PAUL MCCLURE – SMILING FROM THE FLOOR UP
2014 – Clubhouse
Records
It’s rare that you will hear an album with such sparse instrumentation as this and yet one that still manages to sound so varied. It’s not country music, it’s not folk music and it’s certainly not a blues album but it is all of these melded together into an intensely personal idiosyncratic ‘roots’ stew. Paul McClure hails from Rutland, UK and was formerly one half of The Hi and Lo, a roots musical duo that also recorded for Clubhouse Records.
He is the possessor of warm, expressive vocals that contain a nice edginess, something that ensures, even on the purely acoustic guitar led tracks, there is texture and variation to the songs. All of the albums ten songs were written by McClure and he was helped out on a couple of tracks by Hannah Elton-Wall (The Redlands Palomino Company) who brought her lovely feminine harmonies to add a little extra dramatic edge and on one track by Joe Bennett (The Dreaming Spires). The songs are all taken from life and cover many of the emotions and problems faced by us all, making the albums loose concept intensely personal with an equal blend of tenderness and grit. As someone who has absolutely no musical talent whatsoever it’s difficult enough for me to imagine how anyone can make a good album with the support of a variety of instruments and other musicians but to record a debut solo album this sparse and of this quality beggars belief! He is helped by the fact that his vocals are so incredibly expressive, making every one of these beautifully conceived songs entirely believable. There is also the point that whilst there is very little instrumentation what there is is so expertly managed that it’s only after a few listens you realize exactly how sparse it is.
Of the songs, all ten are uniformly excellent, with a variety of emotions and textures that gives the album, despite that sparseness, great diversity. Polyanna has an incredibly strong story line built on a nice raw snare foundation, with a banjo and what sounds like a resonator guitar and a slithering fiddle in the background. These are joined by a gorgeous steel guitar and Paul’s evocative vocal that is given added impetus by an atmospheric harmony vocal on the chorus. It is a powerful, often eerie song that has an ‘old timey’ feel, beautifully conceived and carried out with a heavier instrumentation than most of the other songs on this terrific recording. Any Number You Like (As long as it’s 4) is a complete contrast, having an upbeat carnival atmosphere with echoing piano, drums and resonator guitar and a complete textural change that not only adds diversity but also a little lightness. Keep It Together is a gorgeous and intense ballad that has a beautiful harmony from Hannah Elton-Wall and a nicely blended sparse instrumentation of piano and acoustic guitar that carries the song along but adding an accordion later in the song was a masterstroke that ups the sense of romantic drama a further notch. Finally, Starting From The Floor Up is a slow moody and reflectively mellow tale that starts with just acoustic guitar and voice but is then joined by a weeping steel guitar which helps create a deep spooky atmosphere.
It would be so easy to write about the strengths of every song on this album but ultimately you need to buy a copy and listen to it to fully get the musical ability that conceived this excellent recording. If this is the sort of quality Paul McClure is capable of he should have a long and fruitful career. I look forward to hearing ‘that difficult second album!’
http://www.paulmccluremusic.com/
It’s rare that you will hear an album with such sparse instrumentation as this and yet one that still manages to sound so varied. It’s not country music, it’s not folk music and it’s certainly not a blues album but it is all of these melded together into an intensely personal idiosyncratic ‘roots’ stew. Paul McClure hails from Rutland, UK and was formerly one half of The Hi and Lo, a roots musical duo that also recorded for Clubhouse Records.
He is the possessor of warm, expressive vocals that contain a nice edginess, something that ensures, even on the purely acoustic guitar led tracks, there is texture and variation to the songs. All of the albums ten songs were written by McClure and he was helped out on a couple of tracks by Hannah Elton-Wall (The Redlands Palomino Company) who brought her lovely feminine harmonies to add a little extra dramatic edge and on one track by Joe Bennett (The Dreaming Spires). The songs are all taken from life and cover many of the emotions and problems faced by us all, making the albums loose concept intensely personal with an equal blend of tenderness and grit. As someone who has absolutely no musical talent whatsoever it’s difficult enough for me to imagine how anyone can make a good album with the support of a variety of instruments and other musicians but to record a debut solo album this sparse and of this quality beggars belief! He is helped by the fact that his vocals are so incredibly expressive, making every one of these beautifully conceived songs entirely believable. There is also the point that whilst there is very little instrumentation what there is is so expertly managed that it’s only after a few listens you realize exactly how sparse it is.
Of the songs, all ten are uniformly excellent, with a variety of emotions and textures that gives the album, despite that sparseness, great diversity. Polyanna has an incredibly strong story line built on a nice raw snare foundation, with a banjo and what sounds like a resonator guitar and a slithering fiddle in the background. These are joined by a gorgeous steel guitar and Paul’s evocative vocal that is given added impetus by an atmospheric harmony vocal on the chorus. It is a powerful, often eerie song that has an ‘old timey’ feel, beautifully conceived and carried out with a heavier instrumentation than most of the other songs on this terrific recording. Any Number You Like (As long as it’s 4) is a complete contrast, having an upbeat carnival atmosphere with echoing piano, drums and resonator guitar and a complete textural change that not only adds diversity but also a little lightness. Keep It Together is a gorgeous and intense ballad that has a beautiful harmony from Hannah Elton-Wall and a nicely blended sparse instrumentation of piano and acoustic guitar that carries the song along but adding an accordion later in the song was a masterstroke that ups the sense of romantic drama a further notch. Finally, Starting From The Floor Up is a slow moody and reflectively mellow tale that starts with just acoustic guitar and voice but is then joined by a weeping steel guitar which helps create a deep spooky atmosphere.
It would be so easy to write about the strengths of every song on this album but ultimately you need to buy a copy and listen to it to fully get the musical ability that conceived this excellent recording. If this is the sort of quality Paul McClure is capable of he should have a long and fruitful career. I look forward to hearing ‘that difficult second album!’
http://www.paulmccluremusic.com/