She Put A Spell On Me (And She’ll Put One On You)

Late one night (or early one morning, depending on yer perspective) not long ago, I was at my friend Steve’s house, all drunk and stuffed with awesome beef sandwiches, and Steve was sitting at his computer pulling up YouTube videos of an Irish-born rockabilly princess named Imelda May. Steve LOVES Imelda May and Steve plays rockabilly too, singing and slapping a standup bass with his brothers Guy and Rick in a band named Old Junk.

So he’s pulling up clip after clip of Imelda May singing with her band and JEFF FUCKING BECK at a Les Paul tribute show, the highlight of which was their rendition of Les Paul and Mary Ford’s goofy and groundbreaking hit “Tiger Rag.”It’s a short shot of pure joy. The band is bulletproof, Beck pulls off some astonishing fretwork, Imelda May is totally charming, and I left Steve’s that night convinced that Ms. May was someone I needed to keep an ear out for.

Sure enough, her stateside release of Mayhem came up just a few weeks later. BONUS: I listened to Mayhem during a first-time trip through Memphis with my wife Val, an enthusiastic rockabilly fan. Standing in the very spaces where the early giants of rock and roll once stood as they created a new art form (and consequently, a culture that is uniquely American) was immensely inspiring. Imelda May keeps the tradition alive.

Mayhem is a great record that has its share of rockabilly moments, but it’s much more than a rockabilly elpee. “Kentish Town Waltz” is, in fact, a sadly beautiful waltz. “All For You” is all uptown jazz and seduction. “Eternity” is country with a bouncy twang. My favorite track, one that I cannot get enough of, is “I’m Alive,” which sounds like a luau that wandered into a fiesta, and features Imelda May at her lush-toned finest, melting the hardened hearts of the hairiest cynical beasts into puddles of piddle with that flawless voice of hers.

There’s a reason guys like Jeff Beck (who hardly ever steps out to play) want to get up on stage with her. She’s as close to perfect a singer as anyone could reasonably hope to be.