--
Login
|
Logout
| User:
Not Signed In
| Email | Cart | Items
Home |
Magazine
| Photography |
Discussion
| Buy | Sell |
My Account
| About
www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk
Band:
Chris Ford
Label:
Cooking Vinyl
Title:
Good Morning America
Tweet
Review (1)
Release Details
Add Release
Releases (1)
Articles (0)
Cover Art (1)
Versions (0)
Edit Release
Releases List (1)
Reviews (1)
Pictures (0)
Summary (0)
Related (0)
Jukebox (1)
List All (1)
Band:
Chris Ford
Title:
Good Morning America
Reviewed By:
Adrian Janes
Date Published:
16/06/2016
Label:
Cooking Vinyl
Format:
CD
Release Year:
2016
Lookup:
‘Good Morning America’ is split between Chris Ford’s take on current affairs and the affairs of his heart. Unfortunately, though he’s commendably trying to raise his voice (at a time when, as he later observes, so many in pop and rock “Say Nothing”), he’s much more convincing as a troubadour than a pundit.
The title track, with its “How are you going to make us feel today?’ line, concerns America’s centrality in the world, and American influence is unmistakably embedded in Ford’s music. Despite the song’s catchy yet melancholic melody, in the end it’s a somewhat bland soft-rock, like a Byrds track that doesn’t really take flight.
The environmental anxiety of ‘Digging Our Own Graves’ is cutely masked by the way the title is poppily repeated in the chorus.It does make the listener do an aural double-take, but it’s doubtful if evoking the Rubettes does justice to the message.
‘Say Nothing’, driven by hard guitar and drums and overwritten by spidery synth, certainly makes the most impact amongst the political tracks. There’s some righteous condemnation of the shallowness of much popular culture (“Is Liberty a statue or a fashion brand?”), and Ford takes particular aim at an A-list of music stars, from Rihanna to Coldplay, while lamenting “Where have all the Dylans and the Springsteens gone?” But his voice is essentially mellifluous, so despite the music’s power the end result feels like a harangue from a really angry Liberal Democrat.
’Hard to Believe’ is the hinge of the album. The last of the socially conscious numbers, its acoustic guitar, piano and cello instrumentation make a better setting for Ford’s kind of voice: he brings out the pathos of trying, and failing, to make sense of a contradiction-riddled world.
The remainder of the album is a group of acoustic-dominated romantic ruminations. Some are plaintive and pretty, such as ‘Lovefalls’ and the McCartneyish ‘Moving out of View’, while others like ‘FYI’, ‘Into the Blue’ and the mawkish ‘Genevieve’ seem tailor-made for Radio 2 in their inoffensiveness, and somewhat undermine the credibility of ‘Say Nothing’. Similarly, the title ‘The Warp Glass’ shouldn’t deceive fans of left-field experimental labels, being yet another perspective on lovelorn regret.
With its chilly guitar touches, ’A Little Rain Must Fall’ is a little more distinctive than many of the other songs of this ilk on the album, and it also effectively shadows the voice on the chorus. At heart, though, it remains very competent pop-rock, no less but no more.
If ‘Good Morning America’ was envisaged as a wake-up call, by the end it’s time for bed.
Track Listing:
First
Previous
Next
Last
Related Links
http://www.chrisford.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/chrisfordlive
https://www.facebook.com/chrisfordmusic
https://www.youtube.com/user/chrisfordmusic
Commenting On: Good Morning America by Chris Ford
Header
Comment:
Your Name
Your Location
ie London, England
tick box before submitting comment
First
Previous
Next
Last
Related Bands
(edit)
Related Labels
Cooking Vinyl
Review Header
Third album from British singer-songwriter Chris Ford which is political and personal but not indispensable
Articles A-Z
View All
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Good Morning America - CD
Third album from British singer-songwriter Chris Ford which is political and personal but not indispensable
First
Previous
Next
Reviews A-Z
View All
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Top Articles (Current Magazine)
Captain Sensible Interview
Rat Scabies Interview
Pennyblackmusic Writers and Photographers Albums of the Year 2020
Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey Interview
KT Tunstall Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities #1
Alison Cotton/Jenny Sturgeon Under the Radar
Cliff Richard Taking Risks
Bob Harris Interview
Robin Trower Interview
Top Reviews (Current Magazine)
Robin Trower, Maxi Priest, Livingstone Brown United State of Mind CD (Manhaton Records )
Davey Woodward and the WInter Orphans Love and Optimism CD (A Turntable Friend)
Martin Simpson Home Recordings CD (Topic Records)
Slow Readers Club 91 Days in Isolation CD (SRC Records )
Michael J Sheehy Distance is the Soul of Gravity CD (Lightning Archive )
Dupont Circles In Search of the Family Gredunza CD (The Beautiful Music)
Gary Barlow Music Played by Humans CD (Universal Music)
Ace of Cups Sing Your Dreams CD (High Moon Records)
Neuzeitliche Bodenblage Der Grosse Preis CD (Bureau B)
Billie Joe Armstrong No Fun Mondays CD (Warner Bros)