September Voting & Comments

Eddie Custard's song reviews:

Stephen Clarke – The Wrong Side of the Street.
You’re on fine form with this one. It may be ‘1950s urban country’ but it sounds as fresh as a daisy. The sunny, warm-hearted tune is laid over a troubled backstory but it never gets downbeat because there is a lightness of touch and breeziness in the instrumentation. Some nice guitar work and a fun central riff. There’s a skillful manoeuvre to the beautiful minor chord in the bridge, which has a very good vocal delivery and which adds poignancy and contrast to the bouncy feel beforehand. A tragic tale and a battle against adversity. It couldn’t have helped that she looked like Michael McIntyre. The rhyme about being ‘fired from her office because she wouldn’t fetch the coffees’ stands out, but there are other good ones too: ‘Taking her daughters to less troubled waters.’

Mike Gosling - My Father’s Tree
Soulful and touching. The cymbals in the opening give it a slightly oriental feel briefly before some nice pop/rock guitar chords come in. The harmonies are good throughout and the line ‘his eyes were bright and burning’ works especially well. But the greatest treat is the sudden explosion of sound nearing the three-minute mark with the line ‘All I can see…’ At that point things move skywards. By the end we’re left with lots of smart bits that have combined to create an adventurous tune. You’ve balanced the quiet and loud bits very well. I think both of your dads would be impressed.

Patrick Duffin - In the Springtime
An instant classic. The chorus soars after the confident, quiet verse, which emphasises the theme of renewal and emergence of spring. The chord change to introduce the piano in the verse sounds classy. Totally out of place next to all of our songs in that it sounds contemporary and chartbound. Reminiscent of 80s Yazoo in parts; the synth-type line on the verse especially. Katy Perry, Cher and Gary Barlow would love to get their hands on this for the chance of a modern day hit. Or Morrissey could record it as our Eurovision entry next year. The backing vocals sound great in the chorus on the line about the sun filling the morning sky. I like the way the way the volume seems to vary in some parts of the song.

Tim and Glynn - Running Away With The Hairdresser
A playful, fun song with an impressive ska and reggae feel. I really like the introduction of the organ joining in on the chorus, which feels like something by The Specials or The Selector. The lyrics are good and I chuckled at the line ‘in clipped tones she spoke to me, no scissor hands just bonhomie’. There are other good sections: ‘Every time I comb my hair…I imagine her just standing there.’ It’s a terrific title for a song, because there’s something sensual about having a haircut. I once wrote a song called Chop It All Off, Barber – but that’s another story. The bridge in your song is really good. You shouldn’t worry about the vocals – they sound fine to me, particularly on the chorus.

Tim and Julie - As I’m Painted
I really like this one because of its bluesy swagger, chorus vocals and the unusual and adventurous guitar playing throughout. I like the way you’re not scared of doing something harsh and off-kilter on the guitar although I have to say I didn’t get on with the combination of guitar and singing on about 38 seconds that lasts a few seconds. The voices combine really well on the chorus, though. The line ‘We’re all the same on the inside’ is good and I like that whack on the drum (not sure which type) at end of the first line of chorus. Your idea of doing verses through the eyes of separate characters is interesting. I like the lyric in Julie’s first verse, which combines the character’s vulnerability and strength. I’m assuming the second verse is narrated by the cat, with its clever line of ‘I get what I want from everyone, then refuse the fuss.’ Nice touch. A singing cat would be surreal for most people but it’s piffling for you two, given that last month you wrote about a pig getting a degree. Really enjoyable.

Casting Shadows – Phil Sanderson.
One of your best, Phil. The guitar sound is good here and the Irish pipe sound gives it an eerie feel about two thirds through. It’s a very mournful melody in spite of what you said in your notes, although I guess if having a bloodied corpse on the sofa doesn’t dampen a mood then not much else will. I think you did the right thing to cut down on the instruments. Things are much clearer and it’s good that the vocal is ‘exposed’. The singing is the most important part of the song so it needs to be prominent. A good, English-sounding folk song.

Patrick's thoughts -

I like the fact that everyone's chosen such different paintings.

