Vin Garbutt
"Persona... Grata" 2005
Grem Devlin:
This is a welcome return to recording for Vin, who's been poorly recently (he's obviously over the worst if his gig list is anything to go by). Never one to shy away from the ‘difficult' issues of our time, he's easily earned the title of social commentator for our generation (and adjacent ones). Here he tackles war, death, marriage break ups, mixed marriage in Middlesborough, an abortion that goes wrong where the foetus survives, the miners' strike and the peace movement of the 1960s. This is the curriculum of a social work course condensed on to a convenient CD format – oh! and he sounds wonderful as ever. Thought provoking, conscience pricking, toe tapping – gentle songs with hard messages and an unparalleled choice of material.
The supporting cast deserve a mention too - Sean Taylor's fretless bass lifts Dave Wilson's Storm Around Tumbledown from ‘just another war song ‘ to a dramatic piece where the listener can imagine themselves on that lonely hillside in 1982. While on the subject of war songs, Shep Woolley's marathon Down By the Dockyard Wall gets a blinding airing too. Mr G. has stated that he doesn't yearn for stardom ‘in the accepted sense' – but he deserves recognition, if nothing else for providing the soundtrack to the industrial upheavals in the Northeast of England. My hat's off to you Vin.
Complaint received from Vin Garbutt himself...
Grem Devlin:
This is a welcome return to recording for Vin, who's been poorly recently (he's obviously over the worst if his gig list is anything to go by). Never one to shy away from the ‘difficult' issues of our time, he's easily earned the title of social commentator for our generation (and adjacent ones). Here he tackles war, death, marriage break ups, mixed marriage in Middlesborough, an abortion that goes wrong where the foetus survives, the miners' strike and the peace movement of the 1960s. This is the curriculum of a social work course condensed on to a convenient CD format – oh! and he sounds wonderful as ever. Thought provoking, conscience pricking, toe tapping – gentle songs with hard messages and an unparalleled choice of material.
The supporting cast deserve a mention too - Sean Taylor's fretless bass lifts Dave Wilson's Storm Around Tumbledown from ‘just another war song ‘ to a dramatic piece where the listener can imagine themselves on that lonely hillside in 1982. While on the subject of war songs, Shep Woolley's marathon Down By the Dockyard Wall gets a blinding airing too. Mr G. has stated that he doesn't yearn for stardom ‘in the accepted sense' – but he deserves recognition, if nothing else for providing the soundtrack to the industrial upheavals in the Northeast of England. My hat's off to you Vin.
Complaint received from Vin Garbutt himself...
posted by Lizardson at 12:10 AM
4 Comments:
Thanks for this but the download link is not functional - please re-post
Please, if you hear this and like it, buy a copy (if you haven't already). In fact, buy another one for a friend! Vin is one of the nicest, most talented and hard-working guys around, and selling these CDs makes up a large part of his income. I know we've had this argument before (and I'm no one to throw stones) but it's worth saying again, isn't it?
This album was released in 2005, so it's not out of print/stock. And all the material is still in copyright. By what logic therefore is it provided here for free downloading (without Vin's permission, and certainly not to his advantage)?
This is stealing from the poor to give to - whom?
I love Vin Garbutt. I grew up in Middlesbrough, where he is from, and first went to see him as a child with my mum (who tells me that he used to practice in her attic when she was little). I saw him for the third time tonight (and purchased Persona...Grata, which I have yet to listen to. Loved the song Punjabi Girl live though) and will post a blog about the gig tomorrow if you want to stop by for a look? :o) Great to know somebody else out there is listening to him!
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