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Mick Curtis (Mick)
Username: Mick

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.181.152.177
Posted on Sunday, January 24, 2010 - 01:57 am:   

Well, this morning, along with a very unexpected gift (cheers, mate - I owe you one!) I received the latest release from AAD Records (which should now be renamed DDD Records), GCW's "A Parallelogram of Suitcases".
I fully intend to give an almost track-by-track writeup but won't have much time over the next few days, so a couple of comments to be going on with as I've just this minute finished listening to it for the first time:-
In the main, loved it - you're definitely maturing as a songwriter - there're some amazing lyrics on here, and some that are not only good but that had me nodding in agreement; a couple made me restart the song just to hear them again!
I'd heard a fair few of the songs in various states of undress (the songs, that is, not me!) over the last couple of years whilst visiting Chez Soozy-&-GCW, the earliest I can recall being "Sent by Angels", a deceptively simple song, but very affecting.
Highlights on first listen are (but not limited to) the aforementioned "Sent by Angels", "You're No More Jesus Than I" & "Two Faces".
It's definitely an ambitious work, given the flow of the album, from sunrise to sunset, but one of which you can be proud.

"You're a taller man than me my friend,
but that don't mean you stand higher.
You're no more Jesus than I,
You ain't no Messiah".

Nicely put (and surprisingly politely, given the circumstances).
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.156.38.66
Posted on Sunday, January 24, 2010 - 05:07 pm:   

Thanks Mick!

Hopefully other people are receiving their albums too about now...Looking forward to hearing what people think.

(Hope you like the Jackdaw4 CD too...And I owe you a lot more ...Beatles Mono Sets??...)

gcw
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.0.114.254
Posted on Sunday, January 24, 2010 - 06:14 pm:   

Mine arrived yesterday, G. I'll play it in the car tomorrow as I drive to work.
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.0.114.254
Posted on Sunday, January 24, 2010 - 06:17 pm:   

1st impressions are good. The production values of the physical artefact look the business.
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.156.38.66
Posted on Sunday, January 24, 2010 - 08:01 pm:   

Cheers! - look forward to hearing what you think.

gcw
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 129.11.76.229
Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - 02:45 pm:   

2nd impressions: I've listened to this twice now. Need a few more goes at it. But Full Moon and Moments are instant classics, expecially the latter with its lovely harmonies. More to follow.
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.156.38.66
Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - 08:36 pm:   

Cheers Mr.F!

'Moments' has done very well for me so far, It's just one of those songs that you KNOW is a good 'un when you write it.

I have a bit of good news about this song I will announce shortly.

gcw
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Mick Curtis (Mick)
Username: Mick

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.181.152.177
Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - 11:17 pm:   

Ooooooooh!
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 80.47.10.77
Posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - 05:03 am:   

Received it GCW! Thank you.
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Steveduffy (Steveduffy)
Username: Steveduffy

Registered: 05-2009
Posted From: 86.156.102.61
Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 - 10:48 am:   

Ooh! Blimey! So have I! (Literally, just this second, from the postie.)

Many thanks, G! I'll report back in due course!
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 217.171.129.71
Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 01:05 pm:   

I'm enjoying. Will report further soon. Just on the endless 50mph average speed check on the M6.... Good to hear something to take my mind off it.
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.156.38.66
Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 05:38 pm:   

Looking forward to hearing your reviews guys (& gals!).

Don't forget...Ol'gcw should be on the 'wireless' tomorra!:-)

gcw
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 217.171.129.74
Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 06:52 pm:   

And unless I'm mistaken, you can be heard in Stafford Services (northbound), as they had Amazing Radio piped through to the loos today! You're flush with success, GCW!
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.156.38.66
Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 07:49 pm:   

I can be heard in the shithouse???

(I've made it...For the first time in my life...I'm ahead...I'm...A star!)

gcw
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Steveduffy (Steveduffy)
Username: Steveduffy

Registered: 05-2009
Posted From: 86.172.5.176
Posted on Sunday, January 31, 2010 - 12:34 am:   

Insert "career going down the pan" joke here.
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.0.114.254
Posted on Sunday, January 31, 2010 - 03:54 pm:   

My review:

Presentation: top marks, mate. A massive improvement on the previous ones - nigh on pro. Simple effective image and font. Lyrics might have been a nice addition inside and it wasn't necessary to write "written and performed by GCW" under every track, since that's true of the lot (just put "All track written and performed by GCW" at the top).

