Simon Bonney — Past, Present, Future (May 3, 2019) 
• Simon Bonney je génius, jen ne plodný. Od té doby, co v roce 1992 opustil Crime and The City Solution, vydal dvě sólová alba. Společnost Crime and The City Solution vydala pět studiových alb. Nejedná se o kritiku, ale pouze o to, že když je umělec tak dobrý a jeho hudba je skvělá, chcete víc. Nové album Past, Present, Future je kompilací jeho dvou sólových alb i dříve nevydaného sólového materiálu. Všechny písně vybral sám Bonney. Bonneyho hudba je neporovnatelná a velmi obtížná ji vysvětlit nezasvěceným. I když, po určité úvaze, snad spojovací prvky s pojetím Marka Lanegana by se našly. Dokonce společně letos hráli 11. května v klubu Ottobar, Baltimore, Maryland. Je to kříženec mezi Americanou a alternativním popem. Pro Bonneyho je to perfektní kombinace. Pokud by v propagaci southern gothic žánru někdo potřeboval zvukový doprovod, Bonney by byl muž, který by jistě zavolal. Jsou zde kytarové, vrstvené a vyloženě melodické pasáže, ovšem také melancholie. Zajímavé pro mě je, že veškerá hudba, nalezená v této kompilaci byla nahrána, jakmile se přestěhoval do Los Angeles. Austrálie byla daleko pozadu, když přišel s těmito písněmi, z nichž většina je o každodenním životě pracujícího člověka, jsou psány z pohledu cizince. To opět funguje lyricky a hudebně. Album „Everyman“ (1995) je na této novince velmi oblíbené, což je pro mě dobré. Obě jeho sólová alba jsou poklady, ale v této souvislosti to funguje společně s novějšími / dříve nevydanými písněmi. Také je uvedena kompletní verze „Everyman“. Dříve ke slyšení v segmentech na stejnojmenném albu, ale je zde uveden v celé své kráse. Oprášené album tedy vyšlo..., poté bude následovat nové studiové album, které bude nahráno letos v zimě v Nashvillu.
• Australian~born singer/songwriter, solo recording artist, and founder of Crime & the City Solution.
Birth name: Simon Philip Bonney
Born: 1961
Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia ~ Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Album release: May 3, 2019
Record Label: Mute Records
Duration: 63:07
Tracks:
01 Ravenswood 4:57
02 Don’t Walk Away From Love 4:53
03 There Can Only Be One 4:26
04 Where Trouble Is Easier to Find 4:25
05 A Sweeter Kind of Pain 5:02
06 Everyman 10:53
07 Duchess 3:01
08 The Great Survivor 4:58
09 Forever 4:59
10 Annabelle~Lee 5:48
11 Eyes of Blue 4:53
12 Can’t Believe Anymore 4:52
Credits:
• Bronwyn Adams Arranger
• Daniel Aranyo Cover Photo
• Simon Bonney Art Direction, Composer, Design, Vocals, Guitars
• Jim Diamond Engineer
• Dave Feeny Engineer
• J.D. Foster Arranger, Composer
• Ross Gockle Mastering
• Tony Hamera Engineer
• Gareth Jones Mixing, Producer
• Alex Newhall Back Cover Photo
• Phil Shöenfelt Arranger
• Paul A. Taylor Art Direction, Design
• Scott Walker ComposerAllMusic Review by Thom Jurek; Score: ****
• After Crime and the City Solution split for what seemed the final time in 1991, Simon Bonney and Bronwyn Adams, CCS’ masterful violinist and his spouse, relocated to America’s West Coast from a long sojourn in Berlin. The nomadic Australians took up residence in Silverlake, in Los Angeles, for a decade. Bonney re~examined everything he'd done musically. He met musician JD Foster, who led him through a listening tour of historic country and Americana, inspiring Bonney’s songwriting. His interpretation of those sounds was showcased on Forever in 1992, and his second offering, the more musically and lyrically expansive Everyman, in 1994. On tour, Bonney met Outrageous Cherry’s Matthew Smith, who introduced him to Detroit’s verdant musical community. He cut a third album there, but it was shelved. Bonney disappeared from music for two decades to support his family. With kids grown, he returned to it, re~forming CCS with Detroit as its musical base.
