Charlie Freeman
12 June 2009
Charlie Freeman (London) Recorded at The Valve And Wizard Recording Studio Cape Town South Africa during the period of 20 Jan to 12 June 2009. Here are his comments.
An avid music fan from a very young age, it wasn't until I was 22 that I first picked up a guitar. Walking past a shop window, a beautiful black acoustic caught my eye and I began teaching myself how to play and proceeded to write songs. A few years down the line and an old mate and I rode the acoustic gigging scene in London before being joined by bass, keys and drums to form the group The Dice, who have just finished their debut album. In late '08 I had decided to take a break from London and headed for the States. I had the bones of a few tunes but in those weeks away I wrote about twelve songs. More personal material, I felt these songs needed a separate outlet from the Dice and so I decided to make a solo record.
Arriving in Cape Town in early '09, I quickly began to search for a suitable studio and it was The Valve and Wizard that jumped out at me from the internet search. I immediately called the studio and spoke to Derek at length about my aims. I knew straight away that it was the exact set up I was after and he was very much on my wavelength. He suggested I listen to the recordings of Jia who had recently finished their album at the studio. I loved what I heard. Another phonecall and I had block booked the studio for the month of February.
I arrived on the Monday to be greeted by all 6' 7" of Derek, a very friendly and professional man, clearly a connoisseur and lover of music (his enormous record collection is testament to that). We didn't hang about and by the end of the first day all the tracks had been recorded, just me and the guitar. I was keen to bring in a session guitarist to lay down all the guitar parts and by Tuesday morning Joe Recrosia, something of a Cape Town legend, was armed with a selection of about 6 beautiful guitars (from his large and impressive collection) and ready to rock and roll.
Drums, bass, BV's, fiddle and keys were all added in the coming weeks. Derek has an incredible team of session musicians he calls upon and whom he works with regularly. Denver Furness on Drums, Reg Edwards on bass, Gordon Mackay on fiddle, keys and on BV's (along with Derek's wife, professional singer Jenie Oliver) are all at the top of their game and incredibly well known and respected on the Cape Town music scene. More so, they are a pleasure to work with, great people who love music and do their utmost to bring your songs alive.
Throughout this process, Derek was at the helm. A perfectionist, an enthusiast, he has an amazing dedication to getting a record totally right and ensuring it sounds as good as it possibly can. Furthermore, he is an excellent musician himself and is brimming with creative ideas, whether it be song structure, harmonies, guitar or bass parts, etc, etc. It has been a great pleasure working with someone who is so clearly passionate about his work and I would recommend the Valve and Wizard studio very highly indeed.
Not to mention the rockin' cheese toasties for lunch in the local town, quick dips in the natural sea pools about two minutes from the studio and the chance to spend some quality time in Cape Town, an amazing city. (Oh, and did I mention the girls....)
Cheers!
Charlie Freeman
5 July 2009
Album Title: Reason To Live
Artist: Charlie Freeman
Reviewed By: Rhonda Readence
It has taken me a good long
while to write the review for Charlie Freeman’s album Reason To Live.
I received it in the mail, all the way from London, nearly two weeks
ago. I listened to it several times before attempting to review it,
and then I sat right here in my smoky apartment, computer screen staring
blankly at me, and popped Reason To Live into my walkman with the intention
of writing the review, but I couldn’t. I tried this several times
and I failed miserably each time. I didn’t even get one sentence down
on my previous attempts, so I think I’m ahead of the game this time.
And do you want to know the reason I tried to write this review several
times and couldn’t? It’s because I just wanted to listen. I did
not want to think about what I was hearing. I did not want to analyze
it. I simply wanted to enjoy it as a fan. But I am a reviewer, even
if I have also become a fan, so now I am listening to the album yet
again, and I think this time I will actually be able to write the review.
One of the reasons that I had
a hard time getting this review started is the first track, which is
also the album’s title track. I got stuck on this song and spent a
full day listening to ONLY this song. It is my personal opinion that
everyone, EVERYONE, should listen to this song. If everyone listened
to this song and took the lyrics to heart, we would all be a lot happier.
