| Graham Parker & The Rumour — Mystery Glue |
Graham Parker & The Rumour — Mystery Glue 
••–•• “This guy combines the best of Van Morrison, Eric Burdon and John Lennon ... he's the only guy around right now I’d pay money to see.” — Bruce Springsteen
••–•• East London songwriter who emerged from the pub rock scene of the mid–‘70s to garner critical acclaim for his righteous passion and vicious sarcasm.
Born: November 15, 1950 in East London, England
Location: London, UK
Album release: May 19, 2015
Record Label: UMC / Universal Music Enterprises
Duration:
Tracks:
01. Transit Of Venus 3:42
02. Going There 3:39
03. Wall Of Grace 3:54
04. Swing State 3:17
05. Slow News Day 3:45
06. Railroad Spikes 4:07
07. Flying Into London 4:10
08. Pub Crawl 5:10
09. I’ve Done Bad Things 3:22
10. Fast Crowd 5:00
11. Long Shot 4:37
12. My Life In Movieland 3:04
REVIEW
LOS ANGELES, April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Graham Parker and the Rumour, one of the UK's pioneering pre–punk bands, returns with a new album, Mystery Glue, to be released May 19 on CD and digitally by Universal Music Enterprises. The album's U.S. vinyl release will follow on July 14.
••–•• Written in Parker's second home of New York and recorded in just six days in the legendary RAK Studios in London, Mystery Glue is a real return to form for this seminal British songwriter and powerhouse band, which features its original lineup of Parker, Bob Andrews, Brinsley Schwarz, Martin Belmont, Andrew Bodnar and Stephen Goulding.
••–•• Often cited as a major musical influence for other artists, including Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Paul Weller and Bruce Springsteen, Parker's songwriting prowess and live intensity led Springsteen to declare, "It was ‘76, that was when Howlin' Wind came out and, you know I was just getting' my own ball rolling and suddenly I felt all of this heat. I felt all of the heat on my back when I put that record on because it was so good and it was one of those records that you're gonna say ‘every single cut is spectacular.’ And his voice was so… it was one of those ‘cuts through the bullshit’ voices.”
••–•• Mystery Glue is an album of conscious rock, harking back to Graham Parker and the Rumour's genre–defining music of the '70s whilst paying homage to Dylan, reggae, soul and rock ‘n’ roll. Of the album title, Parker says, "When Swiss astrophysicist Fritz Zwicky described Dark Matter in the 1930’s, he got the name wrong. It is of course ‘Mystery Glue’ that holds the Universe together. As always, when I present new songs to the Rumour they work feverishly to make sense of them, often starting out with wildly disparate and alarmingly wrong diversions. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, everything falls into place, as if by dint of some Mystery Glue that holds us all together."
••–•• The Graham Parker Duo (with fellow Rumour member and guitar legend Brinsley Schwarz) will embark on a U.K. tour this month. Graham Parker and the Rumour have confirmed several U.S. tour dates for June (additional dates to be announced). ••–•• http://www.prnewswire.com/
Website: http://player.socialpromote.co.uk/
Review by Mark Deming; Score: ****
••–•• If Graham Parker had been given a dollar every time someone called him an "angry young man" in the '70s, he and his band could probably have driven a fleet of Porsches from gig to gig, but with the passage of time, Parker hasn't mellowed so much as he's evolved into a different sort of cranky guy, with the same wit and verbal acuity but a good bit more charm. If Parker used to be a more R&B–influenced Elvis Costello, a man with enough rage that he could tell God where to get off, in 2015 he's the Larry David of rock, a shade bitter but likable and funny to boot, and his backing band the Rumour has aged just as well, hitting less hard than they once did but gaining a swing and a groove that reminds us these guys were the All Stars of the pub rock scene once upon a time, where unpretentious and easygoing music ruled the day. ••–•• Cut in an efficient six days, Mystery Glue is Parker's second album since reuniting with the Rumour in 2011, and though this doesn't rock with the impact of their '70s masterpieces like Heat Treatment or Squeezing Out Sparks, it sounds absolutely right for its time and place, with Parker easing his way through a set of songs that confirm he hasn't lost his touch as a lyricist and the Rumour giving him just the sound and the space that he needs. While Parker is more than capable of going dark and dramatic on the ominous "Fast Crowd" and the rueful "Flying into London," for the most part he sings with a sharp but inviting humor about his past versus his present ("Pub Crawl"), the state of the world ("Slow News Day"), the youthful misdeeds of himself and others ("I’ve Done Bad Things"), and his recent adventures in show business ("My Life in Movieland"). And if the Rumour seem more willing to stay out of Parker's way in the 21st century, their support is emphatic and adds just the right touch, especially Bob Andrews on keyboards, Steve Goulding on drums, and the guitars of Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont. Mystery Glue isn't an album about aging gracefully so much as aging right, and this is just about perfect for a 64–year–old Graham Parker, a proud survivor who lives to gripe another day, putting him far ahead of plenty of his peers. http://www.allmusic.com/
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| Graham Parker & The Rumour — Mystery Glue |
••–•• East London songwriter who emerged from the pub rock scene of the mid–‘70s to garner critical acclaim for his righteous passion and vicious sarcasm.
