Justin Hayward’s New EP Proves Big Things Can Come From Small Packages

Courtesy: Eagle Rock Entertainment

The Moody Blues front man Justin Hayward has a new musical treat for his fans.

Hayward released his new EP One Summer Day / My Juliette March 27 through Eagle Rock Entertainment through all digital platforms.  The two-song record is brief, clearly, but still is entertaining even in its brevity.  That is proven through the musical and lyrical content featured in each of the songs featured in this recording, beginning with the gentle, flowing arrangement at the center of the record’s first song, ‘One Summer Day.’

The musical arrangement at the center of ‘One Summer Day’ is a very simple composition that features Hayward singing and playing his guitar.  The soft, acoustic performance also features what might be a second musician using a cajon drum alongside a very subtle string arrangement.  The overall opus is a composition that, especially with summer right around the corner, elicits such positive thoughts in listeners’ minds.  Together with the song’s lyrical content, the song becomes even more engaging and entertaining.

According to information presented in a news release about Hayward’s new EP, the lyrical theme of ‘One Summer Day’ tells “the story of unexpected events taking place one day in the summer.”  Those unexpected events are not exactly explained away as Hayward sings, but from what he does sing, it can be inferred that it has something to do with those unexpected events have to do with two people perhaps meeting unexpectedly.  That is inferred as Hayward sings in what is apparently the song’s lone verse and chorus, “Maybe it’s just time for us/To treat each other well/I hope it’s not just fantasy/Only time will tell/I loved you from the very start/Deep inside of me/But sometimes it’s impossible/That three-part harmony/Even though the songbird had to leave us for a while/And the summer sun is tempting you away/here you are before me/Like a presence in my dreams/You put your hand upon my face/Say ‘Darling, hold me please’/Well don’t you worry/It’s okay/I’ll be here for you/No more tears from yesterday/Tomorrow’s coming soon/So let’s be lovers one more time/The years will melt away/’Cause if not now, then when for us/There’s no day like today.” Looking back over this, those “unexpected events” would seem to be the meeting of two people who perhaps were in a relationship at one time, but who grew apart over time.  The pair apparently ran into one another one summer day, and the flame that was once there was ever so gently reignited between the pair.  The gentility in the song’s musical arrangement does well to illustrate the happy, but reserved emotions expressed through the song’s lyrical theme.  Together, each element makes the song its own work worth hearing.

While ‘One Summer Day’ is undeniably worth the listen, its companion work here, ‘My Juliette’ proves itself worth hearing, too, through its musical and lyrical content.  The song’s musical arrangement is more upbeat than that featured in ‘One Summer Day.’  It is slightly more upbeat in its tempo, but just as simple in its approach.  Hayward sings here alongside a guitar line, that sounds like perhaps it was layered to add to the composition’s depth.  It sounds like Hayward’s own vocals were layered, too, to create a nice, rich harmony.  It sounds as if a string arrangement was added ever so slightly to add to the general effect.  It could be argued that the arrangement in whole lends itself to some of the works from The Beatles’ landmark album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  That is meant in the most positive fashion possible.  Together with its accompanying lyrical content, the song proves even more, its value to the EP’s presentation.

The news release distributed about Hayward’s new EP states that the lyrical inspiration for the song came from his own childhood.  The release points out that Hayward’s mother played piano for a theater group when he was young, and that he played guitar for the group.  “I was entranced and I still treasure every moment of that theater life,” he said.  “I had the song for years before I was sure I wanted to actually finish or record it because I enjoyed just playing around with it.”  In other words, this is essentially a rarity of sorts from Hayward that his most devoted fans will appreciate both for its musical and lyrical content.  Hayward sings in the song’s lead verse, “Tell me a story of lands far away/Where princes and maidens lived/Show me the forest where lovers would stray/their hearts to each other give/It’s so clear/It’s so bright/It’s so true/It’s in your voice tonight.”  He continues in the song’s second verse, “Just when you thought your chances were gone/You’re out in the world and free/Remember the words that sweet…once sang/It’s such a lot of world to see/It’s so clear/It’s so bright/It’s so true/It’s in your smile tonight/Seems our changing stage is set/Please be our Juliette/We’ll make our entrance bold and strong…”  the last line of the second verse is difficult to decipher sans lyrics (even sites, such as azlyrics.com, metrolyrics.com and genius.com do not have the lyrics available), but that is beside the point.  This is just a good, fun song that, as noted, pays tribute to Hayward’s upbringing in the theater environment.  The song boasts a third and final verse, but these two verses alone are more than enough proof of why this song will engage and entertain audiences.  Keeping that in mind, the combination of this enjoyable tribute to Hayward’s own childhood, and the musical accompaniment, which itself does throw back to music from that age ever so slightly, makes the song in whole its own positive mark for Hayward’s new EP.  When this song is considered alongside the whole of ‘One Summer Day,’ the two works together make Hayward’s new EP a presentation that despite its brevity is still a work that Moody Blues fans will appreciate just as much as Hayward’s fans.

Justin Hayward’s new EP One Summer Day / My Juliette is a rather short presentation, boasting just two songs whose total run time is approximately six minutes.  Despite that shortness of content, it is still a positive work that will appeal equally to Hayward’s fans and those of The Moody Blues.  The EP is available now on all digital platforms.  More information on the EP is available online along with all of Hayward’s latest news at:

 

 

 

Website: http://www.justinhayward.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/justinhaywardmusic

Twitter: http://twitter.com/haywardmusic

 

 

 

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