That all changed when Beyonce seemed to become a parody of her sexy self and turned into a loathsome clothes horse as displayed on the pages of Heat magazine every week. Then came the gangsta’s moll phase, when she hooked up with Jay-Z. The girlie Beyonce was replaced by a horrible soft porn version. Not nice.

With the release of Irreplacable, Beyonce seems to have gone back to her roots. And a welcome return it is.

The instrumentation is stripped right back: basically just guitar and a simple drumbeat carrying the tune. A very simple verse/chorus arrangement is enhanced by Beyonce’s most honest vocal performance in recent memory. Beautiful melody in the verses and a chorus so catchy it’ll take a lobotomy to stop you singing it.

Subject matter is a return to Independent Women and Bills, Bills, Bills territory – very much woman on top type of thing.

The video for Irreplaceable carries on the ‘stripped down’ theme – Beyonce looking her most natural in ages. The storyline reminds me slightly of the Emotion single Destiny’s Child release a couple of years ago. There’s a little bit of posturing by Ms Knowles, enough to keep the lads happy without being as OTT as her other recent singles.

You mus’ not know ’bout a-me, you mus’ not know ’bout a-me….

Throughout the interview, they played some excerpts from Emily?s album and I was instantly captivated by her singing. A few weeks later, I managed to get my hands on a copy of Emily?s latest album, A Different Life.

Now, regular readers know that I?m more likely to be rocking out to late 80?s hair metal than Scottish traditional tunes, but I?m actually pretty diverse in my musical tastes!

A Different Life is filled with beautifully crafted stories, the playing is straightforward and the acoustic guitars and violins sound rich and earthy. And above it all, Emily?s clear, sing-song voice narrates tales of love and loss and simple rustic life and life in bygone days.

A Different Life: Favourite Moments

My favourite track on the album is Edward Of Morton, a song about a young servant who refuses to get involved with the lady of the house he works for. She tells her husband that Edward was making advances toward her and he is cast in a dungeon and eventually tortured to death by her husband. Morbid stuff, but compelling. Oh, and Emily tells it better than I did, so you’d be better listening to her version of events!

Always A Smile is also worthy of note. It’s a charming story of a young farm girl who leaves home facing a life of adversity, and who eventually overcomes her tribulations to raise a family in Scotland. It always makes me think about my grandmother, late in life surrounded by sons, daughters and grandchildren and that nostalgia looking back over her life. A simple and lovely song.

Strong Winds For Autumn – I’ll admit I couldn’t quite follow the lyrics of this one, but the music is fantastic. The acoustic guitar is deep and rich and Emily’s voice is clear and sorrowful.

The remainder of the tracks are excellent. Like I say, Scottish folk isn’t usually my forte, but I have been listening to this album solid since about October. I put it on with the intention of reviewing it quickly, but it has grown on my to the point where I actually had to remind myself to take it out of the car!

Final Thoughts

A Different Life is lacking one thing in my opinion ? a good live track. Emily tours the world with her band and has entertained many people along the way. It?d be nice to hear one of the songs in a live setting just to get a feel for the atmosphere.

Go to Emily’s website for more information, and to listen to a few sample tracks. Many thanks to Jamie for hooking me up with a copy of the album! If Emily’s playing Northern Ireland anytime soon, I’ll let you know.