1 - Stephen - Wrong side of the street
Nice clear uncluttered arrangement, I like the double tracked vocal, jaunty lighthearted feel and melody. Effective use of repeated phrases on both the country guitar line Harrison esque, and the chorus vocals. Again reminds me of something from Help era Beatles, especially the end coda. I think there may be one verse too many, as the middle eight comes a bit late for me. I like the sparse arrangement. the lack of drums let it breathe nicely, and create space for the vocals and guitars.

2 - Mike Gosling - My father's tree
I like the atmospheric reverse bell stuff on the intro, reminds me of the band Japan.
Glad that Mike's vocal is nice, dry and clear. Imaginative guitar parts act as percussion as well as harmony. Big Strong anthemic chorus, goes well with the other Mike back catalogue.

3 Tim and Glynn - running away with the hairdresser
Sweet rudeboy drum fill to start. I like the Englishness of the vocal, nice and clear and dry, reminds me of Suggs. The melody and song is allowed to breathe with the simple arrangement.
I do like the drumming, Is it the bloke out of Madness ? demonstrates what a range of dynamics the snare drum can have, as he uses snare and rimshot as two separate instruments. I like the slightly naughty edgy feel like those old Stiff records from the early 80's. Quite a surprise from TandG.

4 Stranded - Eddie Custard.
Makes you smile from the onset, lovely sounding piano and nice playing, reminds me of the Rubettes or Pilot from the 70's. Nice clear mix lets you hear everything.
I think the arrangement could do with paring down a bit, as it meanders down some unexpected lanes, this could be intentional, but I find it a little disorientating.

6 - Casting Shadows - Phil Sanderson
Lovely sounding guitar, sounds like a dulcimer or harpsichord in places. I like the simple arrangement, like a pastoral, elizabethan melody. I like the introduction of the different instrument (recorder, pipe ?). It sounds complex and simple at the same time. A much leaner, more disciplined song than Phil's others and all the better for it.

7 - Tim and Julie - As I'm Painted
Brave sparse intro but I find the delicate vocal is a bit brutalised by the electric guitar.
The guitars battle a bit in the second verse, by 02.07 everything a bit out of time, like the band is losing patience with the drummer for playing too slowly. I like Tim's dark menacing atmosphere which lifts nicely as the major chords come in. Thoughtful lyrics and interesting approach to the painting. I think these qualities would shine through more if only the band hadn't been to the pub at the interval.

So, firstly, an admission. When I first listened through the songs (very late, very knackered, only listened once) I didn't really get into any of them. Spoke to Karl at the weekend and said I was a little disappointed but I had only given them a cursory listen - he said "Oh you've got to play them a few more times - they're good" or words to that effect. So, 3 or 4 listens later and the songs are indeed another fine bunch and very enjoyable to listen to!

1. Stephen Clarke - Wrong Side of the Street
Good simple arrangement and sound - nice 50's / 60's sound. Pop music has become pretty dominated by drums and its good to hear the drums stripped away (like an early Elvis record). Starting with both the chorus vocal hook and then the guitar riff works well. I really like the vocal hook. The minor chord intro the middle 8 is very nice and yes, I also think the middle 8 arrives too late in the song and I would have lost a verse to make the song better balanced structurally. I would have liked to have heard a female/ high backing vocal arrangement in chorus.
 
Overall the song is a pretty good fit / response to the photo. Incidentally, I like that sign "Vaccines and Biologicals" in the chemist shop window opposite and I might have been tempted to use that detail in the song lyric / story.

3. Tim/Glynn - Running Away with the Hairdresser
A good ska sound from The Specials / Madness era of British music. A very good, catchy chorus. Some very nice lyrics, my favourite is "no scissorhands, just bonhomie". Tim's vocal works well with the ska sound as it is a very English sounding voice (bit of Suggsy, but also some Robert Wyatt especially in the "night/light/right" sounds). The Jerry Dammers organ is both a great sound and a good melodic line. Maybe the rhythm guitar isn't quite crisp enough for this genre - it sounds a bit too full, distorted, loud in the mix. Also, as for Stephen's song, I would have liked to hear a backing vocal arrangement in the chorus.

Not sure the song is a good fit for the painting. The Welsh valleys don't immediately conjure up urban ska to me. Having said that, when we got married down in South Wales we had "Ghost Town" played on heavy rotation at our evening do!

