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ROB
THOMPSON |
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One
of Angel Airs most impressive, progressive sounding pop/rock
albums of the past year, Dust by singer-songwriter and guitarist
Rob Thompson is time well spent for music fans. Thompson is best known,
so far, as a member of the group The Storys, a band who also
have a new 2010 album out on Angel Air entitled Luck.
The songs on the nine track Dust CD are each memorable
in their own right, yet perhaps the biggest surprise here is Thompsons
outstanding, and often quite electrifying guitar work, which echoes
some of the more melodic and succinct work of Pink Floyds Dave
Gilmour. Even Thompsons songs sound very much influenced by
mid 70s Pink Floyd, minus the trepidation. On another front,
Thompson and his band mates in the The Storys recorded a new album
called Luck over the past year. Even after making a success
of their band, The Storys are planning to take a break following an
upcoming planned farewell gig in their native Swansea, Wales on June
19, 2010. The sound of Luck is slightly more low-key and a
little more singer-songwriter sounding compared to Thompsons
solo sound. Perhaps its the influence of the four part harmony from
West Coast American groups like CSN&Y, and theres a solid
country flavored rock influence in play on Luck. Commenting
on the sound of The Storys, one of the groups lead singers Steve
Balsamo adds, 'We've had a great six years together and have memories
that will be with us for the rest of our lives. However, we all think
the time is right to try something new. We all have our own projects
to take forward and we're eager to support each other. We look forward
to giving our fans a fantastic final live show. Theres
plenty of sumptuous harmonies and groovy four part harmonies on the
Luck album, and fittingly, the eleven cut CD also features
Rob Thompsons sonic electric guitar skills. The production of
both Luck and Thompsons Dust album was ably handled
by Tim Hamill. As usual, Angle Air has done a remarkable job
on the excellent sound and CD packaging, making both the Luck and
Dust releases each an excellent choice for fans of adventurous
U.K. pop and rock. www.AngelAir.co.uk MUSIC
WEB EXPRESS 3000 I
am one of the singer/songwriters and lead guitarist with the band
The Storys. We have made three albums and played shows with Elton
John, Santana, Van Morrison and a load more amazing people over the
last few years. New
CD Dust
is my first solo album. It was recorded between September last year
and April of this year at two studios in South Wales (Sonic-One Studio,
Llangenech and Moondog and Bank Studio, Swansea) and one in France
(GPFX Studio, Grenoble). It features Andy Collins and Alan Thomas
from The Storys on bass and piano, Matthew John plays guitar and harmonica
on a couple of tracks, producer Tim Hamill handles drums, and there
is also a guest appearance from my stepson Ceri playing piano and
acoustic guitar on "Could You Come Around?" Favorite
Guitars The main
electric guitars that I used recording Dust were my Campbell
American Nelsonic Transitone (co-designed by Bill Nelson from Be Bop
Deluxe), my customized Fender Squire Strat (with Lace Sensor pickups
and locking machine heads) which I have been playing since I left
school and my RKS. Musical
Influences I have
so many musical influences that it is hard to know where to begin.
I just like people who do what they believe and do it to the best
of their abilities. Off the top of my head, albums that have influenced
how I try to make albums or write music would be Tom Petty - Wildflowers,
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here, The Finn Brothers - Everyone
Is Here, Fleetwood Mac - Tusk or the other hundreds of
albums that I keep discovering or going back to. Upcoming
Plans I am
currently busy rehearsing for The Storys farewell concerts happening
in Swansea this June and then I am back in the studio helping Andy
Collins out with his first solo album. After that, I hope to start
putting together a new band and do some shows featuring my new material.
I am also hoping to release a "Storys" side project Ostermouth-Five
songs for Jen EP featuring Balsamo, Collins and myself. It's going
to be a busy year.
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