119.00 (139.00) PLN

LP-180G 33rpm:

Nr kat.: NAIMLP135
Label  : NAIM Records

Gwyneth's latest smorgasbord of musical musings, ‘All The Ghosts', takes her music further down her own idiosyncratic path. It carries ten terrific songs, which speak to you directly, without forethought for genre or category. In their melodic immediacy and observational characterisation, you might hear the Lennon-McCartney of ‘Sgt Pepper', or the Ray Davies of ‘Lola', rather than any jazz stereotype. The songs are populated by a living, breathing cast of beaten-down dreamers, jaded city-dwellers, and women in a quandary. There is a beautiful prostitute with a split lip, pining to be free to return to mother Russia. There is also a wicked, myth-enshrouded temptress, luring in young men with drink and drugs. And there is a Mini, the same age as the singer, as human and ‘real' in its wheezing everyday tasks as any of the other folk. These, simply, are songs about people, about life, as the singer has precociously learnt to understand them at her tender age. Recorded in a live studio environment at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, near Bath, Gwyneth and her faithful and accomplished quartet spent only two days laying the songs down. "It's a beautiful place, in the middle of nowhere - no distractions, amazing food, and lots of red wine. We wanted to revisit the whole concept of recording live. It was pretty much all done that way, everyone in one room, with basic separation, and no overdubs." Says Gwyneth, "Like on ‘Wardrobe', you'll hear finger-tapping noises, or somebody drop a drumstick halfway through. There's a couple of weird pitching things with my voice, but I didn't want to sacrifice the vibe of the whole thing, for some idea of perfection. Musically, too, there's a lot more clunks and clatters. It's more percussive and driving." ‘All The Ghosts' is very much an ensemble piece, and sees Herbert's current combo - Al Cherry (gtr), Sam Burgess (bass), Steve Holness (piano and keys - "in his case, Bob really is your uncle!") and Dave Price (percussion) - hitting upon some inventive and often strange new sounds. Price, in particular, has amassed an armoury of oddball rhythm instruments, which include a cajon, or a "stool drum". He also bangs a gong on a couple of tracks. All the strange boings and crashes sometimes recall Tom Waits. Gwyneth now feels embroiled in the arts of songcraft, from the wry portraiture of mid-'60s beat-poppers, to the arcane traditions of folk and blues. The songs present a lurid assortment of outsider characters, most of them women. "Some of them are literal women, whom I've really met," she reveals, "and I guess they are all outsiders, but they're not necessarily black and white. With Lorelei, she's a very naughty woman, but I'd like to think you feel slightly enhanted by what she does, rather than completely rejecting her. Nataliya wants to go home, but that's Russia, and there's no hope of doing that, so there aren't many options for her. And Jane is a frantic mother confused by everything - you can't judge her for that". Gwyneth Herbert's songs will enchant anyone who gets to hear them. Bearded Magazine "She moves effortlessly from style to style, combining perfect technique with oodles of soul." Wears The Trousers Magazine "If you're seeking astoundment through accessible innovation, look no further than this impressive collection. Don't believe the title: everything here is alive, red blooded and breathtaking." more >> City Life "All The Ghosts brims with imagination, compassion and vivid longing." more >> The Guardian "This fine album....will be on the year-end hitlist whatever its genre" more >> Fly Global Music "a varied and fascinating album." more >> Vortex Jazz "Herbert's powerful but affecting voice is imbued with sincerity, sympathy and intelligence; the songs' melodies are at once immediately arresting and accessible" more >> Dorset Echo "he spirit of Ray Davies [and] Nina Simone." more >> Buzz Magazine "[this] healthy dose of eccentricity makes for rewarding listening that's never twee" more >> The Beat Surrender "All The Ghosts is the sound of a young lady who has more than found her feet" more >> Jazzwise "shifting metres, contrasting backgrounds, and lyrics that actually mean something." more >> Mojo Magazine "Her singing - warm, soulful, and with a husky hint of Elkie Brooks - is classy throughout" more >> Daily Mail "a warm sultry talk on acoustic folk and pop" more >> Sunday Mercury "delightfully diverse and unpredictable" ALBUM OF THE WEEK more >> Stella - Daily Telegraph "set to be a major sound this summer" more >> Metro "tricky to categorise but fantastically easy to warm to." more >> Blues & Soul "There's a lovely sense of britishness about this girl, not only is she a talent vocally but a strong songstress too." 8/10 more >> BBC Online "She has a fine sense of melody and her latest songs tell stories that equal 'Terry meets Julie, Waterloo station, every Friday night' or 'Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins'." more >> Daily Telegraph "super-talented" more >> The Times "The airy, acoustic arrangements are imaginative, full of shifting tempos and textures." more >> Independent on Sunday "If Hanns Eisler had been a woman and written with Ray Davies, he might have come up with something like this" more >> Time Out "Plenty of memorable hooks and whitty one-liners" >>> Płyty winylowe należy przechowywać WYŁĄCZNIE w NAJLEPSZYCH NA ŚWIECIE koszulkach produkcji legendarnej wytwórni MOBILE FIDELITY. 100% gwarancji na pozbycie się trzasków będących w istocie w 90% efektem ładunków elektrostatycznych a nie uszkodzeń mechanicznych płyty! <<<