• Past, Present, Future compiles three tracks each from Forever and Everyman, and six from the unissued Eyes of Blue. The sequencing is a revelation. The aural portrait that emerges juxtaposes the evolution and transformation of a single life with one of America in flux, crisis, and conflict. The previously unissued “A Sweeter Kind of Pain” is a brooding, blues~inspired number about lovers who remain together even though they are physically separated. The songs from Forever, including the striking, hushed Americana of “Ravenswood” and the dark, cinematic, reverb~drenched country of the title track, with its orchestral use of the pedal steel, are more contemporary now than when they were recorded, losing none of their heft to time. Everyman could have been written about contemporary America. Its title cut is presented unedited for the first time, a sprawling socio~political observation of humanity struggling with fragmentation, conflict, and dissolution; it’s a sparser, Western~themed kindred spirit to Crime’s “Last Dictator” suite from Paradise Discoteque. The melancholy, Bakersfield~meets~Byrds twang and jangle of “Where Trouble Is Easier to Find” soars with emotion and haunted regret. Bonney’s unique, previously unissued cover of Scott Walker’s “Duchess” is a highlight: reverb~laden guitars pair beautifully with Smith’s poignant pianism to frame Bonney’s rich baritone which is consumed by confused desire. The panoramic “Annabelle~Lee” and “Eyes of Blue” are linked lyrically and thematically as their protagonist appears in both; the production aesthetic is equally inspired by cinema and roots Americana. Closer “Can’t Believe Anymore” evolves from folksy and intimate to sprawling and experimental. Adams’ spiraling violin meets and duels with squalling guitar and noise, linking them (inadvertently) to Crime’s more harrowing moments — think “The Bride Ship.” Past, Present, Future is gorgeously curated and free of excess or artifice. It’s a welcome microcosmic window into Bonney’s history that foreshadows what may come next.
Label: http://mute.com/
Website: http://www.girlieaction.com/simonbonney
______________________________________________
• Australian~born singer/songwriter, solo recording artist, and founder of Crime & the City Solution.
Birth name: Simon Philip Bonney
Born: 1961
Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia ~ Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Album release: May 3, 2019
Record Label: Mute Records
Duration: 63:07
Tracks:
01 Ravenswood 4:57
02 Don’t Walk Away From Love 4:53
03 There Can Only Be One 4:26
04 Where Trouble Is Easier to Find 4:25
05 A Sweeter Kind of Pain 5:02
06 Everyman 10:53
07 Duchess 3:01
08 The Great Survivor 4:58
09 Forever 4:59
10 Annabelle~Lee 5:48
11 Eyes of Blue 4:53
12 Can’t Believe Anymore 4:52
Credits:
• Bronwyn Adams Arranger
• Daniel Aranyo Cover Photo
• Simon Bonney Art Direction, Composer, Design, Vocals, Guitars
• Jim Diamond Engineer
• Dave Feeny Engineer
• J.D. Foster Arranger, Composer
• Ross Gockle Mastering
• Tony Hamera Engineer
• Gareth Jones Mixing, Producer
• Alex Newhall Back Cover Photo
• Phil Shöenfelt Arranger
• Paul A. Taylor Art Direction, Design
• Scott Walker ComposerAllMusic Review by Thom Jurek; Score: ****
• After Crime and the City Solution split for what seemed the final time in 1991, Simon Bonney and Bronwyn Adams, CCS’ masterful violinist and his spouse, relocated to America’s West Coast from a long sojourn in Berlin. The nomadic Australians took up residence in Silverlake, in Los Angeles, for a decade. Bonney re~examined everything he'd done musically. He met musician JD Foster, who led him through a listening tour of historic country and Americana, inspiring Bonney’s songwriting. His interpretation of those sounds was showcased on Forever in 1992, and his second offering, the more musically and lyrically expansive Everyman, in 1994. On tour, Bonney met Outrageous Cherry’s Matthew Smith, who introduced him to Detroit’s verdant musical community. He cut a third album there, but it was shelved. Bonney disappeared from music for two decades to support his family. With kids grown, he returned to it, re~forming CCS with Detroit as its musical base.
• Past, Present, Future compiles three tracks each from Forever and Everyman, and six from the unissued Eyes of Blue. The sequencing is a revelation. The aural portrait that emerges juxtaposes the evolution and transformation of a single life with one of America in flux, crisis, and conflict. The previously unissued “A Sweeter Kind of Pain” is a brooding, blues~inspired number about lovers who remain together even though they are physically separated. The songs from Forever, including the striking, hushed Americana of “Ravenswood” and the dark, cinematic, reverb~drenched country of the title track, with its orchestral use of the pedal steel, are more contemporary now than when they were recorded, losing none of their heft to time. Everyman could have been written about contemporary America. Its title cut is presented unedited for the first time, a sprawling socio~political observation of humanity struggling with fragmentation, conflict, and dissolution; it’s a sparser, Western~themed kindred spirit to Crime’s “Last Dictator” suite from Paradise Discoteque. The melancholy, Bakersfield~meets~Byrds twang and jangle of “Where Trouble Is Easier to Find” soars with emotion and haunted regret. Bonney’s unique, previously unissued cover of Scott Walker’s “Duchess” is a highlight: reverb~laden guitars pair beautifully with Smith’s poignant pianism to frame Bonney’s rich baritone which is consumed by confused desire. The panoramic “Annabelle~Lee” and “Eyes of Blue” are linked lyrically and thematically as their protagonist appears in both; the production aesthetic is equally inspired by cinema and roots Americana. Closer “Can’t Believe Anymore” evolves from folksy and intimate to sprawling and experimental. Adams’ spiraling violin meets and duels with squalling guitar and noise, linking them (inadvertently) to Crime’s more harrowing moments — think “The Bride Ship.” Past, Present, Future is gorgeously curated and free of excess or artifice. It’s a welcome microcosmic window into Bonney’s history that foreshadows what may come next.
Label: http://mute.com/
Website: http://www.girlieaction.com/simonbonney
______________________________________________