With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Lancashire-based Ian M Bailey recently released his third album on the USA label Kool Kat Musik, following ‘You Paint The Pictures’ (2022) and ‘Songs To Dream Along To’ (2021). Ian has again been working with Scottish songsmith Daniel Wylie to write and produce the new record. Ian plays guitar, bass, drums, and some keyboards and provides the heavenly harmonies. Meanwhile, Alan Gregson adds string sections, Hammond, Rhodes, piano, and lap steel sounds.

The opening track “The Last Chime” is Beatlesesque with fine Byrdsian harmonies. This is a far better song than the awful “Now And Then” which was scraped from the bottom of the Fabs barrel last year. If you like sad-feeling songs with an underlying happy tone you will love “It’s Summer Rain”. I do, especially the ethereal jangly guitar sounds. I felt the ghost of an eastern influenced George Harrison on the delicious and delightful “Mother Nature (Giving Out Signs)”. Ian laments the fate of our planet in “The Clock Is Ticking” and adds his own positive message. It is a tune that feels like the Small Faces fronted by Just Hayward. The organ is also reminiscent of classic Inspiral Carpets. Classic blues rock sounds, maybe a bit of Deep Purple, help deliver the wonderful “She Waltzes With The Devil”. But the waltz elements give the track a nightmarish circus feel. If Ian added some yodelling to this instrumental track it might sound like something that Focus would be proud of. “Dance Around The Room” is the kind of song that leaves you with a smile and a happy feeling, and yes, I did dance around the room while it played.

One of the rockier Byrds-style tracks on the album is the hook-laden “Pray For Me”, my second favourite song on the album. A sad song about divorce, but it has such a vibrant tune. “California Desert Sundown” is a laid-back, chilled song that has an Eagles feel to it. I can imagine sitting after a long day, sipping wine while that song plays, the perfect wind-down soundtrack. Country-style rock is back in the truly heartfelt “The Sweet Smell Of Roses”, once again the harmonies are ethereal and perfect. The title track, “We Live In Strange Times” is probably my favourite track on the album. Everything is perfect here the music, the vocals, and a cracking tune. While “Country Girl” does have a beautiful country feel to it, I felt it would fit well on a playlist alongside some of Ronnie Lane’s great songs with Slim Chance. The strings are spot on here. The album closes with a kind of lament story song called “The Moon Floats On A Cloud”. This evokes folk, the best story songs, and showcases Ian’s writing talent. This is a fine album from a very talented artist. Give it a spin!

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