@phillip-hartley
New Album Review
I just saw this review on the www.wordsandthins.co.uk webpage:<br /><br /><br />Special Guest Artist Review<br /><br /> Talented Sheffield local singer and musician Phillip Hartley (pictured below) performed songs featured on his superb new CD album “Words And Music” <br /><br />The first time I met Phil was one drunken summer evening in the Fat Cat. Well, I say drunken - I was the drunkard, no one else! Anyway, we had ventured down for their regular folk night and, after harassing Phil for a go on his guitar, and him being gracious enough to allow me a strum or two, we sat back and enjoyed the event. Fast-forwarding on a few months, here we are with a new album.<br /><br /> Following two appearances at the Open Mic Roadshow where he performed numbers from this disc, I’ve managed to get my hands on a copy. I’ll start by saying that I know very little about folk music. Obviously I’ve heard the popular tunes, just as many others, but I’ve never actually sat down and listened to an entire album by an artist. So this was going to be an unknown path that I was about to trek along… The first thing that strikes me about “Words And Music” is it’s simplicity. Being a fan of most things “METAAAAAAL” (excuse me), I’m not really used to a minimalist sound. However, it is utterly refreshing to my ears. <br /><br />The second thing I noticed were the song titles which, just at a glance, pointed towards melancholy, deep emotion and a longing for answers to some of life’s questions; subjects that I feel quite comfortable with. I knew I was going to like this. The likes of “A Long Way”, “Forever On My Mind” and “I Call Her Name” offer a glimpse in to the heart of a man who has suffered heartbreak and come through the other side. With “My Town” we have the thoughts of a proud Sheffielder who remembers when the city was the heart of the world’s steel industry. In contrast, with “I Want To Live By The Sea”, Phil paints a picture of how weary one can become when living in a metropolis and the lure of the beauty of the coast.<br /><br /> A sharp-eyed social and political commentary comes in the form of “Four Wise Monkeys” and “Just Another Song”. I found myself nodding in agreement with each line in these two and felt myself wishing I could capture the moment in such clarity. So many excellent songs, unfortunately not enough space to mention them all! And that’s without telling you that Phil plays all of the instruments on the album, as well as producing it himself. Where did he find the time?!?!?!?<br /><br /> All in all, whilst he hasn’t managed to completely sway me towards listening to nothing but folk music, he’s certainly gone a long way to making me delve a bit deeper in to the genre. I urge you to check out “Words And Music”, an album from an extremely talented local musician who deserves to go somewhere in music. <br /><br />Cheers Phil; you’re always welcome in our house! Leviathan Stormrider III
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