Simon Fowler's Merrymouth

Last updated

Simon Fowler's Merrymouth
Simon Fowler's Merrymouth.jpg
Studio album by
Merrymouth
Released26 March 2012
StudioGospel Oak Studio, Warwickshire, UK
Genre Folk rock
Label PledgeMusic
Producer Dan Sealey & Mike McNamara
Merrymouth chronology
Simon Fowler's Merrymouth
(2012)
Wenlock Hill
(2014)

Simon Fowler's Merrymouth is the debut solo album by Simon Fowler (the singer/songwriter from Ocean Colour Scene) it contains six original Fowler compositions, one of those ("Over My Head") being an OCS re-working. Released on 26 March 2012, it features Fowler (vocals and acoustic guitar), Dan Sealey (vocals and guitars), Mike McNamara (double and electric fretless basses, piano, organ, percussion and guitar), John McCusker (violins, cittern and low whistle) and Andy Cutting (melodeon). [1]

All songs are written by Simon Fowler, unless otherwise stated. The album contains a Bert Jansch song, "Courting Blues", and the lyrics of a W. B. Yeats poem "The Stolen Child", put to a melody written by Fowler and music by Merrymouth.

Produced by Dan Sealey and Mike McNamara. Recorded at Gospel Oak Studio, Warwickshire, England by Barry 'Baz' Bayliss. Engineered by Bayliss and Alfie Manders

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Mr Scott Music5/5 [2]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Simon Fowler; except where indicated

  1. "Holy Day"
  2. "The Trees They Grow So High" (Traditional)
  3. "Sweetest Words"
  4. "Last Train But One" (Dan Sealey)
  5. "Courting Blues" (Bert Jansch)
  6. "Midst of Summertime" (Sealey)
  7. "Prometheus"
  8. "The Stolen Child" (Poem by W. B. Yeats. Melody by Fowler. Music by Merrymouth)
  9. "The Shadow Knows"
  10. "Mr Marshall" (Sealey)
  11. "Over My Head"
  12. "The First Rites of Spring"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentangle (band)</span> British folk rock band

Pentangle are a British folk band, formed in London in 1967. The original band was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and a later version has been active since the early 1980s. The original line-up, which was unchanged throughout the band's first incarnation (1967–1973), was Jacqui McShee (vocals); John Renbourn ; Bert Jansch ; Danny Thompson ; and Terry Cox (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Fowler</span> Musical artist

Simon Geoffrey Fowler is an English singer and acoustic guitarist, best known as the frontman of Ocean Colour Scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert Jansch</span> Scottish folk musician (1943–2011)

Herbert Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter. He recorded more than 28 albums and toured extensively from the 1960s to the 21st century.

<i>Fishermans Blues</i> 1988 studio album by the Waterboys

Fisherman's Blues is the fourth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Ensign Records in October 1988. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish music, country music, and rock and roll. Critics were divided on its release with some disappointed at the change of direction and others ranking it among the Waterboys' best work. The album was the Waterboys' best selling album, reaching a number 13 placing on the U.K. charts on release, and 76 on the Billboard 200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Stolen Child</span> 1889 poem by William Butler Yeats

"The Stolen Child" is an 1889 poem by William Butler Yeats, published in The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McCusker</span> Scottish folk musician

John McCusker is a Scottish folk musician, record producer, and composer. An accomplished fiddle player, he had a long association as a member of the Battlefield Band beginning in the 1990s and was later a band member and producer for folk singer Kate Rusby. He has served as producer and arranger for artists in a range of genres and also has several solo albums to his credit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Black</span> British musician

William Boazman, known as Sonny Black, is an acoustic guitarist based in the UK, who plays blues, rags and original compositions usually fingerstyle or slide. "Sonny Black" is a pseudonym adopted when he began the first Sonny Black's Blues Band. He previously became well known as Bill Boazman on the folk club circuit and at college gigs during the 1970s as a singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist. He has been credited with accompanying J. J. Cale, but this is a fallacy arising from a typographic error involving an American musician with a similar name, Bob Brozman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davey Graham</span> Musical artist

David Michael Gordon "Davey" Graham was a British guitarist and one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British folk revival. He inspired many famous practitioners of the fingerstyle acoustic guitar such as Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, John Martyn, Paul Simon and Jimmy Page, who based his solo "White Summer" on Graham's "She Moved Through the Fair". Graham is probably best known for his acoustic instrumental "Anji" and for popularizing DADGAD tuning, later widely adopted by acoustic guitarists.

