The Impossible Song & Other Songs

Last updated

The Impossible Song & Other Songs
The Impossible Song & other songs.jpg
Studio album by
Released21 March 2011
RecordedAn Tobar, Isle of Mull, 2010
Genre Folk
Label Greenvoe Records
Producer Roddy Woomble
Roddy Woomble chronology
Before the Ruin
(2008)
The Impossible Song & Other Songs
(2011)
Listen to Keep
(2012)

The Impossible Song & Other Songs is the third solo album by folk musician and Idlewild vocalist Roddy Woomble, released on 21 March 2011 on Greenvoe Records.

Contents

The album's artwork is by author and illustrator Mairi Hedderwick, noted for her series of children's books featuring Katie Morag.

The album entered the UK album chart at #73. [1]

Background and recording

In the spring of 2008, Woomble moved to the Isle of Mull with his wife, Ailidh Lennon. Woomble notes: "We moved to Mull for the space, for the environment, but it's actually been the people that have been so important. My wife has family there. At first I knew no one at all, but the songs I've written have definitely been shaped by the people I've met. Sometimes I think it's odd how these songs came together quite quickly, then I think, well maybe it's not been quick at all, maybe it's taken me 34 years to get here and I just didn't realise it." [2]

The album was recorded over four months at Mull's local arts centre, An Tobar, with Woomble enlisting thirteen musicians to assist in recording. Former Idlewild bassist Gavin Fox appears throughout the album, alongside Phil Cunningham, Lau's Aidan O'Rourke and Michael Marra.

Track listing

All songs written by Woomble/Maclean, unless otherwise noted.

  1. "A New Day Has Begun" (Woomble/Maclean/Jones)
  2. "Make Something Out of What it's Worth"
  3. "Work Like You Can"
  4. "Tangled Wire"
  5. "Roll Along" (Woomble/Maclean/Jones)
  6. "Hour After Hour" (Woomble/Maclean/Jones)
  7. "Leaving Without Gold"
  8. "New Frontier" (Woomble/Maclean/Jones)
  9. "Old Town"
  10. "Living as You Always Have"
  11. "Gather the Day"
  12. "Between the Old Moon"

Personnel

Musicians

Production personnel

Artwork

Related Research Articles

The Reindeer Section

The Reindeer Section are a Scottish indie rock supergroup formed in 2001 by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, which released albums and gigged in 2001 and 2002.

<i>The Remote Part</i> 2002 studio album by Idlewild

The Remote Part is the third album by Scottish rock band Idlewild, released on 15 July 2002. It received broadly positive reviews and is Idlewild's most commercially successful album to date, entering the UK album chart at Number 3 and selling 100,000 copies within a month. It is currently certified as Gold within the U.K. Vocalist Roddy Woomble notes that the band felt like "a collective of songwriters" during the writing process. Woomble credits guitarist Rod Jones with influencing the album's musical direction, stating that Jones "really started to take steps forward in terms of his guitar playing, and also his harmonies. I think he pulled the record in a more poppy way, as that’s the sort of musician he is – he loves bands like Teenage Fanclub and Yes and ELO and The Police."

<i>Captain</i> (album) 1998 EP by Idlewild

Captain is the first release by the Scottish rock band Idlewild, issued by Deceptive Records in 1998. Although the number of tracks would normally classify it as an EP, Captain is commonly known as a mini-album. The guitarist Rod Jones notes that the album "was a sort of introduction to Idlewild".

<i>100 Broken Windows</i> 2000 studio album by Idlewild

100 Broken Windows is the second full-length studio album by Scottish band Idlewild, released on 9 May 2000. The album showcased a significantly mellower, less distorted sound for Idlewild, with the songs being of a slower tempo than those on the punk influenced Hope Is Important. In 2008, vocalist Roddy Woomble stated that the album "seems to be the record many people make a connection with."

<i>Hope Is Important</i> 1998 studio album by Idlewild

Hope Is Important is the first full-length studio album by Scottish rock band Idlewild, released 26 October 1998. The record follows on from their earlier six-track release, Captain. It was recorded over a four-week period between February and June, 1997 in Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire.

Idlewild (band)

Idlewild are a Scottish rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1995. The band's line-up consists of Roddy Woomble, Rod Jones, Colin Newton (drums), Andrew Mitchell (bass), and Luciano Rossi (keyboards). To date, Idlewild have released nine full-length studio albums.

<i>Warnings/Promises</i> 2005 studio album by Idlewild

Warnings/Promises is the fourth full-length studio album by the Scottish rock band, Idlewild, released on 7 March 2005, on Parlophone. The album marks the only appearance of bassist Gavin Fox, following the departure of Bob Fairfoull in 2002, and is the first album to feature touring guitarist Allan Stewart as a permanent member. During the recording of the album, Roddy Woomble described the process as feeling "so different, in every way, than any of our other records," and cited that Idlewild felt like a "new band".