4. Eddie Custard - Stranded

Another fine piano chord sequence and melodic tune. I like the lyrics a lot - I like the chorus line "the tide's going out, so far, so fast". There are some instrumental/mixing choices that don't work to my ears. The scattergun snare fill is not one of my favourites and I do think the guitar solo is too loud in the mix. The tambourine is very fine and effectively moves things along in the chorus and towards the end. This was nagging away at me as I listened to Eddie's song and I couldn't think who Eddie reminded me of - then it came to me - especially on that "so far, so fast" line, Eddie sounds a lot like Fyfe Dangerfield (Guillemots).

I know you (Eddie) didn't write the story lyric, but I didn't interpret the painting in the same way. I thought the old fisherman was about to admonish his daughters for not selling the fish that he'd spent all night catching!

5. Patrick Duffin - In Springtime

What a great sound. And very effective use of stereo to highlight the simple cabasa percussion. Although not my favourite genre of popular music this is another winner. The vocal melody is very good. The best musical bit for me though is the fantastic backing vocal response in the chorus - very lovely. There are some good dynamics here - I like the way that the song almost disappears entirely at 1:50 before verse 3. And verse 3 is where Patrick departs from just writing an optimistic / upbeat lyric to accompany the loveliness of the painting. The words of caution "Some might say it's too sublime" indicate an intelligence at work (which you don't usually get with this genre of music). 

The upbeat dance feel is an interesting response to Monet's painting (not for me an obvious choice of music to complement the painting), but the song and lyric are too good to just label this song a Balearic anthem.

6. Phil Sanderson - Casting Shadows
The 12 string guitar gives this song such a strong grounding and a sense of musical place. It's hard to hear that sound without thinking back to the prog years and maybe some Al Stewart. The lyrics are very good - I particularly like the lines "freedom can come under cover, or in a disguise". The Irish whistle instrumental is a very nice passage - I would love to hear that part played with the "vibrato" type effect that Paddy Moloney (Chieftains) gets.

As I listened to the backing I kept hearing little bits of cello / strings that could have been addded. I think you could do a string arrangement for this song (pizzicato in verses, rhythmic strokes in choruses, long bows (no not longbows!) in the instrumental).

With regard to song as a response to the painting I think this song is a very good fit. I do, however, think that the "Casting Shadows" line (and title) doesn't work on two levels. Literally, the murderess doesn't seem to cast a shadow in the picture. On the contrary, the woman doesn't seem to be there both physically or emotionally - she is not distraught at murdering her husband she is just empty / nothing.

7. Tim/Julie - As I'm Painted
A really catchy hook - "All the same on the inside". This hook dominates the song but the idea of allocating a verse to each character in the painting is an excellent idea for interpreting the painting and creating a narrative for the lyric. There are a lot of good lyrics in here, but I think that you could have used the (for me) strongest lyric / vocal performance at the start. "This picture is about the girl, Why should she be a slave to man" would for me have been a very strong opening to the song. Then when you(Manet) say "... she has her own story to tell" it leads naturally to the second verse being sung by the woman. Guitar-wise I like the Robert Frippish guitar later on in the song. The guitars are a little loud in places - but that's your style!

Top marks for writing a song that responds in an interesting way to the painting. I think you fulfilled the brief better than most.

Like Tim and Mike I was a bit underwhelmed when I first listened to this months songs, but my patience and repeated listenings have been rewarded as there are some fine songs here once again.
I found it interesting that all but one of the paintings chosen had people in them. The exception being Mike's (which I chose for him) and it inspired a song about two real people.


Stephen Clarke - Wrong Side of the Street
A good choice of painting and I like the reasoning behind it. Very catchy. Unlike others here, I would like to hear it with a full band backing, probably from verse 2.

Mike Gosling - My Father's Tree
I'm far too close to this song to be objective, but would like to say just one thing - Thank you, Mike.

Tim and Glyn - Running Away with the Hairdresser
Wow - what a change of direction. Not what I expected, but well done for writing such a catchy song. The chorus has got right inside my head. There are some great drum fills, but the too loud open hi-hat is a bit annoying.

