The Judge
RAVES!
Date: 02/04/11
Gilbert O'Sullivan - "Nothing Rhymed" (1970)
This is another one that I don't actually have in my collection, but I was reminded of it recently and it fits my ongoing state of melancholy, so here it is.
Raymond O'Sullivan was born in Waterford, Ireland, but spent his teenage years in Swindon, England, where - inter alia - he became a musician and songwriter.
After a brief spell with CBS, and an even briefer one with Major Minor, he signed for Gordon Mills' MAM label. O'Sullivan - already almost inevitably given the nom de guerre 'Gilbert' whilst at CBS - designed his own 'look' (he had been an art student), which consisted of what might be called 'thirties working-class chic' - short hair, cloth cap and short trousers - which was a far cry from the long-hair-and-kaftan brigade still prevalent at the time. This image didn't please Mills, but it certainly secured attention for the artist when his first single for MAM was released in October 1970.
It helped that the record itself was something special, though. Nothing Rhymed was a slow, introspective ballad with well-constructed lyrics (the lines "Will I glance at my screen and see real human beings/Starve to death right in front of my eyes?" - a probable reference to media coverage of the Biafra Crisis - have an unfortunately timeless application), an unforgettable melody, and a superb orchestral arrangement by Johnny Spence. It should have got to the top, but Ray/Gilbert would have to wait a further two years before the saccharine Clair gave him his only Number One.
Nothing Rhymed, though, is surely his best.
