Geoff O’Connor’s recommendation: “I’d recommend the classy, mesmerizing songs of Dory Previn. I first stumbled upon her records “Mythical Kings and Iguanas” and “Mary C Brown and The Hollywood Sign” in a bargain bin and found the lyrics on the inside sleeves so intriguing that I had to take them home. I’ve since picked up her records every time I come across them, and luckily they are easy to find and quite cheap. There is something very warm, yet chillingly seductive about the persona she adopts in her more romantic songs, such as Lady With The Braid, that I find very distinctive. In her thematic album, “Mary C Brown and The Hollywood Sign” she creates a set of stories and characters that are extremely vivid and complex, without dwelling on any mundane details. Her songs suggest a life that is just as heartbreaking, scary and hilarious as the one she presents in her autobiography Midnight Baby, which I’d also highly recommend. She has a magnetic vocal presence that, coupled with the often conversational tone of her lyrics, can really follow you around. She’s definitely someone you could become quite obsessed with. She wears very cool glasses too.”

Find out more about the Dory Previn

New to Dory Previn? Geoff O’Connor recommends you start here: “Start with Mythical Kings & Iguanas.”

MP3 Audio – Dory Previn released this royalty free recording in 2002: Planet Blue

About the guest author, Geoff O’Connor: O’Connor leads the ’60s inspired Australian band, The Crayon Fields. The band has earned opening spots for heavyweight headliners such as Stereolab, The New Pornographers and Built To Spill and has racked up some excellent reviews of their latest offering, All the Pleasures of the World, which was released by Chapter Music. Hear a track from that album: Mirror Ball.