tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83754132837937989912024-03-05T04:33:43.266-07:00Shawn CrowleShawn Crowle. Thoughts, News and Reviews.Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-62093577632621879892013-02-25T16:22:00.002-07:002013-06-30T19:54:11.713-06:00In-depth...This is probably one of the most in-depth posts I've ever read. It was written by a fellow by the name of Anson Phillip as part of a Facebook discussion on a preview of the track, 'Burden', from the 'A Drink Before Going' album.<br />
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<strong>Anson Phillip (Smile):</strong><br />
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<em>"I think Shawn was actually speaking about freedom in this song from the heaviness in life finally in a very peaceful way. It is beautiful...simply beautiful. For those who have actually just heard Shawn like myself were initially revolted by his singing because Shawn breaks every single thing you have ever been taught on how to sing and enunciate words in music but still after all that is said and done if you start to listen you mind will tune in to his voicing then it will not be difficult anymore to understand. I wish I could impart what I am saying to all of you. It is like recognizing letters....after your mind forms the pattern then it is easy to read. It is the same for music. If you struggle to understand someone with a lisp or someone with a cleft pallete at first you cannot but as you tune in to them and let your mind tune into the person their emotions and heart and then bam!!! You begin to understand. Music is so powerful that an instrumentalist can convey what he is saying to you by notes he plays. This what I see .....at the end of a movie where a person stops struggling in their life and finally see after so long and worn out a time...... peace...it can create a very dramatic moment with that guitar playing in the background and Shawn singing.... pure beauty...this is what I see...not someone down and depressed but for once freed of their burdens and peaceful...............fade out picture...... screen credits roll up...."</em><br />
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The track itself is available for purchase at <a href="http://www.shawncrowle.com/">www.shawncrowle.com</a> or on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/a-drink-before-going/id574289540?uo=4" target="_blank">Itunes</a>Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-31078321317799169012013-01-01T16:15:00.000-07:002013-02-25T16:17:33.165-07:00Grayowl Point Review of "A Drink Before Going""A while back, a man with a voice perfectly suited to the heartbreaking material he sings about released <em>Elegy, </em>his first collection of songs. It brought to mind images of a barren, dust-blown town in the same vein that it brought to mind the sadness of dealing with the dead.<br />
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Shawn Crowle has just recently released his second album, <em>A Drink Before Going</em>. It builds on his previous material, and somehow manages to increase the sadness even more. Arrangements are again fairly simple, usually a guitar with the occasional harmonica and keys. The songs deal with love and loss, but the album doesn’t completely fall into the territory of melancholy.<br />
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Still, the heartbreak and loss can be heard uniformly in Crowle’s voice and the slower pacing of guitar chords. “Walking in the Rain” conjures an image that can easily be thought of- walking through rain, thinking about the person one loves. When Crowle sings a line describing that very action, its emotional impact is huge. “Ain’t no one missing me tonight,” Crowle sings in the album title track. The emotion is as raw as it ever will be.<br />
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Some songs show happiness in shielding others from adversity- “A Cold & Bitter Wind” is a short song in which Crowle sings about protecting someone else from the cold. “Against the World” is a more positive-sounding song, about two lovers ready to meet any challenges that might have come their way.<br />
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Of course there is still more heartbreak to be had. “Sad Songs” tells of an old man reminiscing about someone he thought “could be the one.” “The Same Old Scene” tells of taking a woman home and making love, but from the tone of voice one knows it won’t end well.<br />
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Heartache is a universal pain, and it’s what makes <em>A Drink Before Going </em>a decidedly pertinent piece of work. The album can be streamed in its entirety and purchased via Crowle’s <a href="http://www.shawncrowle.com/" target="_blank">website</a>."<br />
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Reviewed by Michael Thomas at Grayowl Point<br />
<a href="http://grayowlpoint.com/2012/12/31/review-a-drink-before-going-shawn-crowle/">http://grayowlpoint.com/2012/12/31/review-a-drink-before-going-shawn-crowle/</a>Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-85812757440112902452012-11-11T13:10:00.004-07:002013-02-25T16:18:26.935-07:00Two Free TracksVisit <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shawncrowle2">www.cdbaby.com/cd/shawncrowle2</a> to receive two free tracks from the new album, <em>A Drink Before Going</em>, as well as a special discounted price on the Digital Download of the album.<br />
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Cheers.Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-15106888856785450932011-08-16T18:55:00.000-06:002011-08-16T18:55:43.739-06:00God Bless Campus Radio...<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">The 'Elegy' album is #4 this week on the CJSR 88.5 FM's Fok/Roots/Blues Chart (and #30 overall) at Earshot-Online! God bless Campus Radio!</span><br />
