October 2016. Beginning, Middle and End Month voting

Some really good songs here - all five are deserving of a vote in their different ways. It’s very difficult to choose two.


Stephen Clarke - Louisiana Song


Stephen has struck gold, or perhaps that should be oil, in this hugely enjoyable tale of a determined woman who rises up from humble beginnings and becomes empowered. There’s so much good stuff - a fine bluesy riff in the gaps between the verses, spot-on harmonies and a story that conjures up the sweat and grime of blue collar southern US in the best tradition of country and western/swamp blues. Stephen has an eye for the minor details and he’s at his best when he’s writing about characters struggling to make their way. He makes us care about Patty and Gordon and wonder how their story will end. Stephen captures the triumphalism accompanying Patty’s journey of self-improvement and her rejection of bad boy Gordon. Stephen always focuses on positivity and humanity in his stories, and Patty’s impressive work ethic and popularity with the locals creates the warmth here, even though she seems to have lived a life largely devoid of romance.

There’s a very good chorus and it all skips along excellently. If I had to choose his top three contributions in the lifetime of the songwriters’ group this would be one of them. Well done.



Mike Gosling - Cold War Baby


Epic sounding guitars and a pulsating bass create a driving force, and the chorus melody is outstanding on ‘I was a cold war baby to a teenage mum…’ I wanted to hear this line more but I’m guessing you wanted to fit in all the words and stick to Rob’s suggestion of varying the choruses. It’s another good lyric that nicely describes an identity crisis, and I like the line contrasting the cul-de-sac and the ‘wife who never looked back.’ Expertly produced as ever, and characteristic of Mike in that it has good energy and melodicism.



Tim and Glynn - Girl on a Train


I think T and G have been on a very good run lately, and this is another peak. Very impressive opening with the strummed guitar and a few lonely notes on the piano. Terrific melancholy chorus, atmospheric and superbly sung by Glynn. The bit in the verse about spending her days ‘on the circle line’ is a good way of describing how her life is directionless and the ‘ten years..’ section is strong. Is the song a reference to the similarly titled book, which has some of the same themes of loneliness and depression? Despite your editing I think it remains a bit long, but I’m probably splitting hairs. You’ve done well to vary the choruses, highlighted by the jagged guitar that bursts into the song round 3.30. I like the violin at the three-minute mark, which gives it a touch of extra quality. I worked out that the main character was on the way to recovery by the end, perhaps through falling in love and getting off drugs (?), but my dodgy hearing means I couldn’t piece everything together. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, this is one of your best.


Tim and Julie - We Live on the Dog


Great concept here. I like your style; a lyric that tries to get into the mind of a flea. I think you should go with your allegory idea about the importance of compound maths. We need more of this kind of stuff. There are some inventive lyrics about nurturing larvae, and a consideration of the hazards arising if the host scratches itself. The zaniness hits a beautiful peak when the flea describes how ‘maths is beyond me’ and that ‘compound percentages were taught when my back was turned.’

I’m a little surprised Tim and Julie didn’t keep this for dog month, but they seem to have an endless supply of animal songs so I suppose it won’t be much of a stretch to knock out another canine-themed tune next time.

Musically, it’s short and sharp, with no baggy bits. I like the leftfield chord sequence in the verse, the deep voice in the background on the chorus, and the nicely off-kilter chord at the very end. There’s a clever finale where the fleas shoot themselves in the foot – if that makes any sense as a metaphor – seemingly leading to the death of the dog. Perhaps not the best musically this month, but one of the best lyrics, and certainly the most ingenious story.



Phi Sanderson - Lost the Plot


I seem to remember Phil toying with us in this way before; writing a song referencing how he has avoided sticking within the parameters of the monthly task.

I don’t know how he’s pulled this off - it’s really quite brilliant. I can only pick up fragments of what’s happening – it’s a story of a love gone sour, I think, and there is some effective imagery about ‘marks on the ceiling’ and a ‘ghostly voice straining low’. It sounds catchy and yet at the same time unknowable. There’s a great opening with the acoustic guitar interplay and what sounds like a mandolin hovering in the middle distance. Brilliantly done, Phil.

The choir section is a major success. I remember a time when you were anxious about the quality of your singing. Those days are long gone judging by the high quality of the vocals here. There are many other memorable moments.

This is a lovely ethereal work, superbly crafted.

Mike G Cold War Baby
It starts with a great kick, and stays economically powerful throughout, like a U2 anthem. Excellent harmonies, too, the voices very nicely balanced. I like the Brian May-like sustained trebly guitar that comes in at about 1:20, and the rougher sound after the song breaks down. That's a really good line "I was a Cold war baby to a teenage mum", perfect for such a bleak story. Very classy production all round.

Christian D When Trudie Lost her Hair
The strongest story of the month, with a real contrast between the beginning and the end. Really clever the way you've mixed such a melodic tune with hard-hitting lyrics - "aftermath- bath", "wondered if her lashes were gone for good", "they lowered her eyes when she went by" - brutally honest stuff. Great chords, as usual, and the guitar solo really soars over them. Daring, too, to change the chorus from "lost her hair", to "got new hair" - the second one comes as a real surprise, and emphasises the fact that this is a beginning, middle, end story. Unexpectedly feelgood by the end, a hard trick to pull off.

Tim & Glyn Girl on a Train
Great wistful song that starts moodily and builds very nicely from the verse to the chorus - I especially like the bluesy note on "train", and the way the feel changes from one verse to the next. The solo voice carries the story strongly throughout, and that guitar in the background is especially effective, both the strumming and those individual notes that punctuate the melody. Excellent song.
Btw very brave to nick the title of a blockbuster. I look forward to your 50 Shades of Harry Potter.

Phil S Lost the Plot
Back to your style before you went electro, sort of proggy folk, and the "so begins this story" line suits this medium perfectly. I'm not sure what the story was, but it doesn't matter, because the melody is really effective, the harmonies are spot-on, and the massed guitars work very well - it's a mood rather than a story but who cares. Musically it has a beginning a middle and an end, and depth too. In the old days your album would have had a folky A-side and an electro B-side.

Tim & Julie We Live on the Dog
I didn't know fleas could be so bluesy. Great guitar sound, as usual, with those jazzy chords and blues riffs filling all the spaces while the rhythm section pounds meatily underneath. An amusing feel to the story that ends neatly with them discovering they're killing their host, especially with the head flea having that booming, over-confident, god-like voice. Excellent hook - "we live on the dog", very memorable. 

Congratulations Tim & Glyn and the artist formerly known as Eddie Custard. Can't argue with the voting there!

Well done Tim/Glyn and Christian - I enjoyed both your songs.

Thanks for the kind comments. Well done to T&G for a fine song. I agree with Stephen about the voting. As a rule of thumb I think the number of votes should be about half the number of entries.

I failed on every count this month (and last!!) So sincere apologies.

Re Voting. I take the view that it should be a vote for every three songs (based on the fact that if you had two votes for three songs, that would be as bad or worse than being one of two who didn't get votes. Getting no votes (or not being popular) is part of the game of life, surely? And anyway, voting is in secret and you don't know the results until the closing date and I think we'd all like to think we're getting votes for our songs rather than because a song is so bad that we're being voted for out of sympathy.

So far, we have 5 songs for November and I think I'll stick to a vote for every 3 songs (or part thereof. In other words, 2 votes this month.)