June Millington's Snapshots is a Photo Album For The Ears

Snapshots is a fitting title for the new album by Fanny lead guitarist June Millington because it is a photo album for the ears.

While some photo albums concentrated on a specific event or period of time, Snapshots is a collection of audio photos which spans nearly half a century. Granted, a majority of the album focuses on the here and now (or should I say the hear and now) Snapshots begins in late 1977 with a home recording of "Make Me Happy". Reminiscent of Judee Sill with a touch of Emitt Rhodes, "Make Me Happy" is unusual as it is driven by electric piano and drums instead of her ES-335. The upbeat song demonstrates her musical versatility. Towards the end of Snapshots, we return to the 1970's. In fact, we return to her days with Fanny with "The Ballad of Fanny" accompanied by the baritone voice of producer Richard Perry at the song's conclusion.

Yet much of Snapshots was inspired by contemporary events. The bluesy "Fire In The Street" was inspired by the protests which ensued in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd amid the early months of the pandemic. A triumvirate of songs - "Eagle to the Moon", "The Big Lie (Girls Don't Dream)" and "Too Close To the Bone" were written over a period of a couple of days following the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. All three songs feature June's former brother-in-law Earl Slick and his son/her nephew Lee John. Throw in Naia Kete playing bass on "Girls Don't Dream" and you've got a band which could be accurately called It's a Family Affair. 

Of the songs inspired by contemporary events, the one which resonated the most was "Eyes in the Back of Our Heads", a spoken word song about the increasing violence directed against Asian Americans sparked by the pandemic. "Eyes in the Back of Our Heads" resonated because of its reference to the Atlanta Spa killings in March 2021. I was living in Atlanta at the time of the incident and vividly remember the wailing sirens which were heading north on Piedmont Road. Eight people would be shot dead including six Asian women. A few days after the massacre, I went to pay my respects at two of the parlors across the street from each other both of which were adorned with flowers. There was an Asian man carrying sign in front of the Gold Spa which simply said, "We Are Not a Virus." The song also resonated because Jews in America have experienced similar violence in recent years. 

"Letter From The Heart", "Un-Knowable" and the closing track "Wonder Woman" are collaborations with students and staff of The Institute for Musical Arts. From where I sit, "Letter From The Heart" can be viewed as a companion piece of Fanny's "Think About The Children" from the Fanny Hill album. In "Letter From The Heart" is the children who are doing the thinking. "Stars at Night", which is dedicated to June's partner and co-founder of IMA Ann Hackler, was inspired by the Paul McCartney penned Beatles song "I Will". However, in my ears I'm hearing Gordon Lightfoot's vocal inflections. If he can read my mind perhaps one day he'll cover "Stars at Night".

I have heard many of these songs during the IMA Livestreams which were broadcast on Facebook in 2020 an 2021 as well as at the New England premier of Fanny: The Right to Rock last October but their spirit is fully captured and in focus on Snapshots. 

If this has piqued your curiosity then you can purchase your copy of June Millington's Snapshots at IMA's website right here.