Ben Howard on how Gillian Welch’s 2001 record Time (The Revelator) put him on his backside.
“A friend gave me Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator) a couple of years ago and it was one of those moments where… well, what can I say? As a musician you’re always your own worst critic and you’re always digging into your songs and evaluating your own self-worth of things. Gillian Welch’s record was given to me and it just ruined me for months! Just that thing knowing that you will never, ever be able to write a song as close to something like I Dream A Highway on that record. It actually changed my day-to-day life in the sense that I stopped playing music
for a little while. But it’s refreshing to be that in awe of someone. We get carried away with ourselves so much, so it’s nice to be put on your arse.”
