How Elgar Inspired Ed Sheeran to Compose His Sweetest Melodies Yet: ADRIAN THRILLS Reviews Autumn Variations

Ed Sheeran: Autumn Variations

Pronunciation: Soft and fertile

Judgement:

When Ed Sheeran released his latest album in May, he admitted he “jumped off the cliff” by eschewing sing-along, radio-friendly earworms in favor of songs with bolder arrangements and greater emotional weight.

After a tip from his friend Taylor Swift, he got in touch with new producer Aaron Dessner and surprised us all with ‘—’ (Jerk off).

Coming in the wake of Plus, Multiply, Divide and Equals, it was the final installment in his series of mathematically titled albums, but it was nothing like its predecessors.

Dessner of rock band The National enhanced Sheeran’s acoustic picking with shimmering electronics, piano, strings and mandolin.

“We wrote and recorded non-stop,” says Ed. The new record was inspired by classical composer Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, in which each part was a sketch about one of Elgar’s friends; although Sheeran admits that many of the fourteen songs here were written from his own perspective.

This is not Subtraction part two. This was evident from major events in Sheeran’s personal life, including the death of his best friend, Jamal Edwards, and the cancer diagnosis of his wife, Cherry, who now graciously stood by her side.

Autumn Variations feels less raw, even though some songs are underpinned by sadness.

It opens optimistically. Driven by folky guitars, Magical is a straight love song, while England is a poppy celebration of Ed’s homeland. “I notice that this country gets a bad reputation from me because it is cold and gray,” the text reads. But . . . “There is a peace and quiet on this island of ours that cannot be mirrored anywhere else.”

It’s not all sweetness and light. ‘Silence ain’t golden, you know that it’s only blue’, he sings on Blue, while folky rap That’s On Me is more philosophical. ‘This is not the end of our lives. . . this is just a bump in the ride.”

Another song, Spring, is about the pandemic, with rules about working from home and not being able to catch up with friends.

But the music here has a gentle clarity reminiscent of a more famous Ed, with Dessner’s stripped-down arrangements evoking some of the most beautiful melodies of his career. The Day I Was Born (‘another birthday alone’) has a melody that harkens back to the Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters from the seventies. When Will I Be Alright is a heartbreaking bluegrass ballad.

Not everything arrives on site. Page and Punchline feel labored, despite the latter’s heavy orchestration, but this is a beautifully balanced record. The climax is reached with an anthem that reflects Ed’s talent for expressing universal emotions.

Sung as ‘head and heels’ (but with the enigmatic title Head) Heels (Head) Heels, the closing track is a ballad with piano and strings that you can imagine being sung back by Sheeran by thousands of fans when he plays it live.

Beverly Knight: The Fifth Chapter

Pronunciation: Powerful return to pop

Judgement:

As one of Britain’s most powerful singers, Beverley Knight had no problem moving from pop to the West End.

Since making her debut in The Bodyguard ten years ago, she has appeared in Memphis The Musical, Cats and The Drifters Girl. In April she won an Olivier Award for her portrayal of Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia at The Old Vic.

But success has come at a price. By making it big in the theater world, the Wolverhampton-born singer put her original calling on hold. She entered the Top Ten with the 2015 covers LP Soulsville, but otherwise concentrated on the stage. Until now . . .

After turning 50 in March, she wanted to make her own music again, and the result is The Fifth Chapter, an album with dazzling versatility.

Her first release in seven years, it is the first on which she sings songs written for her by others – a change that has broadened her stylistic range.

To the soul, country and R&B that have defined her career to date, we can now add swinging disco, funky electronica and orchestral ballads, all sung with warmth and intensity: She’s a Knight with radiant enthusiasm.

The album closes with storming disco numbers Last One On My Mind and Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, with Beverley joined on the latter by the London Community Gospel Choir.

Kylie, Jessie Ware and Sophie Ellis-Bextor have all discovered disco lately, but Knight doesn’t just follow fashion. She started singing in church and brings a distinctive gospel edge.

The longing is strong on Nostalgia, where she complains about a DJ who only plays oldies at a party, before admitting that she’s overwhelmed by her own memories.

Bluesy ballad Cold World uses religious images as the basis for a pep talk. A Little More Love, featuring London musician Andrew Roachford on piano, is a plea for kindness from those in power.

But there is also escapism in the funky Systematic Overload.

There are also two moments of musical class from Hollywood songwriter Diane Warren. The One I’m Gonna Love Is Me is an electronic dance banger.

Not Prepared For You is an orchestral ballad, arranged in a similar style to Paloma Faith’s 2014 hit Only Love Can Hurt Like This (also written by Warren). Both are great examples of Knight’s ability to push the dial.

“My career is not a shiny billboard poster being replaced by the next star in waiting. . . it is a novel,” she says. It’s fitting that The Fifth Chapter is a real page turner.

• Beverley Knight begins her UK tour on October 17 at the Reading Hexagon (ticketmaster.co.uk).