Tom Odell
Long Way Down

Usually on Deb we talk about Albums, whether they are studio or live.

So you clicked on this review, as if it were an analysis, or a story, of Tom Odell's "Long Way Down".

For heaven's sake, the album has beautiful tracks like "Heal" or "Can't Pretend";

However, in this case I feel the need to focus on a song that has been a staple in my playlist since 2012, as with each listen it reveals parts of itself that were previously well hidden, and it is the backbone of the album, of Tom's career, but also of my entire life.

"Another Love" tells of the fear of loving after such a tragic and disappointing love, that every other form of affection becomes insignificant.

However, there are countless interpretations.

Fear of love does not always stem from a

previous disappointment, many times it arises from a lack, being unwell with oneself to the point of fearing harming those around you.

Uncertainty provokes a sense of emptiness, of apathy.

It is heartbreaking to want to try to give affection to someone else but be blocked by the fear of oneself.

"I want to take you somewhere to show you that I care

But it's so cold and I don't know where

So I bring you daffodils in a string

But they won't bloom like they did last

spring.

I want to kiss you and make you feel alright

But I'm so tired of sharing my nights.

I want to cry and I want to love

but all my tears have been used up

On another love, another love"

We all agree on the superb power that words have, but it is right to observe how they also depend on how they are exposed, narrated.

The magic of "Another Love" is enclosed in this concept, the narration.

Odell makes them come alive thanks to the melancholic and anguished voice; it's not a given thing. Many songs have deep and fantastic meanings but are sung without feeling, without emotional involvement, and as a consequence, this cannot be

conveyed to the listener who, despite the beautiful words, will never live what is being told.

Odell does it, immersing you in his river of tears and making you reflect on how, in the end, we all are a bit alone and always want to travel in two, we don't know where, but cradled by dreamy, somewhat melancholic piano chords, capable of making us move in front of the complex beauty of emotions."

I wrote this review as an exercise about 4 years ago, and I kept it to myself because it's about a track, not an album, but more importantly, it concerns the most important song for me.

A few days ago, however, I had the fortune of going to Tom's concert in Milan, and I was deeply impressed, so much that it reminded me of these old lines written by a sixteen-year-old.

"Another Love" I don't remember at the concert, I only remember that everyone had their phones, ready to capture the moment. Instead, I hugged my best friend, and we sang at the top of our lungs, as if we wouldn't need our voice for the days following, so I only remember the sensations, the people who were not only singing but throwing out all the *crap* they had inside through their voice. Each one, by shouting, was telling their life to everyone publicly and liberatively, myself first. As for the rest, I have no visual memories.

The concert, in general, was a magical moment; Tom manages to combine sweetness, reflection, but also energy, charge, and anger... a truly full and complete experience.

This is because he has a versatile voice with which he can convey anything he wants in any way he wants.

I know I didn't review the album, but sometimes there are artists who can't stay within the limits of labels and covers, and Tom is one of those.