Beverley Martyn is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist.

<i>Sweet Child</i> 1968 studio album by Pentangle

Sweet Child is a 1968 double album by the British folk-rock band Pentangle: Terry Cox, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, John Renbourn and Danny Thompson.

<i>The Pentangle</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Pentangle

The Pentangle is the 1968 debut album of the band Pentangle: Terry Cox, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, John Renbourn and Danny Thompson. It brought together their separate influences of folk, jazz, blues, early music and contemporary songwriting. One of the band's most commercially successful albums, it reached number 21 in the British charts.

<i>Open the Door</i> (Pentangle album) 1985 studio album by Pentangle

Open the Door is an album by Pentangle. The band had split in 1973 and reformed in the early 1980s. By the time this album was recorded, John Renbourn had left the band to enroll in a music degree course and his place was taken by Mike Piggott. The other band members were unchanged from the original Pentangle line-up: Terry Cox, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee and Danny Thompson. It was produced by John Chelew.

Dan Sealey is the former session bass guitarist for the rock group Ocean Colour Scene. He was drafted in by the band after Damon Minchella left the band in 2003. Sealey is also in Merrymouth, a folk band with Ocean Colour Scene bandmate Simon Fowler and Adam Barry. Before joining Ocean Colour Scene Sealey was a member of the band Late.

"Anji" is an acoustic fingerstyle guitar piece composed and recorded by noted folk guitarist Davy Graham in 1961 and originally released as part of his EP debut 3/4 AD. The piece is one of the best-known acoustic blues-folk guitar pieces ever composed, with many notable artists covering it, such as Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Lillebjørn Nilsen, Paul Simon, and Harry Sacksioni. The song is in the key of A minor and is notable for its trademark descending bassline. However, the original recording by Davy Graham is in the key of C minor with a capo at the third fret.

<i>When the Circus Comes to Town</i> 1995 studio album by Bert Jansch

When the Circus Comes to Town is the 19th album by Scottish folk musician Bert Jansch released in 1995. The song "Born and Bred in Old Ireland" was also recorded during these sessions but omitted from the UK album. Bert's manager intended to add it to a projected Japanese version of the album, which may or may not have happened. The track was re-recorded for Jansch's 1998 studio album, Toy Balloon

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Wassif</span> Musical artist

Paul Wassif is a British musician, guitarist, and singer songwriter.

Merrymouth was a folk-oriented band founded by Ocean Colour Scene songwriter and vocalist Simon Fowler (guitar/vocals), Dan Sealey (guitar/piano/vocals), Mike McNamara (Bass/Piano/Organ/Guitar/Percussion) and later Adam Barry (piano/organ/accordion/harmonica/vocals).

Wenlock Hill is the second album by Merrymouth, a folk band featuring Simon Fowler and Dan Sealey from Ocean Colour Scene, and Adam Barry. It was released in May 2014 and entered the UK Official Album Charts at #71.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Barry</span> Musical artist

Adam Barry is the English Hammond organ/piano/accordion/harmonica/backing vocalist for the folk group Merrymouth, led by Barry, Simon Fowler and Dan Sealey from Ocean Colour Scene. Before joining Merrymouth, Barry was a co-founder member of the band The Misers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert Jansch discography</span>

Bert Jansch was a Scottish folk musician. His discography consists of 21 studio albums, 8 live albums, 36 compilations, 5 videos, 2 EPs, and 12 singles. In addition, his compositions and guitar work have been featured on a number of albums by other artists.

References

  1. "Merrymouth: Simon Fowler: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon UK. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  2. "Simon Fowler's Merrymouth".