It is truly an inspirational song with an extremely optimistic and positive
message. I’d like to simply put the lyrics here and let them speak
for themselves, but that’s not what a review is about, is it? I will,
however, quote my favorite part of the song “Reason To Live.”
It’s when Charlie sings, “Go your way, whatever they may say, It’s
your life and now, my friend, there’s no need to pretend, pretend.”
This is a great song because it’s about doing what we want to do,
about finding the things that makes us happy and following our hearts.
I think it was a very good choice to make this the title track.
The second song “Happy,”
starts off with a mellow little groove that vaguely reminds me of Spanish
music with maracas and bongo drums and flamenco guitar hooks. It’s
a very well crafted song musically. Charlie’s lyrics are rather uplifting
as well, with him telling us that he’s “So happy today, the pain
has gone away. I’m so happy today, come, come what may…” And that’s
just the chorus. The rest of the song contains even more optimistic
and positive food for thought, and these thought provoking lyrics make
me feel like I need to get off my arse and do something with my life.
It’s a very motivational song about making the best of things, accepting
what cannot be changed, moving on and trying to be happy, which is something
that everyone should and could do, if they tried.
The next track “Prisoner,”
is a rather melancholy tune that starts off with Charlie asking, “Do
you want to know me, darling, do you even care?” This line, in conjunction
with the title of the track, immediately brings to mind painful days
of loving someone wholly and completely, but also knowing that I’m
giving my love in vain and being held a prisoner by my own feelings,
which we can’t always help. It is a painful place to be, but Charlie’s
words, combined with the superior musicianship in this song, make it
seem perhaps not AS painful as it once was. The song closes on the line,
“Living with you ain’t easy, living without you is…… the same.”
I think that perfectly sums up the conundrum of so many relationships.
After the bittersweet pain
that “Prisoner” made me feel, it was refreshing to be taken into
the song “High On Life.” This is a great song and the placement
of it on the album is genius. I just went from being on the verge of
tears to enjoying the sun in Jamaica. There is certainly an island feel
to this one and it’s a dancing song, no doubt. There’s nothing overly
complicated about “High On Life”. It’s simply a song about feeling
fine, having a good day, and being high on life. We all have those days
sometimes. Those happy, giddy days when everything is perfect and smiles
come easy and laughter is natural and free. Charlie captures that perfectly
in this song and the upbeat rhythm and melody will be sure to get the
feet tapping.
“Fool” starts off with
some attention grabbing guitar work and then Charlie’s melodic voice
crooning to us about the potential demise of a relationship. He is,
in essence, telling someone to take a hike. And hey, we’ve all been
there before, haven’t we? Second guessing our choice to end a relationship,
being unhappy in a situation that is unhealthy, and ultimately having
to walk away from it all. And even though it’s probably the right
choice, that doesn’t make the hurt any less painful. The knowledge
that we are doing what needs to be done seldom brings much comfort,
and the comfort that it does bring seems cheap and cold. Once again,
Charlie has put into words something that we can all relate to.
In the song “Wild Horse,”
I am reminded of David Gray, not so much because of the melody of the
song, but more so because of Charlie’s voice. The resemblance is remarkable.
“Wild Horse” is a slow, contemplative song with more stellar guitar
work and seamless engineering. The sound of this song is smooth and
it flows very well. As for the actual song itself, Charlie’s lyrics
are once more universal and easy to relate to, regardless of age, nationality,
profession, or position. Charlie tells us “Don’t be scared, there’s
no need to suffer anymore, Just get on the wild horse, break the walls
down, feel free to live your life.” Lyrics like that clearly speak
for themselves.
“Smile” is vaguely Beatle-esque
in the John Lennon way and it’s pretty much a feel good song. I especially
like the horns in this one and the mellow smooth flow of the guitar.
Charlie’s voice sounds a bit husky while he sings this tune and his
British accent is more pronounced in this song than it is in any of
the ones I’ve listened to so far. I found myself singing along to
“Smile” after listening to it a few times, and that’s what I like.