Sunrise: effective opener, like waking up on a summer's morning. But you know, that repeated discordant note adds an element of threat to "who knows what the day will bring". The break into acoustics made me realise how clear and pro this album would sound. Solid start.

You're No More Jesus Than I: catchy riff, nice melody, and lyrics which are supported by the general tone of the song - a mature rebuke rather than any silly rant. Maybe lacking a middle eight? Maybe not. I'm no expert.

Full Moon: a favourite. A brilliant stomping number with a superb vocal and nice harmonies. Love the violin and other instruments. Reminded me of something Olde English. Really liked the way Carole Lea takes over midway through.

Fly Away Bird: this grew slowly on me, which makes me think it's one of the more rewarding songs here. And yes, I'm beginning to think that's true. The first line of the chorus with its dig-down chord really works in the context of its reprise later. The whole thing tightens up. A song which needs playing in its entirety to have maximum impact.

Sent By Angels: love the opening couplet lyric of this one. This song has a similar structure, I think, to the previous one: its first chorus feels incomplete, begging the rest of the song to add more. And it does. A quiet and nostalgic/reflexive moment in the album, eminently well-placed. (However, given the perceived similarity it has to the previous song, maybe the previous one should be elsewhere? Just a thought.)

A Parallelogram of Suitcases: suitably blurred opening with (is it?) a banjo clacking in the background. Love the combination of percussion and hand-claps. The whole is decidedly sinister, matching its enigmatic title, and when it opens out into the "carry that weight" chorus, the snare drum - the song's heartbeat - sets it all a-stomping. Love it. An original song, above all else (I think; I'm no rock fan. :-))

Happiness: lovely fade-in and a neat catchy number which mimics the song's message with a lightness of touch.

Moments: the album's centrepiece and well up to the task. A great song. From its anthemic opening to its gorgeous harmonies in the chorus. Sterling stuff. Your best vocal here to date, I think. I also reckon you could have extended this one a bit - longer out-tro (not Hey Jude length, but still . . . ).

Two Faces: intriguing lyrics, though for me the least interesting song on the album. I would have liked to hear a little more of a musical attempt to reflect the words' dualistic theme: maybe a section in counterpoint?

Still Water: love the effect you've created to capture the title - like a rippling image in water. A relaxed and yet rich performance which also reflects the titular theme. Nice (creepy) song.

Gentle Spirit: great and ever-true lyric. Some lovely instrumental work in this one, all delicate and foot-tappingly pleasing. The near-religious chorus is a paean to the album's atmosphere: peace of mind and un-angry reflection. Love the solitary whistle which ends the song.

Sleep Tight: And then everyone comes together to bid farewell to the listener. A good way to end it all. We awoke at the start of the album, and now we're lulled to sleep with this reassuring lullaby of sorts. Cool.

King of the Hill: maybe this is a dream. The aspirational subconscious at work once reason is switched off. The human desire to keep going, no matter what life throws our way. Hope is hinted at, too - perhaps the only way we don't always wake up fretting. A suitable conclusion. The day's encore with chilled fade-out. Lovely.

There you are: make of that what you will.

High marks from me, indeed.
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.156.38.66
Posted on Sunday, January 31, 2010 - 07:36 pm:   

Wow! - Thanks so much Gary, I am really pleased that people are enjoying this album so much, It's my reward I guess, certainly feels that way!

I'd have loved to done a lyric book, and did consider this, but there were good reasons not to this time (Cost, plus I would have to press more albums than I could realistically sell).

The 'written & performed by gcw' was my way of differentiating between the solo numbers, and those that the guests played on, but I take your point.

Cheers! - C'mon y'others what do you think?

gcw
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Mark West (Mark_west)
Username: Mark_west

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.131.18.197
Posted on Monday, February 01, 2010 - 12:15 am:   

I haven't seen it yet, really looking forward to it after the ep and the Christmas single.
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.156.38.66
Posted on Monday, February 01, 2010 - 06:53 pm:   

Thats strange Mark, I posted yours (I thought) same time as everyone elses.

