One record at a time: 35. Tim Bowness - Late Night Laments

The latest Tim Bowness album "Late Night Laments" is the next in my collection and I'm pleased to say it is a good one. 

Opening track "Northern Rain" immediately sets a high bar for song writing and is complimented by the production skills of Brian Hulse. Once again Steven Wilson takes on mixing duties and the album carries his unmistakable sonic gleam.

 "I'm Better Now" features twinkling synths and electronic beats that I find mesmerising. As the song finished I wistfully thought, "I really would like another song like that and not an acoustic guitar ballad." My prayers were duly answered with "Darkline" which is an achingly beautiful masterpiece. Just when you think things can't get any better you realise the noisy synth solo is by Richard Barbieri. Fantastic.

We return to the more familiar recipe of 'double bass and guitar' on "We Caught the Light" but "The Hit Man Who Missed" does enough to warrant attention with its weaving sub bass and subtle analogue arpeggios. "Never a Place" is a great song that seems have a lot of pop sensibilities underneath the skin. I could see this track completely reimagined as a chart hit by an ephemeral X-Factor winner. The liberal use of samples on "The Last Getaway" and the electronic beats of "Hidden Life" perfectly illustrate the move away from traditional prog rock guitar noodling featured on previous albums. If you hear nothing else of this album, you should at least listen to the majestic "I'm Better Now" or "Darkline". Great stuff. 3/5

One record at a time: 34. Tim Bowness - Flowers at the Scene

If you've read any of my other posts about Tim Bowness albums, you won't be surprised to hear this is a limited edition, signed, hand numbered, 180g transparent red vinyl. However, for the first time in this process I feel like I'm flagging - the going is a bit tough. That's not to say that I dislike Tim Bowness's albums, but they are like a rich chocolate truffle: best consumed in small quantities. Having gorged on four consecutive Bowness albums I'm feeling a little nauseous at the thought of more. Happily, once the needle dropped on "Flowers at the Scene" my appetite returned. This is a brilliant album

Unlike the crude monochrome sound of antecedent "Lost in the Ghost Light", this album is expertly produced by No-Man and Brian Hulse. Almost all of these songs are beautifully realised with immaculate arrangements and instrumentation. Even if some songs aren't to my taste, I am still able to appreciate how well they are put together. Obviously a credit to No-Man must mean the presence of  Steve Wilson. With Steve playing, producing, programming and mixing alongside Tim writing and singing the songs, this is only one step removed from being a No-Man album. 

Opening track, "I Go Deeper" features thundering drums and a restrained electric guitar to accompany Tim's tale about moving on. There are various synths providing strings and background textures that add a richness sorely missed on Tim's other albums. "The Train That Pulled Away" opens with a chugging string arrangement and proceeds to take us on a journey that leads back to the start. The drums and synth textures on the beautiful "Rainmark" are all redolent of Steve Wilson. "You're Not Married Anymore" is a middle aged lament similar to those found on "Abandoned Dancehall Dreams" and represents the first drop in quality on the album. The title track is unremarkable art-rock that is a little disappointing. Things turn even more 'guitar' with "It's the World" which features prog rock royalty in the form of Peter Hammill from Van Der Graaf Generator. Normal service is resumed with the excellent "Boderline", and "Ghostlike" which sounds like companion piece to "I Go Deeper". The pace slows with the next rack "The War One Me" which promises little at the beginning but the excellent production allows an atmospheric song to emerge. I may be mistaken but I'm sure I heard a four-on-the-floor bass drum on the chorus of "Killing to Survive". Whilst it isn't exactly a high energy romp, this song does have more of a pulse than the majority of Tim's output. The album then peters out with the disappointing "What Lies Here". Despite the lack lustre ending, this is a great album and the expert production sets it apart from the rest of Tim's solo offerings. 3/5

One record at a time: 33. Tim Bowness - Songs From The Ghost Light

Is this a compilation? Is it an EP? Is it an album? Is it a mini-album?  To be honest I have no idea what it is.

