| Author | Message | ||
     Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Hey, a nice and unexpected gifty today. His GCW-ness’s tidy, little EP, featuring his Christmas song and three other tracks, a couple of oldies and one that sounds familiar while being unfamiliar. Have you re-recorded “Best Friend” and “Sweet Dreams,” Gazza? I remember them from your HOMEWORK album. Where’s “My Way home” from? It’s not new, is it? I’m sure I remember it. Can’t place where though. Anyway, here’s what we got: Really great, uncluttered sleeve, with a faintly speckled midnight blue background, warm yellow glowing stars and a laid back smile of a moon, sans serif lettering that is completely unobtrusive. Enough to make you feel gladdened just looking at it. And the main new tune itself: “Christmas” Starts in characteristic GCW style, with an introductory sprinkling of climbing, building notes, before the lyrics come to the fore. And they’re really neat lyrics, avoiding the sickly and clichéd. It’s just great, really. Nicely jangly acoustic guitar, plaintive vocal floating above the picking and playing, good hooky chorus over tambourines (which to my untutored ear sound in time, GCW, you’ll be wryly amused to hear!), and nice background vocals rising in fluted tones in the background. It’s nailed all the way through, to the nice pauses toward the end, where the song dips into a thoughtful hum in the air, to the reprised chorus. Just the business. A great Christmas present. Many thanks, fella. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.106 |
What's with this sans serif obsession, anyway?  | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.171.129.72 |
Less is more. (And too many printers are mixing seriffed fonts, to their detriment. I like a nice serif, but not when it's overused.) | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.100.219 |
Have to agree with MPL's thoughts over the gcw Christmas present - a great little EP and a very nice surprise! Cheers mate. Saw the man himself play with Tallis at the weekend - gcw wasn't so happy with the main man in the band who'd possibly had a little too much Christmas cheer, but we had a great time and it was lovely, as ever, to catch up with Gary & Soozy. Long may you both reign! | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
I really got so much out of 'My Way Home.' I was quite emotional by the end of it. Thank you - Gary. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.106 |
Um, okay... GCW - a big thanks from us, too. I've just listened to the disc, and as usual with your stuff, I enjoyed it. To be honest I'm not a big fan of Christmas songs (except the Pogues one), so the first tune isn't really my cup 'o Rosie Lee, but that last track's an absolute belter, me auld son.  | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.155.105.158 |
Thank you kind people! Glad you are digging this little Christmas freebie, I put it together during a couple of weeks of downtime while I awaited contributions to the album from my current collaborators...Sort of my equivalent of a 'Chapbook' I guess. A little info on the songs then.... 'Christmas' was originally recording for inclusion on the new album as 'Wake up (You're only dreaming)', I lost interest in that song, but liked the backing track so wrote new lyrics LAST christmas and bunged it up on my Myspace for a couple of weeks. It didn't really get noticed at the time so I forgot about it until this year, when I decided to dust it down with a remix, and overdubbed the bass guitar - hey presto! You are correct Lynchy - both 'Sweet Dreams' & 'Best Friend' are originally from 'Homework' my very first solo effort all dem years ago. I always thought these were two of my best early songs, But didn't think they had been done justice back then, so here they are in brand newly recorded versions. 'My Way Home' - Thanks Ally, I am so glad this song struck a chord with you, it has a bit of a strange history really, I wrote it about 4 years ago for 'The Changes' album and recorded it at the time...It was supposed to the 'big' last track on the album. I Somehow became convinced at the time the song was too long and overwraught...So I binned it! I literally found it on my hard drive a few weeks ago, thought, 'hey that ain't so bad' and decided to re-record it for this little EP. It's actually been quite stress free & fun making this recording, I am glad you are enjoying it! gcw PS...New album finished - Out in January....! | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.155.105.158 |
"I'm not a big fan of Christmas songs" No problem Zed Dude, It was just written & recorded as a bit of fun really, glad you dig 'My Way Home' & hopefully the others. The font thing is just me trying to be consistant in my recent releases...Along with the 'gcw' rebranding. gcw | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.106 |
Oh, yes, the others are great, laddo. I remember the other two goodies from HOMEWORK. "My Hone Home" is the best, though; GCW doing what he does best, IMHO: a dignified yet emotional ballad. I just put that track on again. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.155.105.158 |
And I dumped that song as not up to snuff...Shows what I know eh? gcw | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.155.105.158 |
"Where’s “My Way home” from? It’s not new, is it? I’m sure I remember it. Can’t place where though." Good question Mr Lynch! The song has never been aired 'til now.. But you are right, it DOES sound familiar doesn't it? What can happen with songs that don't get used is that the chord patterns or fragments of the lyrics may get re-worked into other songs, either consciously or subconsciously (waste not, want not!). I couldn't swear to it, but it's possible the chord changes from this may be similar to 'Pissing In the Wind' from 'The Changes'...But even I'm not sure! gcw | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.171.129.73 |
Ha. That's funny, cos when I listened to it I thought 'I'm sure that one's on CHANGES' but couldn't find it when I looked earlier, thus convincing myself I was going crazy. Very good song though. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.155.105.158 |
Certainly it's in that style Lynchy, as it was written around that period. It would have ended the album if I hadn't fallen out of love with it at the time. gcw | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.171.129.74 |
Hmm. CHANGES ended perfectly. I wasn't sure at first, thought you'd gone a track too far. But I think it's just right. You'll have to put out a 'Simply Songs' CD, a kind of cornucopia of tunes without any overall album theme, so stuff like 'Old Unenethusiastic Lad' get an airing in a fair theatre. And yeah, I THOUGHT you must've re-recorded the other songs. Sounded...fuller, somehow. Better tape recorder? | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.155.105.158 |
'Better tape recorder!' Er..Yep! 'Homework' was recorded on a Tascam Portastudio - literally on to cassette, and as such I can't really listen to it now, it just sounds so primitive, But I do still like some of the songs hence the re-recordings. I enjoyed revisiting them, I may well do it again on other songs.... Wait 'til you hear the new album -it's a Sonic Cathedral of Saaaaaarnd! gcw | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.126.207 |
Have to say that "My Way Home" is near the top of my GCW top ten. Excellent work mate. Oh, and shouldn't gcw stuff now be released on the DDD label rather than AAD? | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.155.105.158 |
They love my rejects! It should have been 'DDD'for quite a while Mick...Perhaps it's time to get off AAD & sign to a new label. Mind you, if sales are poor I may get dropped.... gcw |