SINGLE REVIEW: AGS CONNOLLY - YESTERDAY'S MAN
You cannot help but feel that Ags Connolly is sitting somewhere with a wry smile on his face as he releases the first single and indeed the title track off his forthcoming album entitled "Yesterday's Man". Anyone who saw the size of crowd and indeed the reception he received at Country Calling 2026, would know that the title does not apply to him. If it did then why were so many of today's fastest rising stars such as Savannah Gardner and Susannah Clegg in the crowd to catch his set? The joke even follows through to the cover where we are reliably informed it is in stereo!
The visage that looks out from the cover picture may have a greyer beard than he once sported but has a welcoming stare almost daring you to dive in and see what he has produced. Anyone expecting any major departures from Ags's traditional style will be disappointed, however those who like a well crafted song, sung with feeling and recorded with a stunning simplicity will be right at home.
The pedal steel, warm bass and percussion that kick things off is timeless, and when Ags makes an appearance he is in the most reflective of moods harking back to days before heartbreak. Ags comes with an ability to inhabit the characters of his songs, his country crooning is at its very finest on this one.
"There was a bar down on every corner
When I could afford to drink all night
Back when days moved slow or they seemed to
Love hadn't blown me out of sight"
The chorus is an equally rose tinted reflection, a wish back to happier days, that seem so long ago he's not ever sure they ever existed.
"Call me yesterday's man, if you want to
Stuck in the good old days when hearts were still tough
I remember that world I remember back then
But maybe I dreamed it all up"
The second verse sees a sad realisation that the heady days have passed.
"Talking about a feeling you don't remember
When fate didn't do all that it could
Now I know why old men like them old movies
It's because they miss a life that's gone for good"
The second chorus sees sublime additional vocals from bassist Anna Robinson as well as sparkling piano contributions that give a new dimension. The lyrics this time round are slightly adjusted and see Ags reflecting back on the happy go lucky guy he once was, by inference comparing it to what he is now.
"Call me yesterday's man if you want to
Running down every chance and gambling on love
I remember that world every now and then
Or maybe I dreamed it all up"
The final verse is a repeat of the first, sung now as a duet.
It all makes for a fabulous introduction to the new album, Ags is not so much yesterday's man, more still tomorrow's troubadour and long may he and his way of doing things reign.
