis is itching to get the songs out into the wider world, yet taking
the considered approach of letting the summer months roll away before launching
the record. Three of the songs selected for airing this evening had the full
package of explanation as their aperitif. Therefore the location of the writing
of ‘Full Moon Blues’ was revealed
as sitting contemplatively on the shoreline of his hometown Charlottetown on
the Canadian maritime coast, while ‘Beauty
is Sad’ was inspired by thoughts of Billie Holiday while frequenting a
record store. The trio was completed by the renewed life of a fallen tree in
the borrowed title ‘Mercy Doll’, just
to give a diverse flavour to his subjects.
Drawing inspiration from other songwriters is another track
for his craft as exemplified in the song ‘Harry
Nilsson’s Heart’ lifted from his 2013 record HAZY SUNSHINE, an album which
also supplied the excellent number ‘Rudderless
Day’ to this evening’s offerings. Like so many Canadian artists, a Neil
Young song made an appearance with Dennis choosing to close the show with his
version of ‘Powderfinger’. However it
was English folk artist John Smith who has had the most profound effect on Dennis
since they first hooked up as writing companions a few years ago. ‘Perfect Storm’ and ‘Forever to an End’ were two results of their collaboration with the
former being one of the top tunes from his handful of previous albums to date. ‘Electric Stars’ was another personal
favourite from 2012’s DUSK DREAMS to make the cut for the show.
The transition from totally solo writing, as most
graphically described in the song ‘I
Thought My Name Was Dark Clouds’, to now considering collaboration as an
important part of his arsenal was explained during the evening. This culminated
with reference to a recent writing project with Donovan Woods. We also had an
insight to the historical aspect of Dennis being part of the band Haunted Hearts
and how his most recent record LOVE KNOWS LOVE was a low key affair designed to
be a home for older leftover tracks with its intended marketing policy being
mainly gig merchandise sales.
The wider music community including the UK are going to hear
a lot more of Dennis Ellsworth in the near future. A dedicated tour is lined up
to support the new album and for those of you who put a high value on the
importance of the acutely crafted song, then the soft persuasive vocals of
Dennis sharing his wares is an engaging and enticing way to expend your
listening time.