It’s rare that we are lucky enough, or aware enough, or perceptive enough, to recognize that we’re at a turning point in our lives. It’s usually only in retrospect that we see the big moments for their significance.
For Neil Cowley, I imagine that 2012 is the kind of chapter in the book of his life that deserves its own colourful sticky note.
He turned 40, so it was already bound to be a year of reflection. Behind him was a long stretch of time where he was, by his own admission, doing a number of drugs and staving off a number of breakdowns. That was followed by a stint with a record label that went under before it could pay him royalties.
By 2012, however, his career was firmly on track. He released The Face Of Mount Molehill, the fourth album with his well-established, critically acclaimed, and award-winning trio. It must have felt like long-awaited stability. Maybe even fulfillment.
But the most significant part of 2012 for Neil Cowley was that it was the year in which he became, in all likelihood, the most-heard pianist in the world. And if you were among the millions of people who heard “Rolling In The Deep” by Adele in 2012, you have heard his work on the piano as well.
It must have been strange to hear himself on the radio everywhere, playing in the background of someone else’s success. Was it the kind of success he wanted? Did it open any doors? Did he even like the track?
Until he gets in touch and gives me the answers to those questions, I won’t know. But I think it’s safe to assume that 2012 must have felt like the beginning of something (or perhaps the end of something) for Neil Cowley.
I like to imagine him contemplating these things as he plays this simple, beautiful song, released in that complex, landmark year of his life.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. Although it’s primarily a piano song, there’s lots of quiet stuff happening in the background the whole way through.
2. Every once in a while, the tempo slows and then picks up again. A nice way to add humanity to the song.
3. There are a couple of spots where (I think) you can hear Cowley breathing as he plays. It’s either the sigh of someone intensely focused on playing the piece at hand, or else the sigh of someone realizing he’s coming to a crossroads. Or both.
Recommended listening activity:
Reading a diary entry that was written the day before something significant happened.