I don’t normally go in for crooners. Can’t deny that this one is dangerously smooth though…
His voice is a masterclass in raw, soulful, dozy tranquility. It’d be wasted on subject matter less lovelorn and yearning.
It’s the type of song which uses five syllables to sing the word ‘cry’. Ultimately, it can be hard to have a stable life as touring musician, and this is a heart wrenching, brutally honest inspection of that.
“Charlene” sobbed its way into the world in 2003, on Comin’ From Where I’m From, and was released as a wistful, anguished single the year after.