Eddie Custard - Stranded
After last months winning entry, I was expecting great things again, and in some respects this delivers. I'm not a fan of that drum roll, but the more I listen to this, the more I like it. Eddie is great a getting an authentic retro feel in to his songs.

Patrick Duffin - In Springtime
So Patrick has nailed the blissed beats dance genre (along with anything else he turns his hand to!). It sounds great, in no small part thanks to that good vocal line (so often missing in this type of music) and a proper set of lyrics. However, probably because I have heard them used so much in 90's dance music from the likes of Faithless and Leftfield, the production tricks didn't really wow me - sorry!

Phil Sanderson - Casting Shadows
The harpsichord-esque guitar sound on this "Medieval" song is great. Overall I think it is a bit too long, but then it probably needed to be to fit in all the lyrics. The exposed vocals, which for some reason remind me of Billy Bragg, are fine.

Tim/Julie - As I'm Painted
The catchy "All the same ..." line is the real hook here - it could have been the song title too. This "less is more" idea really works here - I wanted to hear it sung again before the abrupt end. The dry, rough-round-the-edges production is fine ... up to a point. The timing issues late in the song are a bit hard on the ear. However, your brave decision making, once again, deserves to be applauded.

September Song Reviews

Wrong Side of the Street
Stephen Clarke

Stephen never lets me down. I can imagine him playing gigs in reasonably-sized venues (never stadiums - it wouldn’t be true to his fans) and his loyal supporters would hang on every line and hook. This is close to being one of my favourite songs from Stephen. It’s well constructed and there are some really lovely chord progressions. I love the guitar sound and the hook line. I sometimes wonder whether the lack of drums is deliberate but certainly in the case of ‘Wrong Side of the Street’ they’re not missed. It feels like a classic ‘story’ song as we get fed more and more of the facts of this poor woman’s life; even the middle 8 that takes us to a better time in her life. I love it.


My Father’s Tree
MIke Gosling

I expected this (based on the title alone) to be a kind of David Sylvian/Peter Gabriel homage and the reverse effects at the start had me ticking those particular boxes. When the drums-proper started though it was a ‘Sounding Line’ song - folk with a rocky undertone. Mike’s vocal was a little sharp at the start but once the octave harmony and then the full vocal started it was great.

I wondered what the message of the song would be and was waiting for the next rhyme (in the chorus) to see what would scan with the previous ‘eee’ sound. I guess the message was that fathers/parents can affect what we become in life and that the loss of a loved one is like a strong oak tree being felled in the forest - almost unthinkable when we’re young (but become more ‘thinkable’ as some of us edge ever-closer to our sixth decade!!!)

The production was as effortless as ever and the drums were very good, particularly the china bells. Great song.


Running away with the Hairdresser
Tim & Glynn

Before I had even listened to the song, this was my favourite title and painting.

Ooh. I love the drums from the off. And a real shock to not having Glyn singing but Tim (lead singer of ‘Nocturne’?) rose to the task brilliantly (he and Stephen Clarke should harmonise for one another.) The instrumentation on this is great. It’s very simple and the relaxed feel leaves you to listen to the story.

The first verse made me wonder how many ‘plays on words’ I could come up with on a hairdresser theme but I think you just about covered them all! I loved the verses and the particularly the chorus. The middle 8 felt like it had been plucked from a 70s classic and I too liked the ‘…where the dogs and cats don’t fight’ line. I was wondering whether we’d get the inevitable ‘now I’m bald she’s left me..’ line but I like the thought of them running away from the madness for their own brand of madness. I really liked this.


Stranded
Eddie Custard

My first thought was ‘that’s a brave attempt at a drum roll on a drum machine - but please don’t do it again!’ My next thought was with regard to the ‘narrow’ sound and 70s sounding vocal. The vocal sounded the same throughout (which I liked) and then the ‘narrow’ sound spread beautifully which gave the whole song a lift (as if it needed it.)

