John Squire - 'Time Changes Everything' (North Country)
4/5
By: Matt Tomiak
Well, it sure is good to have him back. Three years have passed since the messy dismantling of The Seahorses; there's been a six year hiatus since his last record; and over thirteen years have washed away since he played a pivotal role in the construction of one of the 20th Century's finest albums. Certainly, if anyone's qualified to speak on the wholesale effects of the passing of the years, it's John Squire.
Now entering rock 'n' roll's most dreaded of time-zones - being middle aged - 'Time Changes Everything' is undoubtedly a 'sensible' record: but in all the right ways. Album-opener 'Joe Louis' contains the affirmation that a world-weary, seen-it-all Squire has 'climbed the mountain and pissed into the wind/Stood on the end and spat over'.
So, yes, the gleefully inane lyrics of The Seahorses are long since passed, with the days of tales revolving around 'Rum old slappers' and Egg-shaped Happiness being heartily replaced by weighty existentialist musings; in 'Welcome to The Valley', Squire declares that 'the most important thing we'll ever do is die': and yet throughout, it's never portentous or boring. 'Miss You', too, is a brilliantly poignant tribute to Squire's ex-best mate, Ian Brown (remember him, right?), the man enquiring, 'Whatever happened to you and me?' Indeed, there also can't be a 'Roses fan alive that won't feel a lump in their throat as John laments, 'Remember when we were heroes?' And if this somehow fails to get a firm grasp on those heartstrings, then the anthemic Verve-ian beauty of the title-track's chorus, the gospel-backed '15 Days' or the majestic, Spiritualized-styled 'All I Want Is You' surely can't fail.
But what of Squire's voice, so long denied a platform? It's been well-documented that other than providing backing vocals on 'Second Coming' album-track 'Tightrope', Squire has never actually sung on record. And to hear him properly for the first time comes as something of a shock. He eschews his Manc tones for what can best be described as a slightly drunken- Dylan impression... Suffice to say it doesn't sound half as natural as it did for that other great northern Bob-admirer, Tim Burgess... Yet it is testimony to these ten tracks that Squire's, ahem, idiosyncratic vocals don't detract from their all-round lyrical and musical excellence. 'Time Changes Everything' is a reflective, evocative work - and given a couple of listens, well, that voice can only grow on you...
Artists in this article: John Squire
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