I like to be able to sing along to a song without having to know it
inside and out. It is also brimming with optimism and good vibes. “Smile”
is a great song to listen to at any time of the day, regardless of one’s
mood or disposition. It will surely make everything seem a little brighter.
The track “Take It All the
Way” is probably my least favorite so far, but only because it’s
a touch slower paced than the rest and I tend to like a faster beat
and rhythm. The musicianship is stellar, however, and I think because
the tempo of this song is a bit slower, the listener can focus more
on the instruments and the craftsmanship of the production and engineering,
which is remarkable. The sound is clear and well balanced and each instrument
stands out without being overly obvious. The entire album is extremely
well produced, but I think it is very apparent in this song in particular
that there are a plethora of instruments and layers and they all come
together smoothly.
“Stuntman” begins with
only a soft acoustic guitar and Charlie singing to us about the Stuntman.
Trail blazin’ amazin’ dream chasin’ risk takin’…… I think
this song shows the quality of Charlie’s voice extremely well and
it highlights the dreams and desires of people who are willing to take
a chance, and possibly get mangled in the process, but unafraid to take
that chance nonetheless. “Stuntman” is more than just a song, however;
it’s a story as well. Charlie takes us through the Stuntman’s dreams
and successes… And then his inevitable failure and demise… And then
the Stuntman’s return and redemption. What a great story with a great
message.
The beginning of “Time Has
Come” makes me thing immediately of Lindsey Buckingham’s guitar
work, which is some of the most under-rated guitar work in the history
of music. This song clearly shows us that Charlie is a master of the
guitar and “Time Has Come” has more of a rock feel to it than any
other song on the album. This song shows another side of Charlie Freeman
that we didn’t know was there. It’s edgy and a bit gritty and makes
me think of the old American West when outlaws WERE the law. I can see
a painted desert with a cowboy silhouetted against the setting sun and
this song playing in the background. It is very fitting, at least in
my mind. In addition to the extraordinary guitar work, “Time Has Come”
also has some very nice drum technique on it as well and it’s all
around an excellent show of the diversity of Charlie Freeman and the
other musicians who are playing with him. Excellent.
“Dangerous Livin’” has
a slight bluesy feel to it. Just slightly, but I could most certainly
feel a definite bluesy rhythm to this one. While listening to this song,
I found myself swaying ever so discreetly and feeling like I could be
listening to this song in a smoky cocktail lounge full of people from
every walk of life. I think this song transcends the boundaries of pop,
rock, alternative, and blues. It is not easy to put this song (or ANY
Charlie Freeman song) into a specific category. There is a touch of
everything in “Dangerous Livin’” and this, once more, proves that
Charlie is a rather diverse artist who can touch the lives of many different
people with many different tastes in music. The lyrics are very good
as well. Dangerous Livin’ is about being caught in lies and being
in denial. Once we lose our honesty and our ability to look at ourselves
candidly, we are indeed living dangerously.
The final track of the album
is “Dream On” and it is a great closer. Charlie ends his album on
a wonderfully positive note with this sweet love song. I really like
when Charlie takes his singing voice down to a speaking voice as he
tells us “I believe we can do anything. I believe in us. And I believe
our dreams will come true. And I believe in me and you.” Those are
some powerful words. Once again, Charlie Freeman has made me feel good
with his music with the track “Dream On,” and as I listen to the
final track of the album, I have the idea in my mind that anything is
possible and that I can do whatever I want. It is a great feeling.
It was an absolute pleasure for me to listen to this album. Each time I listen to it, I hear something new or different that I hadn’t heard the time before. The lyrics are optimistic and positive, the musicianship is extraordinary, and the production and engineering is alarmingly close to perfect. I usually try to give some constructive criticism in my reviews, but there is not much that I can criticize, constructively or otherwise, with this album. Not only is the music itself wonderful, but the fact that it can reach so many different people with so many diverse backgrounds and lives and places is fascinating. Charlie Freeman has a lot to say and it would be in everyone’s best interests to listen. I personally feel changed somehow after listening to Reason To Live, and I am very much looking forward to more from Charlie Freeman. When music makes you see life in a better way, it truly is magical.