I will get you another away tomorrow, if the original shows up, you can give it to mate!

gcw
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Mark West (Mark_west)
Username: Mark_west

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 213.122.55.213
Posted on Tuesday, February 02, 2010 - 12:45 am:   

Cheers, Gary, I just assumed you were sending them out in waves. Being at the end of the address book, I'm sort of used to getting my copy of whatever after everyone else!
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 62.254.173.35
Posted on Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 10:53 am:   

GCW -- sorry not to have put any thoughts up about the album yet. Had computer problems lately. (I'm using a public access one at the mo.) Will do my best to get some words up for you soon. I'm really enjoying it. Your best yet.
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.170.204.84
Posted on Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 03:43 pm:   

Thanks Lynchy - I had wondered what had happened to you:-)

Computer problems -tell me about it....Same here...They are great til they don't work properly!

gcw
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 08:05 pm:   

Well, I’ve been listening to this for a couple of weeks now, and here’re some of my thoughts (with apologies for delays and perhaps a bit more brevity than I’d’ve liked cos of connection/computer issues).

Overall, a great package. Looks like a CD album. Plays like a CD album. Sounds like a CD album. I share Gary Fry’s thoughts on the internal cover layout, in relation to the notes on the instruments played and by whom. Would probably have been easier to write GCW: guitar, vocals, spoons, etc. Then guest musicians on tracks 3, 8, etc . . . But that’s a small quibble. Looks the part and plays the part, does the job very nicely.

So, the important stuff. The songs.

“Sunrise” lifts us up out of a gritty-eyed start to the day, produces that feeling of the first light and the busy hopefulness of a new day to come, that potential beauty before all the stuff kicks in and then the fussy details that slide behind your eyes and can make the day so much more to contend with than you’d planned. Nice start.

(I won’t go through the day as Gary has already done, but I noticed the thematic touch too and enjoyed it throughout the album.)

“You’re No More Jesus Than I.” Not hard to guess the inspiration behind this one. Simple guitar, familiar stuff from previous GCW albums, acoustic-based song telling it outright and straight. Nice to hear those lyrical echoes from earlier albums and it’s good to see it’s not a bitter song. Which means GCW wins.

“Full Moon” is one of my favourites and certainly my favourite of the fast ones. Feels like an old folk tune. I always turn this one up when it comes on. The playing and singing are just great. Sounds like there’s a whole folk band here ripping up a great old tune. The backing vocals and shared portion of the lead are perfectly blended for the song, showing GCW’s not hogging all the vocals, doing what the song needs. A sing-along foot-tapper and surely a future Amazing Tunes hit!

“Fly Away, Bird.” A sign a song works is that you’re singing it without realising it, much later, hours after you’ve listened to it and for a moment you can’t place where you heard it or what it’s doing there, in back of your skull. This one took a while to get me, but eventually wormed its way inside my head and has been there, on and off, ever since. I think it’s the one that’s most grown on me over the weeks. This work you’ve put into the new tracks is really showing, GCW.

“Sent By Angels”. This is the sort of thing I love you doing. Quite exquisite. A restrained but plaintive vocal, a lightly played guitar, a real sense of love and loss, hope and despair in there. One of my favourites again.

“A Parallelogram of Suitcases”. There’s something I’ve noticed about this album. Listen to the tracks aloud, on a stereo with speakers, and it’s a quite different experience from listening on earphones. A few of the tracks have left me unsure when listened to on speakers, yet have really sounded close and wonderful on headphones. I think this is a newer phenomenon, the result of the I-pod mp3 player age. I listened to the new Peter Gabriel album for free online at the Guardian down on the library computer and the experience of listening on headphones made it an arresting experience. Anyway, back to my point: I think mixes of more and more tunes are being made for headphone listening and the sounds coming through the speakers can be lost and tangled in a lot of new stuff. I think this tune may be such a case. There’s always been something I’ve not been sure about with it – the bongs, the tambourine, the vocal level, dunno, just something. On headphones I find it an easier listen, but out loud on speakers, a lot blurs and gets lost. Frustrating, because I think this is a good song and maybe better than that... (Don’t cry, mate.)


“Happiness.” This is just a classic. It’s “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” simple and just as heart lifting. Doesnae outstay its welcome, doesnae try to be too long. Doesnae do anything much but put a smile on your face. Just does what it says on the box. Love it. Could see it as the perfect song for the end titles of a comedy show on Channel 4, picking up a cult following, like the theme tune to Father Ted. Has that sort of vibe. One of my all time fave GCW songs.

