| Rick Redbeard — Awake Unto (June 17th, 2016) |
Rick Redbeard — Awake Unto (June 17th, 2016) 
≡• O jeho předešlém debutovém albu The Scotsman napsal: “The entire album exudes a seductive yearning. Anthony’s poignant vocals are the star attraction, but are complemented by Angus Ramsay’s mournful violin, sonorous piano, glistening xylophone and the delicate backing cooing of his sister Jo, all applied at various points with great sensitivity.” O tom současném píše No Depression v úvodu: “Awake Unto’s folk and balladry is quarried from similar stone to that of Michael Hurley, Leonard Cohen and Angelo Badalamenti.”
≡• Another exponent of Scotland’s terrific folk and rock scene!
© Author :David P Scott
Location: Browntown, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Origin: Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Born: February 11, 1979
Album release: June 17th, 2016
Record Label: Chemikal Underground Records
Duration: 36:21
Tracks:
01 Wild Young Country 3:39
02 In My Wake 3:15
03 The Golden Age 4:05
04 Unfound 2:27
05 The Night Is All Ours 3:59
06 Field Years 2:22
07 Get Friendly (Blood) 4:05
08 Yuki Onna 2:41
09 What Fine People 4:49
10 Let It Rust 4:59
Notes
≡• Awake Unto is the second mesmerising collection of songs by Rick Redbeard, aka Rick Anthony of cosmic rock magicians The Phantom Band, and comes three years after his delicately poetic solo debut ‘No Selfish Heart’. Quarried from similar stone to that of Michael Hurley, Leonard Cohen and Bill Callahan and wrapped in layers redolent of Angelo Badalamenti, ‘Awake Unto’ weaves folk, balladry and filmic impulses into a tapestry of song so deftly detailed the rewards multiply with every listen.
≡• Where his debut trod an uncluttered path, employing little more than Anthony’s burnished baritone, acoustic guitar, piano and violin, ‘Awake Unto’ brings a far broader spectrum to bear on its heavenly melodicism — banjo, accordion, reversed keyboards, drums, widescreen electric guitar — while still leaving space for the simple formula which lit up its predecessor. There’s a larger pool of contributors here too: Rick’s sister Josephine duets on ‘Get Friendly (Blood)’ while a cohort of his Phantom Band colleagues (Duncan Marquiss, Gerry Hart and Iain Stewart; Derek O’ Neill mixing) also manage to join the cèilidh.
≡• The family connections continue, with Awake Unto’s vivid artwork supplied by Anthony’s mother, providing yet another contrast to ‘No Selfish Heart’s austere, monochrome woodland. Rick: “If ‘No Selfish Heart’ was a tasteful black and white pencil sketch, Awake Unto gets the crayons out to colour it in.” He’s too modest by half of course, as even the most cursory listen will demonstrate. Awake Unto takes the core elements of Rick’s debut - his towering, mahoganied voice and melodic imagination — and cloaks them in fabrics and hues; elevating them to giddying new heights in the process.
Review
Finbarr Bermingham | 31 May 2016 | Score: ****
≡• Album number two is halfway between the debut and the Phantoms: a fine place to be.
≡• In some ways, Rick Redbeard’s second solo album is a neat bridge between his debut and his more fleshed–out work with The Phantom Band.
≡• No Selfish Heart was stark and elegant, a world away from the often rollicking output of the Phantoms. Awake Unto, on the other hand, ventures boldly into folk–rock territory more than once: neither of the full–blooded ‘Golden Age’ and ‘In My Wake’ would seem out of place on Strange Friend, while the 50s–tinged ‘The Night is All Ours’ strays further still from the beaten path.
≡• But it’s when Redbeard’s clear–as–a–bell voice is allowed to resonate boldly through the reverb and the subtle strings that this record finds its finest moments. ‘Unfound’, the ‘Field Years’ and ‘Yuki Onna’ are a haunting, ethereal trio, while the gothic ‘What Fine People’ is one of the finest in his canon. The plaintive air of the debut remains, but is elevated by the occasional harmony and wheeze of reed.