The song itself is brilliant but having listened to it a few times, I don’t like the Honky Tonk piano refrain at the end; it was fine at the beginning but reprising it at the end didn’t work for me. Also, the feel of the painting didn’t really match the feel of the song but those very minor criticisms shouldn’t detract from what is a major, major piece of work from Eddie. I remember Tim & Glynn talking about a song by Patrick D a few months ago where they intimated that they could not have written the particular song he’d created that month or wouldn’t have known where to start. I feel exactly the same about this. I have no idea how Eddie was come up with something so pleasing to the ear. The melody is brilliant; the chord progressions unfold reassuringly (like a hand-made, oak bureau!) and it has Eddie’s brilliant vocals and harmonies sprinkled on top. To use a football analogy, this is Watford FC in the seventies and eighties; easily moving up the divisions until they hit the top flight, but along the way they’ve suddenly become Real Madrid. You’re playing with the big boys now. Let’s see how many times you can raise the trophy but this is fantastic.


In Springtime
Patrick Duffin

A really interesting and unexpected start. It took me back to the Casio we used to use in our band of the 80s (Another Citizen) where we’d program random notes and see if anything inspired a song (I think it only worked once!) The ‘Euro-pop’ was even more unexpected but the change of chord just before we enter full, bass-thumping ‘Euro-pop’ mode was great. The execution and production are as sublime as ever (even down to the over-compressed backing.’

I think I have two or three problems with this song, however. Firstly, I’m not a big fan of ‘Euro-pop’. Secondly, your songs thus far have all been distinct in that they have startling and singable melodies that always leave me scratching my head at your inventiveness/genius. This one didn’t feel like that. It felt a little thrown away. And thirdly, if we were to play a ‘matching’ game, I’m pretty sure that no one would match your song to your picture (yours, in my opinion, would have been matched with the ‘Hairdresser’ picture.)

I feel compelled to qualify any criticism with a) you did a lot better than me! And b) you have set such impossibly high standards that it would surprising in the extreme if you were to be brilliant every month and not ‘tickling my fancy’ makes you almost human!! Love you, man.


Casting Shadows
Phil Sanderson

Phil, I know, was very proud of this and so he should be. This is a much simpler arrangement than we’ve been used to from Phil and shows him to be a very accomplished 12 string guitar player.

The feeling, at times, is almost like a cross between a traditional ’Tudor’ theme and a Led Zeppelin track. Once the ‘pipes’ and ‘cello’ start, it really takes on a Celtic feel.

The difficulty for Phil is that the comments throughout the months have largely been ‘strip back your arrangement’ or ‘it needs to be simplified’. However, this month’s songs would have benefited from stepping up a gear after the ‘pipe’ instrumental section (you can’t win, Phil.)

I think it really matched the picture well and a second and third time had me listening intently to the lyrics. I loved the way some of the lines were delivered particularly the ‘…not one glimmer of guilt as his soul disappears…’

On a critical note (and this is not the first time I’ve said it) Phil tends to appear to be a little ‘fast and loose’ with the timing of some of his instrumentation and his phrasing. I like the fact that he’ll stick in a bar of three beats here or five beat there but sometimes it just feels that he’s out of time with the backing and it can make it a little uncomfortable to listen to (particularly for me as someone who’s fairly OCD about being in time!)

All in all, though. A great effort and a haunting anthem to accompany the ‘kids-sister’ picture of ‘Scream.’ Well done, Phil


As I’m Painted
Tim & Julie

Another solo appearance from the female half of this now famous duo!! If I were offering any pieces of advice to Julie in terms of vocal performance, I would just say 1) try and treble the volume 2) open your mouth wide and 3) throw off any doubts. You’ve already demonstrated you can stay in tune (which is no mean feat) now try and sing with a little more confidence. Please feel free to ignore.

The arrangement is great. Very clean, very clear and well executed in terms of ‘build’.

All Tim & Julie’s songs, to me, sound a little like songs by Alice Cooper from the early 70s (a plus point, in my books!) particularly Tim’s vocal (It sounds just like the verse vocal on ‘Killer’.) His vocal is getting better and stronger week-on-week. The ‘hook’ (‘…we’re all the same on the inside…’) was very catchy but the verses did suffer a little bit from a lack of clarity.

All in all, this song has made my voting choices harder. I had picked my two but this has thrown a spanner in the works. Well done.

My congratulations as well to Tim and Glynn and Eddie for September's winning songs.
I enjoyed them very much.