“Moments.” The number one hit on Amazing Tunes! Deservedly so. I prefer this version to the stripped down piano version. It’s not my favourite track on the album, but it’s another that wheedles its way – its rather nice way – into the head when you’re not thinking about it. Nice vocal too. One complaint: think it may have needed a proper bass guitar on it the further into the song you go, after the first few notes of the intro, or maybe later, when the singing happen, if I’m being fussy. Feels like you’ve used the bass notes on your guitar instead of a proper bass.

”Two Faces”. This was initially my least favourite. Sounded okay on earphones, but on speakers really didn’t work. I thought the vocal too quiet and the guitar too loud. A step back to the early albums where you tried to do too much with limited technology and the result wasn’t always a hundred per cent. But then, after repeated listening, it all came clearer to me, and it’s grown to be a really decent song in my mind, a real piece of songwriting.

“Still Water.” Now we’re into the mellow late-in-the-day section, which I just love. Has the qualities of that odd moment when you’re not quite awake, not quite asleep, and at times feels to jerk you out of sleep before lulling you off again. I think it’s quite brilliant, the instrumentation subtle and gentle while not being soporific, as could have been the danger.

“Gentle Spirit”. Love this one again. Pure GCW, with the lightness of touch again, dreamy and relaxing, in its own way a spiritual song as the title suggests. Uplifting. Has a fairytale deftness to it, lovely percussion and background instruments.

Ba bah, bop bop de doo dah . . . “Sleep Tight” ends us, and again, it’s one that sounds better on headphones. Criticism: the vocal gets lost on too loud guitar, though I appreciate why you’d want that “ascension” feel to the instrumentation. But those production issues aside, it’s a really great conclusion and the perfect counterpoint to the first track as “King of My Hill comes in”.

So . . .

All in all, a really strong folk-rock album. I think you’ve found the right balance here between the urge to rock out and turn your lovely thoughtful pieces out. Well worth the wait. There’s some real artistry on display here and a growing confidence in the vocals – no need to be shy of singing, GCW, there’s a real warmth to your voice, and there’s no need to keep it hidden or not turn the volume up in the mix. I think the songwriting is superb and overcomes any limitations placed on the songs by production/recording/getting the musicians in at the right time to do their bits issues. A real triumph, fella.

So when’s the next one due? Couple of months. . .?
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Mick Curtis (Mick)
Username: Mick

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.176.102.160
Posted on Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 10:12 pm:   

So when’s the next one due? Couple of months. . .?

You not got your copy of the next one yet, Mark?
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 217.171.129.70
Posted on Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 10:16 pm:   

My timing's lousey, right?
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.167.117.37
Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 11:30 pm:   

..It may be a while yet fellers...But ol'gcw is hard at work on his next project:-)

Thanks hugely Lynchy for your lovely review, I have said it many times, but it is always true -success to me is people having a listen of my stuff, and hopefully enjoying it- makes me realise it is worth doing.

Frankly..'Suitcases has been my most successful album yet...People seem to be really enjoying this one, and the response to 'Moments' & 'Full Moon' at Amazing tunes has been incredible...I just couldn't believe two No.1's on the trot - what a blast!:-)

Perhaps now it is clearer why this album took me 2 years to make..I wanted it to be GREAT :-)

Interesting on your comment concerning 'Sleep Tight' Lynchy...Yes, I agree the vocal is one of the weaker ones, I would have liked to have been able to redo it, but it was impossible for technical reasons.

In fact 'Sleep Tight' was one of the hardest songs to record, and took me around 6 months to complete to my (near) satisfaction, whereas, 'Happiness' was recorded in about one evening - crazy isn't it?

I do differ with you on 'Moments' mate - I consider it one of my best songs & productions, as close to 'damn right' as I have got yet...Oh, and it is a bass guitar throughout on the song, just part of the mix...'Fly Away, Bird' uses acoustic guitar bass strings though...It can sound really nice in place of a bass.

Anyways.....

Just as James Bond 'will return in'...So will gcw, with twelve or so songs I am working on for a new album which may(or may not) be called...

Bipolar Is The New Manic Depression.

gcw

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