Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'

Subject: Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'
From: Lizzie Cornish
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 10:50 AM

Hands up all those who've got it already!

Come on, don't be shy... ;0)

I'VE GOT IT!! I'VE GOT IT!!! :0) :0) :0)


Steve Knightley Myspace

It's very good. In fact it's SO good that it's had a website made in it's honour! Hey, how about that then. ;0) Don't know WHO did it...

Oh I am SO enjoying being back! Heck I've missed talking about the music...Oh gosh I SO have!

'Cruel River '

I especially love 'It's Raining Again' which is the other side of 'Country Life'. All about those Townies who've moved here, then hate the countryside, get bored and lonely, feel isolated etc..And then they realise that they can't move back again, can't afford it. They even go to the local pub where they moan about having to listen to a local band who bang on and on about country life and roots...

Yes!! Great touch that....

Anyway...if you've not got it yet (deeply shocked smiley!).....ORDER IT!

I'd stay longer, but I've just thought of another thread idea...so I'll leave you all to listen to Steve's songs..




Lizzie :0)

Subject: RE: Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'
From: nickp
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 04:33 AM

Hi Lizzie, yes it is good and yes some of us like Steve & Phil very much (me included - ever since their first few gigs as SOH) but please try to curb your obvious enthusiasm and control your posts because you just know how some people will react. Best wishes, Nick

Subject: RE: Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'
From: Lizzie Cornish
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 05:55 AM

Hi Nick...Glad you like the CD and thanks for the kinds words above...but I have a whole new attitude now...which is..

SOD 'EM ALL! :0) :0) :0)

I now have my 'Don't Let The B*astards Grind You Down Lizzie' T shirt on, metaphorically given to me by dear Scrump, Paul Gunningham, who's funeral it is today.

Paul loved the music and he loved Show of Hands as well, he was a Longdog you know and was due to be seeing them at the Royal Albert Hall....He was a very kind man and I've since other stories from other people about how he left them such kind messages.

Terribly sadly, he never made it to the RAH gig....but I'll keep on talking about the music that I LOVE for him amongst many reasons. And I'll do it in whatever way I want to, because it's my right to write as I so choose and to love the music as I so wish. And no mealy, mingey-minded b*astard is EVER going to get me to keep quiet again, or make me so darn down about things that I can't write!

Show of Hands have done AMAZING things for Folk Music and I really don't give a damn if the Moaning Ones are miffed about that or not!

Steve and Phil deserve to be written about with ENTHUSIASM, as do MANY MANY other artists and I WILL continue to do exactly that!

If folk don't like what I write then DON'T read it! It's that simple!

And I've my dear Sam and Scrump to thank for that attitude....

So I'll write....and write..and write...because this music is so important to me. It's important for many of us.

Thanks for the kind words though, I ALWAYS appreciate kind words...xxxxx

Subject: RE: Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'
From: KeithofChester
Date: 16 Jun 07 - 04:59 AM

Cruel River is reviewed in today's Torygraph. Down the bottom of the reviews, under "folk".

Don't expect cream teas in Knightley's West Country

The song I really like on it is Transported, the one about the sheep-rustlers. Tall Ship Story and Cruel River itself are very good Knightley-originals too. His cover of Mark Knopfler's Romeo & Juliet is pretty excellent too.

I have to say that Cruel River is suffering in my comparative listening against Richard Shindell's South of Delia, but then Richard has cheated and got Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Woody Guthrie to write the songs for him. Not that Richard himself isn't a great songwriter too, just that South of Delia is set up as a covers CD. Then I made it really hard for myself and listened again to the forty two year old The Paul Simon Songbook, which won over both!

Subject: RE: Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'
From: Lizzie Cornish
Date: 16 Jun 07 - 08:25 AM

Taken from the Telegraph article above..which personally I think a five year old could of written better...I mean he hardly pulled the boat out did he! Sheesh!

>>>>>"..Yet these are good songs sung well. And amid all the darkness, the rare romance of Tout Va Bien perhaps hints at a writer shy of seeming soppy in his own language." Colin Randall<<<<<

Eh? What the goodness is he talking about for Gawd's sake?

Didn't he even bother to read the cover details?

Hasn't he ever heard the English version of 'Are We Alright' which is sung at nearly every Show of Hands concert, often as the final number..with the whole audience joining in?

Doesn't he KNOW the songs of Show of Hands and Steve Knightley?

Doesn't he know that Steve has never held back from emotional songs, DEEPLY emotional songs in many cases...NONE of which are 'soppy'!

FIRE THAT MAN IMMEDIATELY!!! ;0)

Someone pass the words below on to Colin Randall would they please! And tell him I'll have his job and show him how it's done! ;0) Chuckle!

Steve Knightley talking about 'Tout Va Bien' from the cover of Cruel River. ALL Steve's words about the tracks can be found on the 'Cruel River' link above.

>>>TOUT VA BIEN?
Look, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Take a SOH standard, record it in waltz time and sing it in French! If this turns out to be the song that buys the yacht, then the ironies of the music business will finally defeat me. Thanks to Mr. Clifford for the translation and vocal coaching and apologies to any French listeners for the inevitable errors.<<<

Subject: RE: Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'
From: KeithofChester
Date: 29 Jun 07 - 11:02 AM

A pretty favourable review of Cruel River in The Grauniad today

...[Steve Knightley]'s not quite in the Richard Thompson league, but he does dare to tackle subjects that other songwriters leave well alone. His speciality is the reality of contemporary English country life, and his best songs are bleak, witty and finely observed...

Guardian Cruel River Review

I bet Mr Knightley is now out shopping for a suitable beret even as I type!

Subject: RE: Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'
From: KeithofChester
Date: 02 Jul 07 - 07:48 AM

Cruel River gets 3 stars in the latest Mojo.

"On vacation from Show of Hands, Knightley turns in a low-key solo album and gets a few things off his chest. He waves Tony Blair into the sunset with two especially savage songs, Crooked man'07 and Poppy Day; re-interprets one of SoH's most popular songs as a French waltz, covers Dire Strait's Romeo & Juliet and delivers tales of villainy, deceit and disaster from the West Country."

When I listened to the CD, I thought it was more like waving two particularly savage fingers to TB.

That is in the "August" Mojo with The Police on the front cover and Ryan Adams on the back.

Anyone else here had a listen yet?

Subject: RE: Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'
From: GUEST,Denise
Date: 02 Jul 07 - 08:08 AM

I've had a copy of Steve's album for a couple of months now and think it is brilliant. Favourite tracks It's Raining Again (how apt!!), Poppy Day (very clever lyrics), All Quiet On The Western Front (possibly even cleverer lyrics) and Caragana Wind (a cover from Canada). The CD probably gets played 4 days out of 7 in an average week.

Had the opportunity of seeing Steve's solo tour too and saw Poppy Day played live which was even better.

Can't quite get my head round the french Tout Va Bien? but that is probably because Are We Alright is one of my favourite Show of Hands songs and I don't like it interfered with.

If you are thinking of buying it - then do. You'll be pleased you did!

Denise

Subject: RE: Steve Knightley's new CD 'Cruel River'
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 02 Jul 07 - 08:13 AM

I bought the CD when he came to play up in Pocklington in May. Thoroughly enjoyed it, but miss the mighty Mr Beer's input. Buy the White Stripes 'Icky thump' another rather good duo, mad as a fish!