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<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">Check out the charts at <a href="http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/cjsr.cfm?intChartTypeID=7&dWeekOfID=2011-08-16">http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/cjsr.cfm?intChartTypeID=7&dWeekOfID=2011-08-16</a></span>Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-70985343856745821472011-07-12T11:08:00.001-06:002013-02-25T16:25:07.431-07:00Independent Music News Review of 'Running' from the "Elegy" AlbumJust received a new review of the track 'Running' from Independent Music News in the UK:<br />
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Hello Independent Music News fans/readers. Guess who’s back to scare you with satirical madness? Frankenstein esque reviewer <a href="http://www.facebook.com/indemusicnews">Daniel Thomas</a>. Yes he’s been resurrected from the grave of working 9 till 5 shifts as a pot-washer; I think that’s why I’m talking in third person, again. Announcing myself in third person ultimately means that soon I’ll be talking to the pots and pans that lurk on the side of disreputable dreams. Anyway who do we have today Daniel Thomas? (FUCK OFF YOU PRETENTIOUS TWAT, YOU’RE NOT GOD!). Anyway today I received this lovely email from the depths of internet supremacy from a gentleman, unbeknown to myself called – <a href="http://www.shawncrowle.com/music.html">Shawn Crowle</a>. So I decided to listen to review a track called – Running – because ultimately everyone is running away from something. Gather round readers, lets have a listen.<br />
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Running – like doughnut policemen. Is that Tom Waits running towards me? what have you got to say Tom? “Have you heard this gentleman called: Shawn Crowle? is he trying to copy my style?” and which I would reply, NO. Shawn Crowle may have the shrivelled voice box and acoustic style but there’s something different with his approach. He promotes every song like a nice walk in the park, disrupted by a homeless man looking for spare change. Two different worlds collide and ultimately poverty is left lying on the floor; like an old newspaper stuck on the window of an abandoned house. Shawn Crowle – I salute you for showing me ‘that’ different world in nearly 3 minutes of reality.<br />
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Rate: 10/10<br />
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<a href="http://indiemusicnews.info/single-review-shawn-crowle-running/">http://indiemusicnews.info/single-review-shawn-crowle-running/</a></div>
Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-32081244325949442402011-06-05T10:36:00.001-06:002013-02-25T16:24:52.712-07:00Itunes Fan Review of the "Elegy" Album<strong><em>A special thanks to DPGibbons for the very kind review on Itunes UK.</em></strong><br />
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"If you've not listened to Shawn Crowle before, be prepared for something completely different. His music is probably the most radical you'll have heard in a long while - think Scott Walker, think Tom Waites, think of any artist who caused the hair on the back of your neck to stand up the first time you heard them - Shawn is one of those artists, one who polarises opinion, one who leaves a lasting impression.<br />
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If you like your music crammed full of emotion every inch of the way, Shawn's your man! Once you get over the shock of his radical approach to singing, the emotion in his voice will hit you like a freight train, relentless, harrowing at times - this isn't easy listening - you have to make an effort to get on the same wave-length, but once you do and once you make that connection you're in for pure joy.<br />
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The album opens with 'Once' - a gentle sensitive acoustic guitar and piano opening that sets the scene for a typical Shawn Crowe vocal. Shawn's lyrics are simple and to the point, but poetical at the same time and manage to conjure images that match the mood of the the music and vocal ' the old moon hanging careless', 'then we move into a storefront street' - this is a heady blend of tone-poem imagery, an artisitic delight.<br />
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'Running' is a tale of a man at the end of his tether, he can run no more and faces his fate 'I want to know where it's coming from'.<br />
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The album is full of images, of problems unresolved, of real lives and stories, of pain. 'The Girl on the edge of town' , 'The Baytown Boardwalk girl' , Eddie in 'The Rock & Roll Band' - all bought to vivid life, you can feel their lives in the emotional voice of Shawn Crowe.<br />
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A whole new dimension has just been added to popular music by Shawn Crowle and there is no going back. He walks a different path to anyone in contemporary music I've heard - if you're brave enough to walk that path with him, the musical rewards are immense."<br />
