I gotst a review, Ma!

And i totes teared up...

'Four years after the release of Sarah Humphreys’ debut album Teapots, Trees, and Lovebirds, the Central Coast songstress has returned with a captivating six-song, home-recorded EP of covers dedicated to all the men who have had an impact on her life, including her father, son, and boyfriends past and present.


It is fitting that the cover of Him is a simple sketch of a bird on a branch with a background of cardboard brown, as like her obvious influences Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell, Humphreys strips songs down to their most simplistic forms, yet retains the feel and passion for the subject matter with her beautifully-floating vocals and tasteful ukulele touches.


Despite the undisputed quality of the songs she covers – including tunes by big-hitters Elton John, John Lennon, and Bruce Springsteen – it is Humphreys’ voice that is the star of the show here. The qualities of her delivery could probably allow her to sing the contents of the phonebook and still be engaging.


First up is ‘Daniel,’ the Elton/Bernie Taupin-penned hit. Fearlessly tackling songs many would consider to be classics, Humphreys makes everything she sings her own. Singing about a blinded war veteran returning home can’t be easy, but she does it effortlessly, with only a subtle ukulele floating in the background of her soft yet intense vocals.


Next up is ‘You Are My Sunshine,’ the old Jimmie Davis tune; covered by every folkie young and old since it emerged in the 1930s, and which Humphreys dedicates to her father. There are hundreds of versions of this song out there (check out Brian Wilson’s masterful take on the 2004, near-mythical Smile LP) and Humphreys does a fine job with it, putting her stamp on the song with a vocal full of relaxed expression and sounding like she really means it.


‘Beautiful Boy’ follows, originally written by John Lennon, and reportedly one of Paul McCartney’s top-ten favourite songs of all time. Dedicating the song to her son, Humphreys again takes someone else’s composition to another level.  While some artists’ choice of covers can leave a listener scratching their head, Humphreys clearly knows the sort of songs that will match her voice and gentle ukulele combination.


Track four is the Hall & Oates staple ‘You Make My Dreams,’ allowing Humphreys to set the folk aside and indulge in some straight-up pop. With snappy hand-claps, soaring harmonies, and tinkling percussion, her version would sound great played live with guitar and drums.


Penultimate track ‘Jesus Etc.’ sounds sparse and downbeat compared to the Wilco original, and could be improved with a little percussion, yet Humphreys does it justice with another beautifully-delivered vocal, while closer ‘Two Hearts,’ a Bruce Springsteen song, sounds so tailor-made for her that it could probably be mistaken for an original composition in circles less-schooled in the ways of ‘The Boss’.


Cover records are often underwhelming and can so easily fall short of their original intentions, but with Him, Sarah Humphreys has delivered a thoughtful and appealing set of interpretations of modern classics. The rich qualities of her singing put her in the same league of many of her more well-known contemporaries, and evoke comparisons to the likes of Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby. Indeed, if the Seeker Lover Keeper girls ever decided to become a quartet, they should look no further. Until then, we can enjoy Him, and wait to see what Humphreys does next.'

PAUL MCBRIDE- AAA BACKSTAGE
http://www.aaabackstage.com/news/reviews/2022-ep-review-sarah-humphreys-him.html

Him is out now through ABC Music/Universal.
If you'd like to buy any of my music, it's available on iTunes, ABC stores, JBhifi or through my website.

x

In an ordinary afternoon...we made this!

One afternoon last week, the boys and I decided to make this film clip. It took a couple of hours to set up the big lights, make myself look pretty, whack on a new (vintage) dress (it was a bargain and i bloody love it) and do a few takes of the song.

I'd love you to watch it, share it and absorb this beautiful Wilco song. I've cried many a tear listening to Wilco, i've rocked my baby boy to sleep listening to their collaboration with Billy Bragg and singing Woody Guthrie lyrics. It's close to my heart...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbLYZ62leDw

My first little clip with many more to come... 'You Make My Dreams' is halfway finished.

Things are happening, it's awesome. This balancing act is working out. Phew.

x

So, About Him...

Him is my new recording. It's my first little toe dip in the water since i became Jude's Mumma. Everything surrounding this EP makes me smile and/or feel emotional and I'd like to share some of the moments with you.

TWO HEARTS - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
I chose six songs, one of which only made it onto the record by sheer luck because i promised my manager Chris I'd only do five. It was a small project and we had a limited amount of time and our budget was little. But if i got this one in one take, could i put it on? Please? Okay he said. And one take, 'Two Hearts' became a member of this ukulele family of songs. I won! I heard this song on a mix-tape some guy made me.. I chose each song because it reminded me of a man in my life.. and all of these songwriters are male. I wanted to interpret their words and their feelings through the eyes of a woman.

