If you’ve ever been to a blues bar, you know there’s a special feeling to that late-night slot. You know the one, that last hour or if you’re lucky, the hour after closing where only the privileged few are allowed to remain to either bear witness or take part in the jam. There’s magic in that hour and as easy as it slides off the stage, it’s damn near impossible to recreate on tape.
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Al Basile, the eight-time Blues Music Award-nominated singer/songwriter/cornetist takes his shot at pulling that magic into the daylight with his upcoming album Last Hand and you know what? As showcased on the song “Invisible Man” he damn near pulls it off. Perhaps it’s due to his years of making music. It could be the evolution of his songwriting. Or it could very well be that for the first time in his illustrious career he settled into the producer’s chair to truly drive the bus himself.
A storyteller like no other, Basile created “Invisible Man” as not just a song but part of a story and American Songwriter is proud to premiere that chapter ahead of its worldwide release. Harkening back to the glory days of music, “Invisible Man” is more than just an entry in a collection of songs.
“This song is part of a cycle of songs which tell the story of a May-December romance,” explains Basile. “It happens early in the story, when my character is complaining that young women don’t look at him anymore because he’s too old – he’s become ‘invisible.’ The photos in the middle of the song show women looking at the camera, then not looking, and finally walking away – a quick look at my dilemma. The frustration-verging-into-anger in my facial expressions here are those of my character – not me!
“The inspiration for the song comes from the common experience older men have that they’re no longer ‘in the game.’ Because you feel alienated, it’s easy to mistrust the motives of the young who might show real interest. I wrote it well before COVID, but the isolation imposed on all of us nowadays makes this mistrust more universal for all ages now. Living with COVID, you don’t have to be old to be invisible.”
Well aware of the fact this might be a storyline younger fans might not be able to identify with, Basile is ok with that. In his eyes, the groove is strong enough to pull them in just as well.
“I really like the catchiness of the groove, which gives listeners who aren’t focusing on the story of the lyrics something to hang onto. There’s something for both kinds of listeners here.”
Basile’s album Last Hand is slated for release on August 21st. If you dig what you hear, score it on Amazon.
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