Jon Solo - Alice and Elmer

Hear The Track Here

Not, as you might suspect, that nice couple you nod to in the supermarket, nor indeed the neighbours from hell with the dogs and the children; in fact Alice and Elmer don't exist. Me, I like a good pun, know what I mean? Alice and Elmer is in fact a play on the word Alzheimer (yes, as in disease) and the song was written by Jon about his uncle he suffered a long time with this dreadful condition. So, taking that into account, this is going to be a personal song, isn't it? Believe me when I say this, if you don't mean every word you sing with a track of this kind, the fallout is colossal.

I've only known this South Carolina based musician for a little while and not quite a fistful of tracks but everything that I have shows a polish and sheen that is incredibly hard to attain - from arrangement to production. Moreover, he has a knack for a great pop song that is as keen as mustard, as Alice and Elmer will amply display. While listening you may be struck by the same thought as me, it's like a leisurely stroll through the sunnier uplands of pop history from Yes and The Beach Boys (vocally) to almost anyone for the musical style. And that, my friends, makes an unbeatable combination for me.

Now call me old and maudlin but you got to love a song that touches at the heart of what music should be about, communication with other human beings - the language without words. If this had come out in the Golden Age, this would have been a massive hit, and by rights it should be one now too. It probably won't however because, lets face it, no one gives a ****. There again, in the world I live in, this is pretty much perfection and although it might only appeal to those whose roots lie deep in musical soil, it is still likely to capture any passing stranger if heard. THEN they'll get the lyrical content, and that's the way it used to work before money gummed up the works. It's polite, at this stage ya swabs, to say 'thank you Mr Gilmore' for the history lesson and the accompanying songsheet.

Songs with meaning, there's a thing. MUST HAVE classic rock/pop.