Dana Gillespie's "Foolish Seasons" (Decca)

Saturday, May 22, 2022

A few weeks ago, I was at my favorite new record shop, Record Safari, and discovered an album by Dana Gillespie, Foolish Seasons, recorded in 1968. Almost anything recorded in 1968 is of great interest to me. The additional interest is that the album has Mike Hugg, and Michael Vickers from Manfred Mann, with Vickers making the arrangements on Gillespie’s album. Then on top of that, we have two songs written by the great and underrated Billy Nichols and a tune by Donovan that, according to Dana’s liner notes, Jimmy Page produced that record. And the additional talents of Big Jim Sullivan and John Paul Jones.

Of the 1960s generation, Gillespie may be the last of the contract singers whose talent is in the hands of others, such as the producer Wayne Bickerton and Decca Records. After that, the singer/songwriters had more control over their material and recordings, at least in theory. I’m a fan of the old-school world of record making, where you have a producer, then an arranger, and a slew of great studio musicians. If the singer/artist gets lost in this arrangement, then it’s not good. Dana Gillespie has a strong presence on this album, and she wrote four songs, all super good, but especially Come To My Arms, which has a fantastic John Barry/Bond vibe and a beautifully built-up melody.

Those who adore 1960s pop that touches on folk, classic British pop songwriting, and that 1966-1969 Decca Records’ world of sound and vision will love Foolish Seasons. Dana is still going strong and recently made a series of Blues albums, so like others of that 60s era (such as the beloved Marianne Faithfull), they are here to stay. Listen to that beautiful sound.

*Last time I physically looked, Record Safari in Los Angeles had a few copies of this album. “Foolish Seasons” was recorded in 1968 but reissued for Record Store Day 2022.