Steven Brown released his new album, and I got a little sneak preview. I\u2019m glad he did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This has soundtracked a rainy miserable March morning for me, and it\u2019s soothing to the soul. Why? I\u2019m glad you asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m going in. Cover me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sailboat <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The album opener starts off as a stomper, it gets up with some sweet harmonies, the rhythm section lays down a groove that switches from a shuffle reminiscent of Rosanna by Toto but falls short of the Purdie Shuffle, as it gets going into a driving led by the drums\u2026 Oh and shout out to the strings! This is such a sweet track and- whoah. Dead stop. Did someone tell Steven about my sweet spot for dead stops? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here Be Monsters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is by far my favourite track on the album, the harmonies make it sound dark, and there\u2019s a violin solo that opens up the track, Steven\u2019s vocals come in accompanied by guitar, which tells me that this has the possibility of being stripped back entirely and being performed as an acoustic number. While \u201cSailboat\u201d is such a joyful song in both lyrics and melody this is dark. Watch out for the scat vocals – nice job on this one\u2026. Everyone shines on this track, it\u2019s radio friendly, ready to be rocked out live. A beauty of a track that ends with lots of reverb with the vocals floating into the ether\u2026 NICE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Working On A Dream <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Third track in and Steven\u2019s made use of his brilliant band, the bass player\u2019s got a nice passage to play melodically running through, playing high end notes that counter along with the main vocals. This is my second favourite, I have a love for acoustic led number, such a lovely melody in the verse that gets in your head easily it\u2019s just one of those ones you want to jump to at a concert. It kind of reminds me of a group called Delirious? They were a Christian rock band from the 90s that found success in the mainstream, and were well known for their rousing choruses\u2026 Made me feel nostalgic. Great song!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m An Army<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ahhh the shouted \u201c1234!\u201d It starts off lyrically as a song that makes you think Steven\u2019s writing about war, but\u2026 no he\u2019s singing surprisingly (No pun intended) about fighting for someone\u2026 There\u2019s lots of lyrical images about war, and the chants of \u201cPut your guard down\u201d and \u201cKeep your head down\u201d again work as a great way to get the crowd going as you can imagine the crowd singing that almost as a football chant. Love it. There\u2019s a piano solo which brings it to its natuaral conclusion as Steven sings the chorus passionately twice. Nice piano noodling by the way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love Is A Lesson <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Piano led ballad, with some really nice harmonies on this. Ooohhh tempo change! That snuck up on me\u2026 and it\u2019s got an acoustic guitar solo, albeit a short one, but still a little noodle on the acoustic\u2026 Steven loves his choruses that are uplifting both melodically and lyrically, and this is used to his benefit. Great tune. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Crossing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This one\u2019s stripped back, and moody. Acoustic guitar led accompaniment in 6\/8 time – I love this time signature. And the harmonies, piano, and harmonies make it such a lovely combo, sometimes, you just don\u2019t need anything else to make an impact – that said, when that big chorus hits towards the end, that really gives it gravitas – \u201cCan you hear our prayer? Is there someone there?\u201d Wow. Round of applause for the band, especially the drummer by the way, nice use of ghost notes on the snare and ride cymbal, and great acoustic guitar solo to play it out\u2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Joy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh dear God, Steve where did you get those high notes from??? <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is gorgeous. You can just imagine just Steven sat with an acoustic guitar on an empty stage with a single spotlight and as the instruments come in the spotlight falls on them too\u2026 The strings really give it some weight, I can imagine a full orchestra backing on this, this takes me back to thinking that it could easily have been recorded at Abbey Road\u2026. I need to listen to this again. Hold on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Darkest Night <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the things I like about this album is that it\u2019s got dark and light elements expressed through the lyrics and melodies, there\u2019s no reason to go with a consistently happy vibe, and this is evident in Steve\u2019s work. Coming from the happy vibe of \u201cJoy\u201d it goes to a minor chord here, and shows Steve\u2019s versatility. I love the use of the harp on this song, playing hypnotically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Come Out Shooting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I know that Steve is an afro drummer which is probably why there are two tracks that use 6\/8 time and of course\u2026 there\u2019s got to be one with percussion in there. Claves on the 4th beat, nice touch then joined later with other little bits\u2026 is that\u2026 a cowbell??The strings are used beautifully on this, and nice piano solo again to play it out. I get the feeling that the writing sessions for these songs were a joy, because just listening to the songs just gives me a nice warm feeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fag Butts And Dreams<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This conjurs up a lot of different images, back to the 6\/8 time signature, and the harp is playing a kind of Celtic theme which floats over the sound of wind blowing\u2026 the harmonies and vocals really are something on this\u2026 You could imagine this as a show opener as an instrumental and the drums coming in turning into a power rock number a la \u201cNothing Else Matters\u201d\u2026. Yum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New Years Blessings <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where I met Steve. Around the time of the release of this song so I\u2019m glad that he included it, what we have here is a wish for good new year\u2019s tidings, the guitars and harp stutter through an effect processor, every so often in this song and has that 6\/8 feel again\u2026 And I believe if memory serves me it\u2019s his daughter singing the outro. Still such a gorgeous song and apt for what 2020 gave us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gold Beneath Your Feet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the album closer, this is a piano ballad, with an upright bass, this\u2026 this is beautiful. \u201cThere is gold in every footstep\u2026\u201d and that falsetto is back\u2026 I really can\u2019t say too much on this one, except that it\u2019s beautifully written and Steven deserves airplay for the entire album just based on this song alone\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n I’d love to give a shout out to the people who made this happen…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drums \u2013 Rick Kershaw<\/p>\n\n\n\n Piano \u2013 Euan Stevenson https:\/\/euanstevenson.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Harp \u2013 Rachael Gladwin http:\/\/rachaelgladwin.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n String Quartet by Surge Strings http:\/\/surgeorchestra.com\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aria Trigas Payne \u2013 Violin 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ruth Angell \u2013 Violin 2 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarah Farmer \u2013 Viola <\/p>\n\n\n\n Emma Capp \u2013 Cello <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mastered by Jim Spencer at EVE Mastering http:\/\/evestudios.co.uk\/mastering\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n