Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By George Ezra, Columbia Records 2018.
Staying At Tamara’s was inspired and written by George Ezra as a result of his travels, including stays on the Isle of Skye, in a pig farm in Norfolk, in a former cornflour shed in Kent, in a converted cow shed in North Wales and importantly in an Airbnb in Barcelona owned by Tamara, of the album title.
The result of these travels is an album of songs about escapism, dreaming, anxieties and love, that shines with positivity but also includes moments of introspection and reflection.
George Ezra has a good easily approachable baritone voice and his songs contain catchy tunes as well as singable choruses.
Some of the songs have reggae rhythmic elements weaving in and around the melodies and he uses space and tempo well.
George’s debut album Wanted On Voyage reached number 1 in the UK and achieved top ten in seven other countries, including Australia. It was the third highest selling album in Britain in 2014.
He’s recently toured to sold out concerts in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
George cites his influences as being Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie and his singer/songwriter approach reflects this.
Upon the broadcast of the song Paradise on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, the track immediately climbed to number one on the UK iTunes chart and is currently racing up the Spotify Chart. The single has already amassed 16 million streams globally.
The second single from the album, Shotgun, debuted on Annie Mac’s Hottest Record on BBC 1 and Staying At Tamara’s has already claimed the number one position on the Australian iTunes Album chart.
This level of success shows how good the album is.
George’s songs are lyrically interesting and musically diverse enough to maintain interest for the whole album.
The album is very good and George’s easy delivery style makes the album instantly appealing.