"Songs from the Ghost Light" was released soon after Tim's previous effort "Lost In The Ghost Light" and given the title of the record, I would have assumed there is a link between the two; but I have no idea what it is. The record itself is a 180g 'moon blue' disc from a pressing of 500 units.

The album (or whatever it is) starts with a "Chamber Version" of "Stupid Things That Mean The World" which distils the melody of the song and lays it out across a broader canvas. There's a nice live version of "The Warm Up Man Forever" which is followed by a couple of album out-takes. One of these out-takes is my favourite track on the record called "Once a Record". This is a 'Mellotron drenched' ambient piece that sparks memories of Tangerine Dream. The rest of the album consists of live tracks and atmospheric pieces that are mildly entertaining without setting the world on fire. Whilst there is nothing offensive to my ears on this record, neither is there much to draw me back. 2/5

One record at a time: 32. Tim Bowness - Lost In The Ghost Light

"Lost In The Ghost Light" is a concept album centred around a fictional rock musician whose career is in decline. My copy is one of 400 hand numbered gold coloured records which were sent out with a signed postcard.

Tim seems to have restricted himself to conventional 'rock' instruments and recorded them in a traditional band set up for this record. Whilst some of the songs are good, I'll admit that I find this album hard going. The nearest you get to a synthesiser is the occasional Mellotron or B3 organ. Electronic music this is not.

The opening song "Worlds of Yesterday" is wonderfully executed by people who are clearly highly skilled musicians. However, the intricate guitar arpeggios hint at what could have been if there had only been a scattering of synth and someone had pressed (hard just to make sure) the mute button on the awful electric guitar track. The nine minute opus "Moonshot Manchild" is archetypical 'prog rock' that doesn't really have enough ideas to warrant its nine minute run time. We're treated to more horrible wailing guitar on "Killing the Pain that's Killing You" and despite some early promise, "Nowhere Good to Go" ultimately lets side one whimper out. "You'll Be The Silence" is another 9 minute prog rock special that has tinges of ELO, Yes, Queen and The Beatles, but is ultimately a bit boring. "You Wanted to be Seen" and "Distant Summers" are good songs but by this stage I had grown tired of the Mellotron strings and the jazz flute that seem to rotate in and out of every track. In summary, I'd say there are some good songs here but they are let down by their execution. Not my favourite album. 2/5

One record at a time: 31. Tim Bowness - Stupid Things That Mean The World

Inevitably the next record in my collection is another Tim Bowness album. Conventional wisdom dictates that this 'transparent' vinyl might not have the audio fidelity of other carriers, but I can't fault it. The sound reproduction is clear and there is great dynamic range.

"Stupid Things That Mean The World" continues in the vein of its predecessor and inexorably retains many hallmarks of the No-Man sound. Whilst the sound is familiar, the first two tracks prominently feature a new instrument in the Yamaha CP-70 piano which I find a little thin and unsurprising. Still, they are good songs.

The third track "The Way You've Always Been" is magical and has a great melody. There seems to be a pattern emerging with Tim's solo albums where we see two conventional rock songs followed by a third more haunting and melodic piece. The title track is unusually upbeat (upbeat for Tim anyway) and features some excellent drumming alongside strings and Tim's hushed vocal. "Know That You Were Loved" isn't really my kind of thing with its acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitar: it's all a bit too "guitar" for me, despite some nice drum programming.

On the B side, "Press Reset" builds from its foundation into a swirling titan complete with an unlikely distorted vocal . "All These Escapes" has some nice percussion in a similar vein to the No-Man "Only Rain" but it lacks the atmosphere and melody of its esteemed relation. Disappointingly the guitar sound comes to the fore again with "Everything You're Not" but a nice Moog style solo punches through to provide a nice diversion. The next track is a rather weird jazz-flute type instrumental which is mercifully short. "Soft William" sees the return of the Yamaha electric grand piano but at least I don't have to listen to too much acoustic guitar again. The album closes out with "At The End of the Holiday" which features the curious couplet "Her Mother’s sleeping on the bench, A precious friend, a saucy wench." This track has the potential to be hypnotic and inspiring, but instead it left me a bit cold. So, this album is not as good as "Abandoned Dancehall Dreams" but highlights such as "The Way You've Always Been" and "Press Reset" remain amongst Tim's best. 3/5

One record at a time: 30. Tim Bowness - Abandoned Dancehall Dreams

"Abandoned Dancehall Dreams" was released in 2014 and is Tim's second solo album. I own the standard black vinyl and the hand numbered white version (minus the essay and the postcard that were originally included in the package). 

