Labi Siffre :: Crying Laughing Loving Lying
Photo: David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images
Born Claudius Afolabi "Labi" Siffre, known professionally around the world as Labi Siffre, to parents who were of white British, Afro-Barbadian, and British Nigerian descent in Ealing, West London, in the summer of 1945, Siffre’s journey in music began after a swan dive into society, working various jobs as a delivery man and cab driver before he ever picked up the guitar. It seems that most artists and musicians need to live a little before they venture into the unknown universe of existential exploration, and Siffre did just that. While occupying the mundane momentum of a 9-5 job, the future songwriter tapped into the exploratory essence of his poetic psyche while playing jazz guitar at legendary actress, singer, and member of the influential jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Annie Ross's jazz club in Soho, London, in the 1960s, before establishing a brilliant place among one of the most unique voices to come out of the British folk scene. Having released two studio albums, 1970’s S/T, and 1971’s “The Singer and the Song,” which features the monumental classic "Bless The Telephone," before his 1972 magnum opus “Crying Laughing Loving Lying,” the veteran songwriter cut his teeth on the industry’s sharp and complicated landscape of eccentric economy and poetic pressure, and never looked back. Having worked with producer Ian Green on his first two albums, Siffre took it upon himself to be involved with every single detail during the process of bringing to life his most cherished work by writing, performing, and producing the entirety of the album with a little help from Richard Tattersall, Francis Monkman, who helped in forming Curved Air, David Richmond, a founding member of the highly influential Manfred Mann, Alan Skidmore, and Don Fay, to name a few.
“The one where it all came together… singing some of my best songs”
An electrifying ensemble of musicians and local talent that transcended the folk rock stratosphere by demonstrating their very own fundamental flavors and cosmic collaboration, Siffre’s ability to lead these seasoned players into the depths of his soothing subconscious is unparalleled, while simultaneously displaying a breathtaking collection of sophisticated songwriting that has stood the test of time for over half a century. Like a breath of fresh air first thing in the morning, as the melodies of the natural world begin to fill your senses with its magical meditation, you start to hear the blistering bass and ritualistic rhythms of “Blue Lady” coming from the antique stereo speakers in the living room. For a moment or two, life seems fair and simple as you look out over the ancient tree tops filled with biblical birds whose lungs are filled with several messages from God, as you begin to reflect on life like you never have before. All of a sudden, the music from the vintage Technics table stops, and the room is filled with silence from the sun’s shining path of light, but someone flips the record and personally places the needle deep into the B side’s melodic memory. The soft, precious sounds of the piano began to fill the room once again, but this time with Siffre’s masterpiece "My Song." It’s as if the world slowly stopped spinning, while the turntable continued its romantic revolutions with slight crackle, and pop sounds to help reality from breaking into a million endless pieces right then, and there. Across the album’s 12 tracks of bliss and sonic serenity, Siffre takes us through the motions of love and a deeper understanding of our place in this world. “Crying Laughing Loving Lying” has the atmospheric ability to center listeners like Beethoven on a rainy afternoon, while all the windows in the house are slightly cracked to help relieve pressure, and cheap cigar smoke fills the air as you ponder the first act of your life.
Photo: David Redfern/Getty Images