JESUS ETC - WILCO
Being a person on stage has it's benefits. Even when it's a small stage like most of the ones I'm on, people still put you on a pedestal. Especially boys. Boys love girls on stage. At the beginning they're all like 'You're so awesome' 'I love that song' 'You're on stage, oh wowsy.' Well they don't SAY 'wowsy' but that's what they're thinking. And the stage lighting, especially if it's the warm tones makes an average girl look like a sexy mama. Kinda. In the right dress...

But it's not real. And it wears off. And you're left with plain old Sarah. I like her. She still writes songs, she is quirky and loving and warm and sometimes gets grumpy but she's cool. But she's nowhere near as cool as the girl on stage that they first met. And she doesn't constantly wear 60's vintage dresses. Sometimes she wear jeans. And the reality sets in. So a song or two on this EP are for one of those boys. The dick boy on stage that liked the girl on stage.

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE - BOX CAR WILLIE
One song is for my Dad. We used to sing this song in the car together when i was REALLY little. He loved Country & Western tapes and would always have one playing in the big brown Ford Falcon that we called 'The Beast.' My Dad and i haven't always been particularly close, he had a lot more in common with my older brothers and they did lots of sporty, blokey things. He spent more time with his home-made BBQ to be perfectly honest, burnt everything to a crisp, the sausage. I also lived with my Mum most of the time, so it was just my Mum and I from when i was nine onwards so there wasn't heaps of Dad time. But we loved each other, in our own confused way. We've gotten a lot closer now that I'm older and he isn't as well. A lot of things have been forgiven, a lot of water under the bridge. Lots of tears, lots of love, lots of singing. He cries every time i sing. It's really hard to not get choked up when my Dad is at a gig.

YOU MAKE-A-MAI DREAMS COME TRUE - HALL & OATES
Another man came into my life when i started to make this EP. I cleverly asked him to take photos of my recording session and then dropped not-so-subtle hints that i thought he was a sex-bomb. Whatever that is. But seriously, he is so tall... We eventually and awkwardly began dating and getting to know each other and he really does make my dreams come true. He's a wonderful, well-rounded, kind and very nice looking man. I should have assigned vomit bags for this post...So i sing that song for him now every time it comes up in the set.

DANIEL - ELTON JOHN
Daniel is another song i used to sing for Jude when he was in my tummy, i thought of naming him Daniel but decided the song was far too sad. I used to put this record on and dance around the house, hand on belly. My best friend lost a friend and his name was Daniel, they played this song at his funeral and it matched word for word how everyone was feeling and the life that this young man had lived. The story and the song stuck with me and i had to put it on here.


BEAUTIFUL BOY - JOHN LENNON
My son. My sunshine. My beautiful boy. When he arrived into my life i couldn't given my guitar, my songbooks, my heart, my life away. I fell in love hard. I was an exhausted, breastfeeding mother functioning on very little sleep. I tried to play, really I did. I tried to gig, really I did. But it just didn't work for me. My life was about the health and well being of my son and myself. All i could do was look after us both, and now when i look back - i know that's more than enough in your first year  of having a baby. I am much gentler on myself now. And toddlerhood brings with it sleeping through the night, a little boy who weaned himself at around 17 months with a shake of the head and a Mummy who is in complete awe of the gorgeous human I've created.

So there he is, Him. Some little stories anyway. If you feel like having a listen or feel like buying my music, you can buy it here or you can download it from iTunes or you can go to any record store (JB-HIFI and ABC shops are my main stockists)

Oh and these are some of the photos Paul took while i made it. Adam Toole (my engineer extraordinaire)  took the last couple.

*I'm aware that a lot of these songs have additional writers and info, however i've just listed the version of the song and artist to keep it simple.

To slowly close a door.

Last week i had the privilege as a writer signed to Mushroom Music Publishing to spend some time at a songwriter's retreat in the Hunter Valley. I organised for Jude to stay with his Dad (which he does every week at some point anyway) and put it out of my mind until the day before. I burst into tears. I got anxious and afraid of my old life that didn't fit me anymore. Feelings of unworthiness and being out of my depth surfaced. But i went on packing and after several (million) kisses for Jude, i walked out of the door.