Roddy Woomble

Roderick Woomble is a Scottish singer, songwriter and writer. He is the lead vocalist of indie rock band Idlewild, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums. In 2006, Woomble released his debut solo album, My Secret is my Silence, and released three subsequent albums.

Robert James "Bob" Fairfoull is a Scottish musician. He was the bass guitarist for the Scottish rock band Idlewild. He attended Portobello High School in Edinburgh between 1992–96 and was in the same class as Paul Thomson, the drummer from the band Franz Ferdinand.

<i>My Secret is my Silence</i> 2006 studio album by Roddy Woomble

My Secret is my Silence is the debut studio album by Idlewild lead vocalist Roddy Woomble, released 24 July 2006 on Pure Records.

You Held the World in Your Arms 2002 single by Idlewild

"You Held the World in Your Arms" is a song by Scottish rock band Idlewild, from their 2002 album The Remote Part. It was the first single from the album in June 2002 and charted at #9 in the UK Singles Chart. To date "You Held the World in Your Arms" is Idlewild's highest placed single release in the UK charts and their only single to make the Top 10.

<i>Make Another World</i> 2007 studio album by Idlewild

Make Another World is the fifth full-length studio album by the Scottish rock band Idlewild, released on 5 March 2007 through Sequel Records. The album is the first with bass guitarist Gareth Russell, following Gavin Fox's departure at the end of 2005, and is their first since leaving Parlophone. Vocalist Roddy Woomble said that the band "made a conscious decision to make a strong, loud, rock record."

Rod Jones (musician)

Rodric Iwan Pryce Jones is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter.

<i>Ballads of the Book</i> 2007 studio album by Various Artists

Ballads of the Book is a collaborative studio album, released on 5 March 2007, on Chemikal Underground. The project was curated by Idlewild lead vocalist Roddy Woomble, and features collaborations between Scottish musicians and Scottish writers. The album is considered a "joint effort" by all those involved. Ballads of the Book was produced at Chem19 studios by Paul Savage and Andy Miller.

Kris Drever

Kris Drever is a Scottish contemporary folk musician and songwriter who came to prominence in 2006 with the release of his debut solo album, Black Water. Drever is the vocalist and guitarist of the folk trio Lau with Martin Green and Aidan O'Rourke. He has worked with other British folk contemporaries, including Kate Rusby, John McCusker, Ian Carr, Eddi Reader and Julie Fowlis.

<i>Post Electric Blues</i> 2009 studio album by Idlewild

Post Electric Blues is the seventh studio album by Scottish indie rock band Idlewild, self-released to around 3000 fans in June 2009. The album was subsequently released on 5 October 2009 on Cooking Vinyl. Prior to recording, guitarist Rod Jones revealed that the album has "quite an upbeat musical feel," and that it sounds "like a band having a good time."

Aidan ORourke (musician)

Aidan O'Rourke is a Scottish contemporary folk music fiddle player and composer. He was named the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year and the Scots Trad Music Awards 2011 Composer of the Year. In addition to his solo career, O'Rourke also plays in the award-winning folk trio Lau alongside Kris Drever and Martin Green. He was one of 20 musicians commissioned for New Music 20x12 by PRS for Music Foundation to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics. O'Rourke has worked with Eddi Reader, Andy Sheppard, Alyth, Roddy Woomble and appears on more than eighty recordings. Previously, he was a member of Blazin' Fiddles, The Unusual Suspects and Tabache.

<i>Live at Kings Place</i> 2014 live album by Roddy Woomble

Live at Kings Place is the fifth solo album by folk musician and Idlewild vocalist Roddy Woomble, released in August 2014 as the 75th offering from the Society of Sound, a music subscription service provided by Bowers & Wilkins.

<i>Everything Ever Written</i> 2015 studio album by Idlewild

Everything Ever Written is the eighth studio album by Scottish indie rock band Idlewild, released on 16 February 2015 on Empty Words Records. Produced by guitarist Rod Jones, the album was recorded after a lengthy hiatus, during which the future of the band was uncertain. The album is the first to feature keyboardist Luciano Rossi and guitarist and bassist Andrew Mitchell.

<i>Interview Music</i> 2019 studio album by Idlewild

Interview Music is the ninth studio album by Scottish indie rock band Idlewild, released on 5 April 2019 on Empty Words Records. It was produced by Dave Eringa, who had worked on the band's previous albums 100 Broken Windows and The Remote Part. It reached No.22 in the UK album charts.

References