Episode 72 - Gilbert O'Sullivan

Sodajerker On Songwriting

Sodajerker

Sodajerker, Barber, Simon, Music Interviews, Liverpool, Songwriters, Musicians, Oconnor, Songwriting, Interviews, Music, Podcast, Brian

4.9 • 885 Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2015

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Celebrated singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan chats with Simon and Brian about his new album, Latin ala G!, and the songwriting process that has produced such classic songs as 'Nothing Rhymed', 'Clair', 'Alone Again (Naturally)', 'We Will', 'Get Down', 'So What' and 'All They Wanted to Say'. Gilbert talks in detail about his approach to writing melodies and lyrics, and explains how he developed his musical skills in the early days of his career.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Hey folks it's Simon and Brian here welcoming you to another edition of So the Jerker on
0:22.3	songwriting.
0:23.4	Excitement levels are high here at So de Jerker Towers for joining us today is one of the
0:27.4	true great of British songwriting.
0:29.8	As this episode reaches you he's about to release his his 23rd studio album, the Spanish-flavored
0:34.7	Latin Al-A-G, and it's a typically fine collection from an artist still very much at the top of his game.
0:40.3	It's our great honor to welcome the wonderful Gilbert O'Sullivan to the show.
0:44.0	I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to have Mr. O'Sullivan on the podcast.
0:48.0	I consider him nothing less than a songwriting Titan.
0:51.0	And I think his best work is up there with any artist you care to name and for my money he's written at least two of the greatest songs of all time in nothing rhymed and alone again naturally. I mean I don't know about you dear listeners but I can't hear the
1:03.7	latter song without choking up and I don't think it's any exaggeration to say it's as
1:07.5	close to songwriting perfection as you can get. I mean you've got that intricate
1:11.0	winding melody the poignancy of the words those beautiful Norfolk's Norfolk's Norfolk Broads
1:17.1	chords you know up on your muse or rhyming slang anyway it's a masterpiece and I think I read somewhere that it's one of Alan Tucent's
1:25.2	favourite songs.
1:26.2	High praise indeed. The song We Will has a similar effect on me.
1:30.0	Oh yeah. You know you hear it and it's so redolence of childhood and of the simple pleasures of family life that you'd have to be a robot not to be affected by it.
1:37.5	Which I am, which is why I feel nothing when I hear it.
1:40.5	You're an automaton. No, but seriously it's a wonderful song. But yeah, Gilbert's another of those artists I first heard at a very early age via my parents record collection. We had an old cassette of the Back to Front album. My dad used to play a lot, but it wasn't until
1:55.3	quite a few years later, actually in my mid-20s that I really grew to appreciate him.
1:59.7	Gilbert that is
2:03.0	greatest hits compilation the Berry Vest of was out and my girlfriend at the time
	...

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