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| User Name | Thread Name | Subject | Posted |
| Joe Offer | Discography & Lyrics: Bernie Parry (19) | Track List: Songs from Stony Rock (B.Parry, 2005) | 26 Jun 25 |
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All songs Written and Composed by Bemie Parry except Track 9 - written by Robin Williamson.
All vocals, instrumentations and arrangements by Bernie Parry.
Recorded, produced and engineered by Bernie Parry.
Sleeve concept, design and photography by Bernie Parry.
CDs reproduced by Bernie Parry.
AH inlays and inserts printed by Bernie Parry.
Recorded March to July 2005 at Stony Rock Studio, Leeds.
Copyright Parry Publishing 2005. prs/mcps.
In the last issue of Tykes' our editor made reference to a rare appearance of Bernie Parry at a charity concert, noting his Stateside success and wondering why we see so little of him live in the UK. This album raises the same question.
Maybe the opening song 'Waiting In The Wings' - actually about a lady who leads the singer a merry dance indeed - provides a clue. The songs here are finely crafted, carefully considered and expertly arranged. Bernie's distinctive guitar playing is one of the aspects of his art which is rightly admired by American fans: here it is displayed to great effect (he also plays keyboards, mandolin and vielle a roue (hurdy gurdy) on the album.
Time spent in both the USA and Spain is reflected in the songs, as is Bernie's own Romany background. So we move from Midwest highways to the dusty backgrounds of Andalucia to unmade tracks in Wales. More to the point, we are taken there not only by the precise observation of his writing but also by subtle hints within the music.
The songs were mainly written over the last eight years. Some reach back even further - the apocalyptic 'An Ordinary Day' is from the early 80s but hindsight renders it almost prophetic; and Bernie's admirers will be delighted to know that he has finally recorded the song that was his great inspiration, Robin Williamson's 'October Song', the only non-original on the set.
As one would expect from a storyteller-in-song, many of the tracks are narrative, but all are intensely atmospheric and several are redolent with symbolism. My favourite track, and the longest on the album, is 'A Rose Without Thorns' which encapsulates all these qualities and features a tune to die for.
No denying that the album is intensely romantic, but it does not descend to sentimentality. Its closing song, the Dylan influenced 'Ride The 61' expresses a dream whose subject matter made Bernie enquire whether he dare sing it in America: I agree with Tykes USA reviewer Dave Palmater who said it is a song he should sing there because there are scores of American singer-songwriters who wish they could write just one song that good. Bernie has written a dozen for this album. This is Bernie's fifth album in a quarter of a century. Self produced, self written and self performed, it is a major achievement.
If we don't hear many of these songs adopted by floosingers soon, then not enough of them bought a copy!
Nigel Schofield
Whatever happened to Bernie Parry? That's been the question for those who remember this distinctive singer/songwriter (who grew up in Co. Durham) from some 20 years ago and into the early 80s, when he released a couple of albums crammed full of abnormally fine songs like 'Man Of The Earth', 'Davy' and 'The Windwitch'. Bernie gained a healthy following from his regular appearances on the folk circuit, and he was still to be found gigging through the 90s, latterly in a highly regarded duo with Tony Taffinder, but for some strange reason his work never seemed to bring him the acclaim he deserved, at least here in the UK, and for the past eight years he's been performing mostly abroad (the USA and southern Europe).
Now he's returned to Leeds and is making amends to his fans in this country by releasing this new CD consisting entirely of previously unrecorded songs, some written here and there over the past few years and some brand new compositions. Also (and here's a first for Bernie) there's a solitary cover, Robin Williamson's revelatory 'October Song', which as Bernie acknowledges occupies a special place in his affections (as it does in mine!), since it had a profound effect on his early development as a guitar player. And indeed ever since, as you can hear on many of the songs in this new collection. All along, it's fair to say, Bernie's songs have been noted for their striking and expert 'free' guitar accompaniments, often involving unorthodox and/or key centres, and often providing a healthy challenge for the adventurous listener (and fellow guitarist!)
Within their unusual and instantly recognisable style, many of Bernie's songs also challenge by virtue of the rather individual compass over which his melodies stretch, sometimes rendering them less than easy to join in with or perform. But the bottom line for me has always been the high level of reward, the sense of satisfaction that invariably repays attentive listening to Bernie's carefully crafted songs. Overall, his personal style may not have changed significantly over the years as such (and why should it?), but he's still in great voice and still capable of writing powerful lyrics.
He's not lost his touch in any way; 'Songs From Stony Rock' is emphatically not one of those 'variations on the same old theme' comeback jobs that have littered the folk scene in recent times. It contains some stunningly beautiful songs - I'd single out 'A Bend In The Road', 'A Rose Without Thorns', the emotionally potent opener 'Waiting In The Wings', the economically expressed introspection of 'I Will Love You Till I Die'. Listening to the melody alone on 'Ride The 61', that melody-line just couldn't have been written by anyone but Bernie, it's that distinctive in it's twists and turns and its wide range, and when you add in the evocative road-restlessness of the lyrics you have a masteroiece in my opinion. Yes I'm inclined to welcome Bernie's return to the UK scene with open arms - so go buy this superb CD, on which Bernie displays his all-round prowess by undertaking 'all vocals, instrumentations and arrangements' and CD engineering and reproduction, with true skill and panache.
Dave Kidman.
2. DAMA DE NOCHE |