Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Ren, Independent 2022.
It’s not often that I get one take wonders delivered to my mailbox and when I do it’s usually a delight to receive them.
Australian singer/songwriter Ren Barlow’s version of Tim Buckley’s Song To The Siren is one of those rare gems that we experience live but rarely on record.
Ren came to my attention with her 2019 release of an album of Buddy Holly covers called Raining In My Heart.
The album was produced in conjunction with Tim Wilde of Taxiride fame and it was an instant success.
The paired-back approach adopted in that album has been carried through to this release of one of Tim Buckley’s greatest songs.
Song To The Siren is a wonderfully haunting song and Ren’s tender rendition brings it to life.
She is possessed of a pure, classically trained, voice that wrings the sadness of lost opportunities and lost love from the song.
She is accompanied only by an acoustic guitar and the song was recorded in Melbourne in one take.
There are no overdubs, no post recording tweaks and gimmicks, just exquisite authenticity.
Of course, if you intend to record in this way it pays to have solid musicianship behind you.
Ren’s years of performance in opera, musical theatre, and as a mainstream pop singer place her in the perfect position to pull it off.
Ren is apparently working on recording an album of original songs and I’m very much looking forward to hearing them.
In the meantime, have a listen to this delightful single and her cover of Buddy Holly’s evergreen classic I guess It Doesn’t Matter Anymore.