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<strong><em>Check out the album on </em></strong><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/elegy/id408548348?uo=4"><strong><em>Itunes</em></strong></a><strong><em> and don't forget to stop by </em></strong><a href="http://www.shawncrowle.com/"><strong><em>www.shawncrowle.com</em></strong></a><strong><em> or </em></strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shawn-Crowle/215598805124567"><strong><em>facebook</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>Cheers.</em></strong>Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-26382553435400579572011-03-25T16:36:00.001-06:002013-02-25T16:26:20.525-07:00FREE MP3 Download of "Running" from CDBaby<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">In celebration of the Grayowl Point review (see the March 16, 2011 post), visit </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a _mce_href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shawncrowle" href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shawncrowle" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">www.cdbaby.com/cd/shawncrowle</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> for a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong>free mp3 download of “Running</strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">”, one of the top tracks off the debut, and check out the rest of the album on</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a _mce_href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/elegy/id408548348" href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/elegy/id408548348" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">Itunes</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a _mce_href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shawncrowle" href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shawncrowle" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">CDBaby</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">, and</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a _mce_href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FYLP74/sr=8-13/qid=1292090007/ref=sr_1_13_digr?ie=UTF8&qid=1292090007&sr=8-13" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FYLP74/sr=8-13/qid=1292090007/ref=sr_1_13_digr?ie=UTF8&qid=1292090007&sr=8-13" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">AmazonMP3</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">.</span>Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-17532416010413407162011-03-21T16:29:00.002-06:002013-02-25T16:26:39.468-07:00Grayowl Point Review of "Elegy"<div style="line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“For Shawn Crowle there is no in-between. You’ll either love this album or you’ll hate it. Whatever you do think of it, you’ll have to admit that he is a seriously unique Canadian voice.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crowle is an experimental folk singer- as strange as that sounds. His music borders on Tom Waits territory. It’s truly something interesting to hear.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The musical arrangement of Crowle’s songs is usually pretty basic- a guitar or two and the occasional keys. This suits his album perfectly. An elegy is a mournful lament for the dead, and the songs conjure up images of a barren town covered in blowing dust. The guitar chords are simple and beautiful.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What will make a listener love or hate Crowle is his voice. I mentioned he’s somewhat like Tom Waits, in that his voice takes some getting used to. His voice is wheezy and raspy which could be a dealbreaker. And this is what makes him so interesting- his vocal style is radical, something you’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, the album feels exactly like an elegy- each song feels like it is mourning the dead; there are even a few song titles about specific people. Crowle is truly a voice that you need to experience when you’ve think you’ve heard them all.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Top Tracks:</b> “Running”; “The Rock & Roll Band”“</span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-Michael, Grayowl Point</span></i></div>
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<a href="http://glasspaperweight.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/review-elegy-shawn-crowle/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://glasspaperweight.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/review-elegy-shawn-crowle/</span></span></a></div>
Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-68603505415712071012011-03-19T16:33:00.000-06:002013-02-25T16:28:06.537-07:00With a voice that most closely resembles...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-C-X8YZclciuazQbmbuKDkbjieGbxNWTLPbALp9JtD2swscCq8RbuGOyzbV6h7et1sN2L7x4YV3r2ClRq0FKtzD0UdCEFwjNaCnvB4AZ4dqlnlfmrg1ii5f33wawFLxxyf30OD8ZdYB_/s1600/gun+club+82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-C-X8YZclciuazQbmbuKDkbjieGbxNWTLPbALp9JtD2swscCq8RbuGOyzbV6h7et1sN2L7x4YV3r2ClRq0FKtzD0UdCEFwjNaCnvB4AZ4dqlnlfmrg1ii5f33wawFLxxyf30OD8ZdYB_/s320/gun+club+82.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;">In a recent review (see the March 14, 2010 post) my voice was compared to the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce (pictured left), front-man and founder of the influential 80s punk band, <em>The Gun Club</em>. It’s not the first time I’ve been compared to punk artists, and while I’m not an avid listener of the genre, there is a lot that I respect about the early punk movement of the 1970s and early 1980s.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">First and foremost was the emotion. Many punk acts eschewed musicality in favor of emotion, and while the emotions themselves may be different (anger and rage vs. desolation and despondence), it’s something I’ve often done with my voice. It’s more about the need to express something, or tell some story, instead of about musical virtuosity. This isn’t to say that all punk bands lacked musical ability, Pierce was rooted heavily in reggae, blues and country while <em>The Clash</em> pulled elements from a wide range of genres into their music, they just didn’t let it get in the way of what they were trying to say. You could go into the effects of dissonance and intonation on emotional response, etc. but you’d be over-analyzing it; there’s an emotional response, because there’s nothing in the way of the honest emotion - no effects, no frills, and no patched together takes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">The artists usually had a strict DIY ethic and minimalist approach. In a way, the early punk were also some of the earliest indie lo-fi musicians, featuring stripped down instrumentation and straightforward songs. The recordings were often self-produced, sometimes recorded on home-tapes or four-tracks and were usually intentionally unpolished, with the sole intention of sounding “real”. They were often distributed solely through word of mouth and informal, underground channels. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">While nobody could ever mistake me for a punk artist, these are some of the elements that inspired me, and which I have drawn on for my own music and in particular for “Elegy”.</span></div>
Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-4125682351489111642011-03-14T16:24:00.013-06:002013-02-25T16:28:38.811-07:00Leicester Bangs Review of "Elegy"<div style="color: white; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="color: black;">A new album review of “Elegy” from the good folks at Leicester Bangs:</span></strong></div>
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<strong></strong><span style="color: black;">“With a voice that most closely resembles that of the late (and quite possibly great) Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Shawn Crowle certainly stands out in mannered singer-songwriter circles. His debut album, a conceptual piece revolving around a small town in decline is perfectly suited to his melancholy yelp, and although there’s an element of perseverance involved in truly understanding the lyrical complexity of Crowle’s words, there’s no doubting the despondency in which he wraps them. If desolation, sadness and a yarn or two appeals, then you may wish to investigate further.”</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: black;">-Simon M., Leicester Bangs</span></i></div>
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<a href="http://www.leicesterbangs.co.uk/mar11-14.html"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i></i><span style="color: black;">http://www.leicesterbangs.co.uk/mar11-14.html</span></span></a></div>
Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-5226502465676890712010-12-15T16:11:00.002-07:002013-02-25T16:29:00.141-07:00"Elegy" Official Album Release<div style="font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1m8qA-mYlbwVUFdKcxsOsECgg0inUiNhdyal2xwBzfW8pe39QlE9fat7-LHRn5lEe6pu8dhDKHyzmDAb2Z1rojVWt9YaPD9O4jIVWPTEr_1Vx1IctbwY1b1KT6ilEuQCb0PNfI_EUUel/s1600/Coversmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1m8qA-mYlbwVUFdKcxsOsECgg0inUiNhdyal2xwBzfW8pe39QlE9fat7-LHRn5lEe6pu8dhDKHyzmDAb2Z1rojVWt9YaPD9O4jIVWPTEr_1Vx1IctbwY1b1KT6ilEuQCb0PNfI_EUUel/s1600/Coversmall.jpg" /></a>"Awesome. Unique, emotional and different from pretty much anything you've ever heard." This is how <span class="ital">Elegy</span>, Shawn Crowle's quasi-conceptual debut album, available now on <a _mce_href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shawncrowle" href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shawncrowle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">CDBaby</span></a> and <a _mce_href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/elegy/id408548348?uo=4" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/elegy/id408548348?uo=4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">Itunes</span></a>, is being described. With comparisons to Tom Waits and Bob Dylan, the album is a portrait of the human condition, scattered with moments of heartbreak and hope, love and loss and a search for understanding.</div>
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Elegy</span> is as intentionally rough-edged and lovely as the characters that populate it. Formed around a base take of guitar and voice, the songs are made up of simple, sparse arrangements falling in around the words, always keeping the story at the forefront, creating a stark musical picture of ungainly beauty.<br />
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The songs resonate with a delicately played guitar, lyrics powerful in their simplicity and a weary voice, drawing the listener into the world Shawn has created, if only for a while. With tours planned throughout 2011 and radio plays on digital radio stations such as the "Amazing Folk Roots" show on Amazing Radio,<span class="ital">Elegy</span> is steadily reaching out to listeners, demanding their attention.<br />
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For more information or to listen to the album for yourself, visit Shawn at <a _mce_href="http://www.shawncrowle.com/news.html" href="http://www.shawncrowle.com/news.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">www.shawncrowle.com</span></a> or <a _mce_href="http://www.reverbnation.com/shawncrowle" href="http://www.reverbnation.com/shawncrowle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">www.reverbnation.com/shawncrowle</span></a> For promo-requests or to set up an interview, please write Shawn at <a _mce_href="mailto:shawn@shawncrowle.com" href="mailto:shawn@shawncrowle.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">shawn@shawncrowle.com</span></a>.<br />
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<span class="txt7"><span class="ital" style="font-size: xx-small;">-<i>- Kindly written by Thane Satyr, former drummer and vocalist for the Naughty Divas and (Rawlco Radio Recording Artists) Dean Lonsdale and the Ramifications. Opening quote by Dave Gibbons of the Monobandits.</i></span></span><br />
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</i> </span></span><span class="txt2"><span class="bold"><b>Listening to:</b></span> This American by Joe Purdy. His latest release, which he's kind enough to give away for the month of December.</span></div>
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Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-53623287776119685942010-12-02T15:55:00.001-07:002013-02-25T16:29:20.449-07:00Amazing Folk Roots Radio Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"Once...", the first track from the new album, "Elegy" is going to be featured on the Amazing Folk Roots radio show on Amazing Radio hosted by Frankie Ward this Sunday, December 5th at 7pm GMT and again on Wednesday, December 8th at 6pm GMT. This week Frankie will be joined in the soapbox by poet and comedian John Hegley.</div>
