FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.


Do you believe in the power of Elvis? Do you accept Him as your savior?

Ron Sexsmith does. The soft-spoken and painfully shy, singer / songwriter has experienced first hand what He can do if He takes a shine to you.

In 1995, the Canadian musician released his self-titled major debut. It was poignant, subtle, mature, perceptive and it was a simple, poetic joy. Reminiscent of such songcrafters as Harry Nilsson or Ray Davies, it should have made Sexsmith a star. But, as is often the case with the good things in life, it was misunderstood and virtually ignored. The album seemed destined to be one of those personal gems that few would ever hear, but those who did would take it to heart.

And then came Elvis. At the end of the year, He appeared to the masses on the cover of UK-based Mojo Magazine with a copy of the CD in His hand. He called it "the best album (He'd) heard all year," which was remarkable because it hadn't even been released in Britain yet. Ah, Elvis Costello - He works in mysterious ways.

"It was amazing because it came out of nowhere," Sexsmith says of the miracle from his Toronto home.

"It was like a Christmas present for me. It couldn't have happened at a better time because that happened at the end of '95 and I was really beginning to think that I wasn't even going to get a chance to make a second album. Nothing had happened with the (first one).

"There was also a thing where Q Magazine had it in the Top Ten Albums of the year. Those two things combined really opened it up for me. It got a second life... it changed everything for me.

"I don't know if there's any way I'll be able to repay Him."

Giving Him 40 more minutes of beautiful music is a start. Sexsmith's new album, Other Songs, should appeal to the same senses that absorbed and rejoiced in his first effort.

Reuniting the same team that made the first album (Sexsmith and producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake - although thankfully Daniel Lanois, who re-mixed and ruined "There's a Rhythm" on the debut, is absent), they set about recording a worthy follow-up. With the peace of mind knowing that there were those who believed in and were committed to what he was doing, the songwriter could relax and concentrate on the songs.

"It was a much better situation recording it.... With this album it seemed (Interscope - Sexsmith's label) trusted me a bit more and they seem to like having me around now," he says.

"The music is a lot more sure of itself and it comes at you more, whereas the first album wanted you to come to it."

The 14 tracks range from the upbeat Beach Boys glee of "Average Joe," to the easy-going gloom of the adequately understated "Pretty Little Cemetery," and there's even a song featuring Sheryl Crow's accordion skills. The one constant is the thoughtfully-whittled words he self-consciously sings.

Most of his lyrical material, he says, falls under the slice-of-life approach to viewing the world. Simple, storyline songs with vivid characters where listeners are invited to take away whatever they can or want to without the hindrance of copious imagery or double-meaning. It's a style he admits not many musicians - or adults for that matter - are currently employing, but the one he's most comfortable with.

"There seems to be a theme running throughout the record," he says of Other Songs. "I don't even know what it is exactly but it's in songs like 'Strawberry Blonde,' 'Child Star' and 'So Young.' There's this remembering of things. Rediscovering feelings that you had.

"When you're a kid you're open to all this stuff and your imagination's running wild. When you get to a certain age you tend to stop looking or hearing things," Sexsmith says before admitting he hasn't yet reached that age.

"There's a lot of eavesdropping involved when you're a writer. A lot of these songs start because I've overheard something.

"Wherever you are, there are all these strangers - on buses and in restaurants. And these people you never see again. I just always find it interesting, you have a few minutes with these people and then they're gone forever. And the world is full of them... if you take the time to look around you."

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