An early train ride calmed me, as they sometimes do. Lots of time to reflect and even though it's not quiet it's quiet compared to a little darling boy asking me questions, grabbing my head to face him and requesting often; 'Don't want Mummy to talk!' if i dare speak to others when he feels like it's the perfect time to have a discussion about Owls. Again.

I felt at ease by the time i was there and back in one of my elements, the gorgeous and rich sea of days and nights on end of music. 'This used to be my life, living and breathing music.' i thought. Hmmm. Yeah a lot of it used to be drinking, smoking, watching tv, procrastinating, boy watching and sleeping in too. But the rosie's were on..

Kim Richey & I.

I worked with a wonderful lady named Kim Richey and we wrote and recorded two songs in a little over a day. I felt it was time to tackle my separation from my husband in a song. So we did. I haven't written about it before. The song is called 'To Slowly Close A Door' - It's a sad and sweet goodbye song, i think it has a lot of peace in it.

These are the words..

'Come a little closer and i'll tell you things I never could before
Breathe a little bigger now, it's a wonder how we got to where we are

Long way we've come a long way
Long way we've come a long way to slowly close a door

Nothing could be sweeter than our Sunday's child, full of grace
We were so much younger the pieces all fell in place

Long way we've come a long way
Long way we've come a long way to slowly close a door

And there is more than enough

*Epic guitar solo by Matt Fell*

We've come a long way to slowly close a door.'

-S.Humphreys/K.Richey

So i guess my message is in this blog, if there is one, is that even if it feels difficult or scary to remember the creative version of yourself, the person you were before you became a wife or a mother, a carer or a workaholic - whatever - please let her dive into something every now and then. You can talk yourself out of anything, you're a pro at it. You're even rewarded for it most of the time and called 'selfless.' But please, don't.

x Sarah (Jude's Mum. And so much more.)

So many hats, hats falling off.

I've felt inspired to join this blogging community for a long time now. I write a little blog on my music page but i've decided to come over here too. You all seem warm and inviting, creative and loving. Forgive me if i'm a little shy at first, it doesn't take long before i open up a bit.

But before i go on with my blog post i will introduce myself...

My name is Sarah, Sarah Humphreys. I make music and two years ago i created my masterpiece, his name is Jude. I loved him the minute i looked into his eyes. I remember being amazed that when he heard my voice, he stopped crying. I have never felt such immense awe in my whole life. I found it hard to get back into gigging and writing and i was hard on myself. I did my first gig when he was three weeks old and wondered why i was such a failure? Why couldn't i cope with being a mother and musician? I now think back to those days and want to give myself a big warm hug and say 'get off the freekin stage and leave yourself alone!' But i can't. I can only smile, sigh and know that when i finally did realise i just needed to learn how to be a Mother for a while. For as long as it took, even if that was forever. And that if there's no band room and you're a breastfeeding mother, don't say yes to the gig.

Peace came with slowing down. I wasn't sure if i'd ever do 'the music thing' again. Well other than the odd gig here and there.  Write songs, show my family, have family jams. And then slowly but surely it came back...I started writing and people wanted to hear what i'd written. I started giving away my non maternity clothes that i'd been wearing for what felt like EIGHT YEARS and pulled out some vintage dresses (and bought a few more late night shopping on ebay.) My marriage ended amicably and my ex-husband and i went back to being what we've suspected we've always been best as - friends. Jude weaned himself at sixteen months with a simple shake of the head, he never went back on. I was equal parts heartbroken and relieved, a chapter of his babyhood was over and i was proud of the commitment i had made to breastfeeding which wasn't always easy/natural/painless. I look back on that time with such fondness. A sweet little bub asleep on the boob, and those night feeds/cuddles. Sigh. Anyway what was i saying? Music! Yes. People wanted to hear my voice again, and my voice was there waiting patiently for me. I signed a record deal with ABC and made a new EP with an album coming out next year. People remembered me. I grew as a writer and as a person. I was broken in half from motherhood and when i put myself back together, i was remade into who i am now. A lady i'm quite proud of. Just when i thought it was all over...

Right now i am going through a time in my life of complete and utter busy-ness. I don't cope all that well with wearing many hats, usually i just wear the one and dedicate my life to wearing it well. My multi-tasking abilities are similar to that of a man and not the sharpest man in the shed. I also have complete and utter tunnel vision when it comes to something i care about. Some days i cope, other days i feel drained, tired and a bit underwhelmed with myself.

I think in two years time i will want to put my arm around who i am today and say 'You're doing a great job. And it's all going to be okay. Promise.'

Yes.

Love & stuff x Sare