Carol Douglas - Too Numb Too Cry

Hear The Track Here

I'll state immediately that this songwriter is one of my oldest Soundclick friends as well as being the well deserved recipient of an early Stevie for her collaboration with Nad Sylvan on When The Tidal Wave Rolled In (2005). Fact is, she IS a terrific songwriter whichever way you look at it. Take a look at the class of musicians she gets to work with and that should give you another clue that - whatever I think - Carol Douglas is a well respected and prolific songwriter of the old school. In truth her nick should be The Greal Collaborator because that is the way all her tracks (including many songs now regarded very faourably) get made.

On Too Numb Too Cry she is joined with yet another old friend, Nigel Potter, another artist I have a great amount of time for. It is actually a co-write for the pair and I can see why that should be because - try as I might - I cannot see the join at all between what Carol or Nigel contributed. I'm fairly certain that the dark, edgy feel of the track has much to do with Nigel Potter, although it suits the sombre lyrics that accompany the music. Like myself, Nigel has had his life somewhat warped by Hawkwind and their influence suffuses everything about this track but the ending is pure space rock and probably nicked from the band :P

All of which may sound like the dogs dinner.

Which is better than no dinner at all, this being the nature of the song. With sentiments like 'I'm dying, lying in the snow, submitting to the horror show' wailing their agony in your ears, you may well run away with the impression that it would be best to run away. Not at all, because despite its sombre content, Too Numb Too Cry is a wonderfully realised gothic horror show in sound. The flat, atonal vocals (supplied by Nigel I assume) and the Annie Lennox soundalike wailing away in the background lend themselves to the woebegone feeling that permeates this track, piling on the tension until you think you will go stark, staring mad. Which, I suppose, may be the whole point of the thing. Whatever else it is, it's a keeper for me.

MUST HAVE rock. A musical nightmare made with great beauty.