Anyone who knows me will know I’ve been a fan of Sophie B. Hawkins, ever since I wore out my first copy of ‘Damn I wish I was Your Lover’ and had to buy a second copy. In 2005 I was lucky enough to bring Sophie to Ireland for the first time and was responsible for her bookings and PR, so please excuse me if I’m a little biased.
‘The Land, The Sea and the Sky’ is Sophie’s first single from her fifth studio album, ‘Dream Street and Chance’. It’s an environmentally themed track and quite similar in production values to Sophie’s album ‘Wilderness’ and unmistakably Sophie B. One thing I’ve always like about Sophie’s music and production are the little percussion-esque sounds (are they sea shells?) that appear, hearing something different each time. The verses build nicely to the chorus and the track never seems to dip again after that. Sophie’s vocals are almost pleading throughout and towards the end, the string arrangement lifts the track again yet again before all instrumentation dies to the words ‘I’m coming back to you’, revealing a songwriter who seems very aware of her own morality.
Its unfortunate that the lyrics could have been written last week.
Sophie has always been an activist, someone looking out for our little blue planet, including protecting Sea turtles. ‘The Land, The Sea and The Sky’ has been around for a while and for fans was an obvious choice as a first release. This however, coincides with the BP Oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and Sophie has been vocal in her thoughts about it and how it has been handled in the US, by both Barack Obama and by celebrities who give their name to worthy causes at the drop of a hat. She has even written for the Huffington Post and appeared on Fox and Friends.
While I don’t think anyone can doubt or question Sophie B. Hawkins’ individuality, I hope people don’t think that this is just a way for Sophie to get publicity at this moment in time. As all proceeds from the single are going to WaterKeeper Alliance, I really do think that Sophie is just trying to get publicity going for the campaign and to make people aware of the effects. If you look at the video for Fox & Friends, Sophie encourages people to go to the Gulf and help with the clean up.
Career wise, Hawkins is also currently writing a musical for Kristin Chenoweth of ‘Glee’ fame. Dream Street and Chance will be released through Trumpet Swan Records. You can buy The Land The Sea and The Sky through iTunes or from Sophie’s website.
‘Hard to Explain’ is the fourth single from The Riptide Movement’ who boast the impressive stats of selling 14000 units of their music in Ireland. Not Bad..