Born: November 15, 1950 in East London, England
Location: London, UK
Album release: May 19, 2015
Record Label: UMC / Universal Music Enterprises
Duration:
Tracks:
01. Transit Of Venus 3:42
02. Going There 3:39
03. Wall Of Grace 3:54
04. Swing State 3:17
05. Slow News Day 3:45
06. Railroad Spikes 4:07
07. Flying Into London 4:10
08. Pub Crawl 5:10
09. I’ve Done Bad Things 3:22
10. Fast Crowd 5:00
11. Long Shot 4:37
12. My Life In Movieland 3:04
REVIEW
LOS ANGELES, April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Graham Parker and the Rumour, one of the UK's pioneering pre–punk bands, returns with a new album, Mystery Glue, to be released May 19 on CD and digitally by Universal Music Enterprises. The album's U.S. vinyl release will follow on July 14.
••–•• Written in Parker's second home of New York and recorded in just six days in the legendary RAK Studios in London, Mystery Glue is a real return to form for this seminal British songwriter and powerhouse band, which features its original lineup of Parker, Bob Andrews, Brinsley Schwarz, Martin Belmont, Andrew Bodnar and Stephen Goulding.
••–•• Often cited as a major musical influence for other artists, including Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Paul Weller and Bruce Springsteen, Parker's songwriting prowess and live intensity led Springsteen to declare, "It was ‘76, that was when Howlin' Wind came out and, you know I was just getting' my own ball rolling and suddenly I felt all of this heat. I felt all of the heat on my back when I put that record on because it was so good and it was one of those records that you're gonna say ‘every single cut is spectacular.’ And his voice was so… it was one of those ‘cuts through the bullshit’ voices.”
••–•• Mystery Glue is an album of conscious rock, harking back to Graham Parker and the Rumour's genre–defining music of the '70s whilst paying homage to Dylan, reggae, soul and rock ‘n’ roll. Of the album title, Parker says, "When Swiss astrophysicist Fritz Zwicky described Dark Matter in the 1930’s, he got the name wrong. It is of course ‘Mystery Glue’ that holds the Universe together. As always, when I present new songs to the Rumour they work feverishly to make sense of them, often starting out with wildly disparate and alarmingly wrong diversions. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, everything falls into place, as if by dint of some Mystery Glue that holds us all together."
••–•• The Graham Parker Duo (with fellow Rumour member and guitar legend Brinsley Schwarz) will embark on a U.K. tour this month. Graham Parker and the Rumour have confirmed several U.S. tour dates for June (additional dates to be announced). ••–•• http://www.prnewswire.com/
Website: http://player.socialpromote.co.uk/
Review by Mark Deming; Score: ****
••–•• If Graham Parker had been given a dollar every time someone called him an "angry young man" in the '70s, he and his band could probably have driven a fleet of Porsches from gig to gig, but with the passage of time, Parker hasn't mellowed so much as he's evolved into a different sort of cranky guy, with the same wit and verbal acuity but a good bit more charm. If Parker used to be a more R&B–influenced Elvis Costello, a man with enough rage that he could tell God where to get off, in 2015 he's the Larry David of rock, a shade bitter but likable and funny to boot, and his backing band the Rumour has aged just as well, hitting less hard than they once did but gaining a swing and a groove that reminds us these guys were the All Stars of the pub rock scene once upon a time, where unpretentious and easygoing music ruled the day. ••–•• Cut in an efficient six days, Mystery Glue is Parker's second album since reuniting with the Rumour in 2011, and though this doesn't rock with the impact of their '70s masterpieces like Heat Treatment or Squeezing Out Sparks, it sounds absolutely right for its time and place, with Parker easing his way through a set of songs that confirm he hasn't lost his touch as a lyricist and the Rumour giving him just the sound and the space that he needs. While Parker is more than capable of going dark and dramatic on the ominous "Fast Crowd" and the rueful "Flying into London," for the most part he sings with a sharp but inviting humor about his past versus his present ("Pub Crawl"), the state of the world ("Slow News Day"), the youthful misdeeds of himself and others ("I’ve Done Bad Things"), and his recent adventures in show business ("My Life in Movieland"). And if the Rumour seem more willing to stay out of Parker's way in the 21st century, their support is emphatic and adds just the right touch, especially Bob Andrews on keyboards, Steve Goulding on drums, and the guitars of Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont. Mystery Glue isn't an album about aging gracefully so much as aging right, and this is just about perfect for a 64–year–old Graham Parker, a proud survivor who lives to gripe another day, putting him far ahead of plenty of his peers. http://www.allmusic.com/
••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••–••••–••–••