I have no idea what genre this record is classified as, but it is certainly the most 'rock' album we have encountered thus far. Having listened to so much electronic music, the introduction of real drums, bass guitar and violin takes some getting used to. I have to 'get in the mood' for albums like these and they definitely benefit from your undivided attention.

I had adjusted by the third track "Songs of Distant Summers" which features haunting vocals that float above a hypnotic piano refrain. I love these captivating songs that somehow seem to transport you to a little cloud. To me, this is where Tim is at his best. Other highlights include "Smiler at 52"  which tingles with atmosphere and illustrates how poetic Tim's lyrics are. The nine minutes of "I Fought the South" seem to fly by and the wistful "Dancing for you" leaves me wanting to know more about the character in the song .  

There are no dance tracks or upbeat diversions here. This album is pure unadulterated, shoe gazing art rock for the middle aged. When the world seems to be spinning too fast this is a perfect listen. 3/5

No-Man - too good to ignore

In the summer of 2004 I wrote a long post on my then website about the No-Man album "Flowermouth". It was an unashamedly gushing love poem to a piece of work that remains my favourite album. The original article described the start of the love affair thus:

"I bought it on the back of hearing “Simple” on a demo CD given away with a magazine in 1994. I kept coming back to the song and every time I heard it I loved it more and more. I bought the album on a trip into town one weekday; little did I know my life was about to change. I put the CD on and sat down. I moved about an hour later once the CD had finished. Can you name the last CD you sat and listened to all the way through on the day you bought it? I didn’t move. I simply stared at my stereo, awe struck that such a thing of beauty existed."

(I still have that magazine cover CD as I later realised it contained a different mix of “Simple” that I haven’t heard anywhere else. If only I’d had enough foresight to also go out and buy the album on vinyl – it can go for a pretty penny in this over inflated ‘vinyl resurgence’ market.)

Anyway, I bought almost every No-Man release from 1994 onwards and picked up a copy of their first album too. I joined their mailing list (snail mail in those days) and ordered some of the first Burning Shed releases in 2001. Whilst on the mailing list I received a postcard (as was the way back then) advertising a new project by Steven Wilson called “Bass Communication” and caught increasing references to a band called “Porcupine Tree”. However, these were mere sideshows to the main draw and I ignored them (although bizarrely I did buy “Flame” by Barbieri/Bowness – an album that seems inexplicably ignored and has never been reissued). 

And then these side projects seemed to gather momentum and No-Man’s output began to tail off. I guess that “Returning Jesus” was the artistic zenith and, whilst it was not an absolute valedictory, it has been hard to surpass. I moved onto Tim’s solo work and continue to enjoy it very much - it almost fills the No-Man shaped hole in my life. But make no mistake: I am a first and foremost, a fan of No-Man.

Consequently, I now find it strange when I see promotional material and hype stickers attached to No-Man releases referring to “Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson” - with a brief mention of some Bowness fellow. It is even stranger to see people weighing up No-Man’s efforts as “a place to dig deeper if you admire Steven Wilson’s work.”

I freely admit to never having heard any music by Porcupine Tree or any of Steven’s solo albums. Weird, given that I have always followed Tim’s efforts outside of No-Man – but I don’t intend on changing this approach. Primarily because No-Man deserve all my attention (there’s no such thing as one listen when it comes to the new vinyl edition of “Returning Jesus”) and secondly because I am afraid I will like Wilson’s ‘other’ work; and my bank balance can’t take a hit like that.