So, today All I Can Think About Is You made its way out into the world. If you’re reading this, you’ll have heard it yourself of course. I’ve heard it myself at various stages in its life and the one thing that delights me is that it’s remained relatively pure.
Of course, the band are now masters of creating gorgeous, complex layered productions. Often, though, I recall hearing early versions in vast empty echoing arenas during soundcheck and those moments are where the magic really seemed to be for me. Just the four of them creating an emotional noise.
This song, with its huge cavernous reverbs and stripped instrumentation has the feel of all those soundcheck jams I’ve heard over the years.
I guess the fact that they recorded in a dressing room studio on the road means this is no surprise. As I say though – you’ve heard it for yourselves, so you can make up your own minds…
Onto Hannover-related matters, I recall uber-producer Markus Dravs and family getting a warm and loving shout-out from the C-Stage . Guy also becomes a local for the day when an entire (fictitious) history is created for him during his intro by Chris, including being born there and a frankly ridiculous comedy-German surname.
There’s also a moving addition of Us Against The World in honour of the tragic fire in West London. It’s understated and respectful and draws all present together. There’s something about gathering in the wake of terrible news that seems right. Being with people you love and feeling community seems to be a natural human response to grief.
The result is gently uplifting and uniting as the band power into the closing three tunes of the set.
I have to wonder in closing, not just when some of the new songs will join the set, but quite how emotionally potent they will be. If they do indeed sound on recordings to be strongly rooted in the large stadium spaces – surely when they return to those spaces to begin their life as live songs, they will be very powerful indeed?
Watch (and indeed listen to) this space…
R42
