Single Review - Give Me A Song - Lars Pluto and The Reavers

There is often a discussion about “What is Country” or whether a song actually is “Country”.  When Lars Pluto sings, it is 100% Country – with that voice of his, it can’t be anything else!  Passionate about his music, passionate about the genre Lars Pluto is certainly a character on the scene, and his performances – whether on stage, in a stage show or in a recording studio are also always 100%

 

Lars has released his new single Give Me A Song which is following the well-known theme of Heartache – but he has recorded it in an up tempo 90s Country style, because of course he has!  Lars has also chosen to release the track on a Tuesday, because of course he has.

While the song musically has all the hallmarks of a bouncy 90s country track it is very well written, treating Heartache as though it is a person, and Lars is talking directly to her/him/it.

If you’re gonna hang around too long, Heartache give me a song

A broken heart is a blessing in disguise to a songwriter – let’s face it, it’s the backbone of Country song writing, and Lars takes that idea and makes the theme into the theme of the song.  I guess this is the musical equivalent of putting a brave face on things.  It is no great surprise for this bad boy of UK Country to put his own twist on things, and to also show off his abilities and the talents of his band The Reavers – Tom Wright on Electric guitar and backing vocals (as well as producing the track) Phil Bloomberg on bass and Mikey Cinacio on drums.  It’s a sad tale but a fun song, which no doubt will get people dancing, smiling and thinking about heartache all at the same time!

As Lars describes it

The boys all played the hell out of this tune.  I hope y’all like it as much as we do

Reckon we will Lars, reckon we will.

 

Give Me a Song, the new single from Lars Pluto and the Reavers is available to download and stream now

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Single Review - Along The Hippie Trail - Richard Gregory

We were intrigued when we recently received an email that said “I humbly submit” and went on to describe the song as “Country and Eastern”

How could we not take a listen? The polite artiste is Richard Gregory, the song All Along The Hippie Trail

Richard Gregory is not a familiar name to us, so the next step was to take a look at the bio.  Intriguing?  And some!  To say that Richard has “done some things in his life” would be a massive understatement!  It looks like he has packed several lifetimes into his mere 65 years on the planet, stretching from his native Shepherds Bush all the way to Kathmandu.

A signwriter (a real one), writer, editor, IT genius, father, “always a freak but never a hippie” and a musician, you feel that Richard could write albums of music about his life, but for now we must content ourselves with a single song about his 1974 trip from west London to Kathmandu by bus (the 207 from outside Shepherds Bush Market?).

Richard says the song includes a little poetic licence – I think it was also written and recorded with a little tongue in cheek too!  It has what can only be described as a unique sound, combining guitar, harmonica and eastern influenced pipes.  Its not a slick recording, but that adds to the charm.  It certainly includes the country tradition of storytelling.  There’s travel, there’s a girl, there’s reminiscing – truly country, whilst not necessarily being country!  The repeated “Far East Far East man” and reference to the green eyed yellow idol will make you crack a smile!

Without a doubt, this song is not quite the usual music that we are sent or listen to, but it is different, its fun and you will be singing along to the chorus before long.

If you don’t write the full album Richard, can we have a drink and hear some more stories from you?

All Along the Hippie Trail, the new single from Richard Gregory is available to purchase from Bandcamp or stream now on Spotify

To read more about the fascinating Richard, check his website

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Single Review - It Took A Woman - Tommy Atkins

Silverball Country Awards nominee (song of the Year) Tommy Atkins is back for the beginning of Pride month with a single from his forthcoming debut.  Album.  It Took A Woman is a love song – but as you might expect from Tommy, there is a twist. The object of the song is not his partner (In Tommy’s case, his husband) but the Grandmother who raised him.  The song tells us how great the husband is, how proud Tommy is to be married to him, but there is the acknowledgement that he wouldn’t be the man he is without the woman who raised him.

It took a woman to raise the man of my dreams

The lyrics reflect  a wedding day speech (how were the speeches at your wedding Tommy?) and musically the pace and tone of reflects that and match the love that you can hear – for the husband and the woman who raised him.  As a song this will make a fabulous Father/Daughter or Mother/Song dance at weddings.  Tommy has a soft and gentle style when the song calls for it, and the instrumentation of guitar and strings complement that almost perfectly.  To add depth there are beautiful backing vocals provided by Rissi Palmer – an artiste that Tommy has long looked up to.

I hope that I measure up

You do Tommy, and so does the song.  We can’t wait for the album.

It Took A Woman, the new single from Tommy Atkins is available now to download and stream.

You can find and follow Tommy on Facebook, Instagram, his website and on Spotify 

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