[bomp] 1st Andy Fairweather Low LP in 26 years

[rsmccull@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=90363

Veteran guitarist delivers Sweet Soulful Music August 15, 2006, produced
by the legendary Glyn Johns

LOS ANGELES, Calif.  Welsh-born singer-guitarist Andy Fairweather Low is
truly a pop-music survivor: you may remember his hits with the 60s
British pop group Amen Corner (Bend Me Shape Me, [If Paradise Is] Half
as Nice, Gin House) or be a fan of his 70s solo LPs on A&M, which have
achieved cult-classic status (1975s Spider Jivin, 1976s La Booga Rooga
and 1978s Be Bop n Holla) and yielded more hits (Reggae Tune, Be Bop
n Holla, Wide Eyed and Legless. More recently hes been an essential
sideman for the Who, Van Morrison, Linda Ronstadt, Bill Wyman and George
Harrison, and, in his longest associations, Eric Clapton and Pink Floyds
Roger Waters. Now hes back on the solo track with Sweet Soulful Music
(Proper American Recordings), due out in the U.S. on August 15, 2006.

Low was Claptons second guitarist for 13 years, appearing on Unplugged,
>From the Cradle, Pilgrim, Riding With the King, Reptile, One More Rider,
Me and Mr. Johnson and Back Home. He toured with Clapton (reviving Gin
House for the 1999 shows) until 2003, and has also toured extensively
with Roger Waters.

But Low finally felt the need to make his own music again, and did not
tour with Clapton in 04 for Me and Mr. Johnson. Now, a mere 26 years
after releasing his last solo effort, Low returns with Sweet Soulful
Music, which sounds as its title suggests and served as a kind of old-home
week for Low. It was produced by Glyn Johns; the famed engineer for the
Beatles and Stones also produced La Booga Rooga and Be Bop n Holla. The
band includes bassist Dave Bronze (Robin Trower, Procol Harum, Clapton),
and drummer Henry Spinetti (Clapton, Harrison, Paul McCartney, Roger
Daltrey), with John Rabbit Bundrick (the Who, Pete Townshend, Bob
Marley) adding piano to two tracks. Bundrick played on La Booga Rooga and
Be Bop n Holla, while Spinetti appeared on the latter LP.

Sweet Soulful Music begins with a rockabilly rave-up, One More Rocket,
but most of the music here travels at a more leisurely, introspective, yet
upbeat pace, with the virtuosic Low handling all guitars, ukelele and
mandolin. Backup singers Carole Kenyon, Katie Kissoon and Pat Arnold add
to the soulful texture of Hymn 4 My Soul, Ashes and Diamonds and the
title track. I give out but I dont give in, Low sings on Zazzy, just
one tune inflected with the sound of gospel music. Indeed, spirituality is
the theme throughout, as Low reflects on life and appeals to a higher
power on behalf of us all: I believe in a heaven for everyone, he states
in Ashes and Diamonds. I count my blessings one by one, goes the
gentle yet stunning The Low Rider, Im only who I am and what Ive
done. What Lows done here is offer a prayer without pretension in every
infectious song.

Low will be touring as the guitarist with Roger Waters in the U.S. this
September and October, in all major venues, and will embark on a solo U.S.
tour early 2007.

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