'Not surprisingly this is the thing that sounds the most, to me, like myself.' 'I had the impulse to hear what would happen if left to and with my own devices', says Perkins. Whereas Ash Wednesday (2007) would not have been itself without the guidance of friend and producer Ethan Gold, and the eponymous Elvis Perkins in Dearland and subsequent Doomsday EP (2009) were group efforts, I Aubade was on the whole an autonomous project. This new work comes as something of a departure from his previous releases on XL Recordings. Fans of Mary will welcome this return to what she loves best, and new listeners. Valentine is an album of love, heartbreak and beautiful arrangements. The cover artwork is also one of Mary's paintings - a Valentine card she painted some years ago. Three tracks of Mary's: 'Hope Is', 'Life Begins Again' and 'All I've Ever Known', have been included and display her sublime songwriting talent. Fans of Earth Song/Ocean Song will love Valentine which features 'With You or Without You' from Liz Thorsen, who wrote the title tracks of the 1971 album, and many of the same musicians such as Danny Thompson, who wrote 'No Love is Sorrow', and Ralph McTell. Valentine is a selection of recordings from 1972-1980, from different songwriters including Mary herself. Since parting with Apple Records, and the release of Earth Song/Ocean Song in 1971, she continued to record, although those recordings have remained stored away, until now. Although deciding to stay out of the public eye, Mary Hopkin still loves to write, sing and to record in the studio. Hopefully your next cd will be much much more better RobinĪrchive collection from the Welsh vocalist. And two were almost okay Magic & Tie My Hands. Yea, Ill admit there was a couple songs that I liked Loverman, Youre my Baby. He has such a great voice range, but I just wasnt feeling this one. Im not sure what he was trying to do, but he could have done a lot better. I like the style this time he change it up a little, its hot and you can still play the whole album with out skipping one single song you go Robin! I love your style! Robin Thicke,the first album had it going on but, now we are on something esle. This album is smooth and rich enough that you dont want to listen to anything else! great musicianship.