When I first got into country music, probably 30 years ago now, it was somewhere between Elvis’ “Elvis Country” and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Some Gave All”. Different records, obviously, but that classic country sound got its hooks into me, and they’ve never really come out.
It’s that sound, with a modern touch, that draws me to Ags Connolly’s work. His albums have been uniformly brilliant, and there’s something about the way he sings these songs that makes the connection immediate. The voice, the words, the musicians around him: everything feels right.
Not for nothing, then, is this one called “Yesterday’s Man”. The title track might be dealing with more than musical preferences, but its sound tells you plenty about where Connolly’s heart lies. If “retro” is the word we’re going with, then so be it. These songs have plenty to say to anyone listening today.
“What Am I Gonna Think About” gets straight to one of country music’s great subjects: the person you can’t forget. The girl, the bloke, whoever it might be. Most of us have got one, haven’t we? That’s why songs like this connect so easily. Connolly takes that familiar feeling and makes it sound like something he needs to get off his chest.
He’s surrounded himself with some brilliant musicians, too. “Didn’t I Say” has some marvellous fiddle from Kieran Towers, while Cahalen Morrison’s harmonies are every bit as impressive. There’s such warmth in the playing, and so much understanding of what these songs need.
There’s room to push at the boundaries a little on “That Song Caught Me Wrong”, although Connolly’s voice remains basically doused in rhinestones. And this ain’t a love song, whatever you might have expected. He has a wonderful way of drawing you in with the sound, then giving you something else to think about in the words.
“Come Back Around” bathes itself in Sarah Jory’s pedal steel, and it’s phenomenal. That instrument can carry so much feeling, and here it seems entirely at home alongside Connolly’s voice. The inherent sadness of country music hangs over “Aren’t You Lucky”, too. He understands how much hurt can sit inside a seemingly straightforward song.
“When You Had The Chance” takes a slightly different route through the wreckage. Here, he’s trying to convince himself that it’s her loss, obviously. When he starts suggesting that he might be the greatest person who ever lived, you can hear how little he believes it. The bravado is doing its best, but the cracks are showing.
There’s the feel of a bloke sitting in a bar telling war stories about “That Might Have To Do”. You find yourself listening to the way he tells them as much as the stories themselves. Connolly can make a song feel like a conversation you’ve happened upon, and one you want to stay for.
The acoustic “And Then I Woke Up” offers another reminder that, in a different world, Ags could have been a wonderful folk singer. There’s an intimacy to these quieter moments that allows the quality of his writing to come through particularly clearly.
“Someone Wrote a Song About You” brings the possibility of a happy ending. He wonders who would care enough to do such a thing. Well, someone cared enough. After everything that’s gone before, there’s something lovely about leaving it there.
One of the finest country voices around, singing some of the most authentic classic country you could possibly wish to hear, belongs to a bloke from Oxfordshire. His name is Ags Connolly. “Yesterday’s Man” is another example of why he deserves every bit of the praise that comes his way.
9/10
