| reviews |
| Classy
genre-hopping acoustic roots collection from Leicester-based musician. If
you’re one of those people who equates authenticity with rough edges, dodgy production
and grittiness, who thinks genre-hopping is best left to frogs and thinks that
anything that sounds even slightly pleasant is MOR and therefore to be ignored,
then read no more. If, on the other hand, you’re a little more open-minded and
want good music whatever it’s labelled then read on and discover a little gem
of an album. Michigan-born
but long-time Leicester-resident Chris Conway is one of those infuriating musicians
that you’d have to kill, just to give the others a chance, if he wasn’t so good
and such a nice guy. He plays numerous instruments, all of them superbly, and
creates jazz, fusion, filk (look it up), New Age and roots music, to name but
a few. “My Mind’s Island” is his last roots/song collection, and a mighty fine
thing it is too, exuding warmth.
If it has a theme then that theme is
life and how to deal with it. It’s shot through with wisdom, insight and understanding,
as on “I Don’t Know”, a cross-generational “what’s it all about” song that says
all that needs to be said on the subject in just under six minutes, the grace
and acceptance that the narrator of “Just Around the Corner” displays in the face
of an ending relationship, or the addressing of low self-esteem on “Proud Of You”.
There’s also a lightness of touch and sense of fun on the Twenties-styled “Nobody
Loves Me”, a paean to the solitary life, some twenty-first century Celtic dancery
on “The Garden”, and a timeless folk tune in “Air of Morar”. “My Mind’s Island”
is an album for a glass of wine and a lover, an album of timeless truths and honesty,
and an album you ought to have. - Review by Jeremy Searle
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| Holding
Together Magazine | Two
new shiny circles from Leicester's own David Crosby, both featuring our man on
a plethora of instruments - guitars, keyboards, theremin, kalimba, zither, vegetables
etc - and his trusty lieutenants the Talking Fish in support.
My Mind's Island
is, if you like, the regular album, replete with beautiful, elusive melodies and
arrangements that shimmer effortlessly from folk to West Coast to cool jazz without
seeming to swap genres, so comfortable is Conway in all settings.
There
are no duffers here but especially pleasing are the rippling "Just Around
The Corner" with it's superb chordings and lovely multi-tracked CC vocals
; "The Garden" with it's funky folk ambience and lyrics of withdrawel
from society's madness ; the brief but immaculate "Between" and the
haunting perceptive "Spring In Winterland"
Both albums are recommended.
- bp
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| Chris
has a very easy to listen to style and voice..and when you read who he has supported
and likes you can see where some influences have come from.
It also has some
tracks that stick in your head that you cant get out..usually a good sign to me!!
Style...acoustic
mainly..real across the board mix..celtic..rock..ballads...
Lets say..its been
playing on repeat for a long time now....easy to have in the background and you
find yourself just into the tracks! - 9/10
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| I
never cease to be amazed at this prolific guy and the sheer amount of stuff he
produces. Not only does he keep down a full-time pivotal role as multi-instrumentalist
within the Vikki Clayton Band, but he's a prodigiously talented musician, singer,
songwriter, composer and producer in his own right. This time he's released -
simultaneously! - two brand new albums which showcase these talents to the hilt.
Describing
Chris's music to the uninitiated is not easy, for its definitively genre-hopping
nature ensures that it falls between an awful lot of stools - although it often
settles on one or the other for long sittings!
On My Mind's Island we
experience to the full Chris's skill in producing well-crafted and thoughtful
songs with predominantly acoustic-based settings. Having said that, there's a
fair helping of Celtic folk and ambient grooves in these songs too, and the relaxed
yet committed, often deeply touching and generally life-affirming nature of the
lyrics makes for an attractive 55 minutes of listening.
David
Kidman
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Songbook
Magaine | Give
'My Mind's Island' a listen. You can't fail to enjoy the intelligently constructed
songs, shimmering with musical colour, rich vocal harmonies and stunning instrumental
work. - Dave White
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Mojo
Magazine
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My
Mind's Island suggests that Chris Conway is wise, warm, loving and understands
Life.
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| Chris
Conway is a US born musician who has not been unknown in the British folk scene.
Conway's style is singer/songwriter with a good folkrock touch. He gets
help from Vikki Clayton and a whole group of good musicians. Nice songs brought
in a relax and professional way. His voice is nice to listen to and he arranged
his original songs into catchy pieces of music. Sometimes with only guitar but
mostly with band. Strong fact is that even with band his music still sounds small
and honest
A talented singer songwriter who brings his music with fantasy
and the right feeling. A welcome addition to my collection. - Eelco Schilder
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