≡• http://www.theskinny.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rickredbeard?lang=cs
Label: http://shop.chemikal.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rick-Redbeard-94385218942/
≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡
| Rick Redbeard — Awake Unto (June 17th, 2016) |
≡• Another exponent of Scotland’s terrific folk and rock scene!
Location: Browntown, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Origin: Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Born: February 11, 1979
Album release: June 17th, 2016
Record Label: Chemikal Underground Records
Duration: 36:21
Tracks:
01 Wild Young Country 3:39
02 In My Wake 3:15
03 The Golden Age 4:05
04 Unfound 2:27
05 The Night Is All Ours 3:59
06 Field Years 2:22
07 Get Friendly (Blood) 4:05
08 Yuki Onna 2:41
09 What Fine People 4:49
10 Let It Rust 4:59
Notes
≡• Awake Unto is the second mesmerising collection of songs by Rick Redbeard, aka Rick Anthony of cosmic rock magicians The Phantom Band, and comes three years after his delicately poetic solo debut ‘No Selfish Heart’. Quarried from similar stone to that of Michael Hurley, Leonard Cohen and Bill Callahan and wrapped in layers redolent of Angelo Badalamenti, ‘Awake Unto’ weaves folk, balladry and filmic impulses into a tapestry of song so deftly detailed the rewards multiply with every listen.
≡• Where his debut trod an uncluttered path, employing little more than Anthony’s burnished baritone, acoustic guitar, piano and violin, ‘Awake Unto’ brings a far broader spectrum to bear on its heavenly melodicism — banjo, accordion, reversed keyboards, drums, widescreen electric guitar — while still leaving space for the simple formula which lit up its predecessor. There’s a larger pool of contributors here too: Rick’s sister Josephine duets on ‘Get Friendly (Blood)’ while a cohort of his Phantom Band colleagues (Duncan Marquiss, Gerry Hart and Iain Stewart; Derek O’ Neill mixing) also manage to join the cèilidh.
≡• The family connections continue, with Awake Unto’s vivid artwork supplied by Anthony’s mother, providing yet another contrast to ‘No Selfish Heart’s austere, monochrome woodland. Rick: “If ‘No Selfish Heart’ was a tasteful black and white pencil sketch, Awake Unto gets the crayons out to colour it in.” He’s too modest by half of course, as even the most cursory listen will demonstrate. Awake Unto takes the core elements of Rick’s debut - his towering, mahoganied voice and melodic imagination — and cloaks them in fabrics and hues; elevating them to giddying new heights in the process.
Review
Finbarr Bermingham | 31 May 2016 | Score: ****
≡• Album number two is halfway between the debut and the Phantoms: a fine place to be.
≡• In some ways, Rick Redbeard’s second solo album is a neat bridge between his debut and his more fleshed–out work with The Phantom Band.
≡• No Selfish Heart was stark and elegant, a world away from the often rollicking output of the Phantoms. Awake Unto, on the other hand, ventures boldly into folk–rock territory more than once: neither of the full–blooded ‘Golden Age’ and ‘In My Wake’ would seem out of place on Strange Friend, while the 50s–tinged ‘The Night is All Ours’ strays further still from the beaten path.
≡• But it’s when Redbeard’s clear–as–a–bell voice is allowed to resonate boldly through the reverb and the subtle strings that this record finds its finest moments. ‘Unfound’, the ‘Field Years’ and ‘Yuki Onna’ are a haunting, ethereal trio, while the gothic ‘What Fine People’ is one of the finest in his canon. The plaintive air of the debut remains, but is elevated by the occasional harmony and wheeze of reed.
≡• http://www.theskinny.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rickredbeard?lang=cs
Label: http://shop.chemikal.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rick-Redbeard-94385218942/
≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡•≡••≡