Nostalgic Elegance, and Where To Find It
Vashti Bunyan and Richard Harris offer an elegant, cathartic dive into British folk and classic pop.
At the beginning of 2024, Spotify sent me a notification asking me to partake in Playlist in a Bottle, a ‘time capsule’ playlist. You would choose three songs and leave a message for yourself. The digital capsule would then be closed, only opening in early 2025.
Rather surprisingly - as I had forgotten about it - it did open, back in January. The playlist was fine (I had selected ROREY as my primary artist), but the message I left for myself was quite moving (and needed): “Keep going” it said. Keep going!
It just so happened that I was at the mercy of strong self-doubts, so the moment turned out to be particularly poignant. My old persona telling my present self to keep at it.
Lovely isn’t it? The same feeling pops back up whenever I scroll through my ‘liked songs’ playlist: going back as far as 2017, it offers incredible snapshots of different ‘eras’ of my life. As expected, all those old tracks evoke a million memories, specific fragments of time - and so much nostalgia.
Speaking of nostalgia, here are two timeless records, going back as far as the 60s:
Vashti Bunyan - ‘Rose Hip November’
Bunyan’s case is quite unique. Exploring the British music industry in the late 1960s, her story involves bucolic pilgrimages, a single written by Mitch Jagger, and a brief stay in the Netherlands, then culminating into a debut album, ‘Just Another Diamond Day’ (1970). Released to warm reviews but with little commercial success, it pushed Vashti into a total hiatus from music - at least until recently.
Little did she know, ‘Just Another Diamond Day’ had been silently gaining traction among modern listeners, perhaps invited by the blissful, whimsical textures and its gentle folk livery. Thanks to such hype, the album has now been reissued to an overwhelming amount of attention (talking about printed magazines, I found her on UNCUT, and - surprisingly - on The New Statesman).
Our favourite track on the album is ‘Rose Hip November’, a cathartic, mythical jewel steeped in shimmering tapestries and blissful flutes. Bunyan’s vocals float spacious on top of it all with prophetic elegance.
Richard Harris - ‘MacArthur Park’
The late Richard Harris is known to most for his glaring acting career (a long-standing endeavour which included playing Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter 1 & 2). Yet, back in 1968 he also enjoyed a brief incursion into popstar territories, rivalling in fame with the likes of The Beatles, among others. It was all made possible by a global hit, ‘MacArthur Park’.
Written and composed by Jimmy Webb and performed by Harris, the track is incredibly elegant, majestic and at times rather psychedelic. No wonder it met such an overwhelming success: over its seven-minute-long sonic euphoria (originally meant to be part of a cantata), the piece ranges from poignant and evocative crooning to fast-paced orchestral prog-pop. The occasional power-pop references shine through too, making it a vibrant, meaningful offering for any keen and nostalgic listener.
While Webb wrote it as a breakup song - ‘MacArthur’ being the Los Angeles park where he would meet with his lover - the record seems to take up a much more comprehensive outlook, oscillating among specific, memory-driven storytelling and metaphorical imagery. In this case, the saying “They don’t make it like that no more!” is perhaps true. Such class, such luxury!
‘MacArthur Park’ would also go on to be covered by Donna Summer in 1978.