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You can listen to a live stream of the broadcast at <a href="http://www.amazingradio.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">www.amazingradio.co.uk</span></a> or listen live via DAB Digital Radio. If you miss the show, you can catch it again via Amazing Radio's rewind service from Tuesday on at <a href="http://www.amazingtunes.com/users/amazingrewind"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">www.amazingtunes.com/users/amazingrewind</span></a><span class="bold"><br />
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<b>Listening to:</b></span> Music from the Big Pink by The Band. From Eric Clapton to Elton John, one of the most influential albums of all time.<span class="bold"><br />
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<b>Reading:</b></span> Clapton. The autobiography of Eric Clapton. Brutally honest and insightful.</div>
Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375413283793798991.post-62549777734947709422010-11-24T14:51:00.003-07:002011-04-25T07:47:30.758-06:00Operatic Pretensions be damned...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt2">With the launch of the new site and the impending global release of the new album, Elegy, I thought I’d take a few minutes to talk about the album and what it meant to me.<br />
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I grew up in a small prairie town, and if anyone’s every spent a great deal of time there, it’s very much like it’s own little world, with it’s own set of almost archetypal characters. More than anything I wanted to tell their stories.<br />
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Right around the time I was piecing together the material for the album, I happened to take a little trip back home (or was pulled back, depending on your view of fate). As I made my way from one old haunt to another, it became painfully apparent that hard times had come down hard, and that thought more than any colored every aspect of the album, from the writing to the recording, and everything in between.<br />
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I deliberately set out seeking to make the album as raw as possible, with the story presented at the very forefront, with extremely sparse musical arrangements falling into place around it to paint the very specific musical picture I saw in my mind. Likewise, I wanted the actual sound and feel of the album as a whole to be as lofi as possible. I was very concerned with capturing the honesty of the songs, with as little production as possible to get in the way. The world these characters live in is dirty, rough and breaking, and that’s what I wanted the music to be.<br />
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I wanted to be able to pick up my guitar and play, no frills, no studio, just music, and that’s how I wanted it to sound. I wanted the listener to see what I saw. An empty room somewhere, maybe a bar, with a handful of guys sitting down to play. Dust on the guitars, beer-rings on the piano, and a single hazy spot to light the way. It’s a feel and an image I’ve always experienced listening to recordings such as Wait’s Bone Machine, Dylan’s Basement Tapes or the recent work of Kristofferson (The brilliant This Old Road and Closer to the Bone especially), and it’s something I wanted desperately to capture.<br />
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The one thing that’s divided listeners more than any other is my voice. I’m not a singer, I’m a storyteller, and I wanted to tell these stories the best way I knew how, with raw feeling and plenty of grit. No pretty harmonies, no melodic voicing, just the truth of the song as I saw it and my heart on my sleeve. I wanted to create something unique, and I think I’ve done that, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt3">”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt2">operatic pretensions be damned</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt3">”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt2"> as a good friend had said.<span class="bold"><br />
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<b> Listening to:</b></span> Bone Machine by Tom Waits. Absolutely Brilliant.<span class="bold"><br />
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<b> Reading:</b></span> The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The folk singer’s bible, I swear to God. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt3">”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt2">Ghost of Tom Joad</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt3">”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt2"> by Springsteen, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt3">”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt2">Here Comes that Rainbow</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt3">”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt2"> by Kristofferson, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt3">”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt2">Tom Joad</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt3">”</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="txt2"> by Guthrie, “Broken Plow by Knight…the list goes on.<span class="bold"><br />
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<b> Watching:</b></span> Boardwalk Empire. Hooked me from the start. Great set pieces, great music, intriguing characters and a superb multi-prong story. Also, Steve Buscemi is such a charming bastard in this show.</span></span>Shawn Crowlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14106587852401671514noreply@blogger.com0