Preview by Steve Cooke
Tom Hingley , who originally made his name as lead singer in the Inspiral Carpets, has continued with very successful solo career.
He has just released his latest new material, Grand Mal, another beautifully heartfelt collection of songs and his first ever solo vinyl album (other formats are available too!).
He contacted me to say, ‘I have my first new solo album out in 7 years , The Grand Mal was written during the 2020 Lockdown. An uplifting collection of songs embedded with Soul, Electro , acoustic and Rock influences. It contains Performances by Kelly Wood on Piano, Andrew Stewardson on Synthesisers, Pete Marshall on drums , Gary Hadfield on bass, Schrodinger’s Strings on Harps. Recorded at Blue Print Studios produced by Gary Hadfield, cover photograph by Kelly Wood graphics by Anthony Mulryan. I have never been prouder of an album.’
The Grand Mal has been recorded sporadically over the past three years, with Tom road testing the songs on his never ending acoustic tour. Many of the songs will be familiar to the faithful who follow Tom’s career. As The Grand Mal has gone through different recording phases, we get a mixture of solo acoustic numbers and some collaborative pieces too with Tom joined by a host of other musicians.
The revealing Actors gets the album underway, featuring only Tom’s vocal and trusty acoustic guitar. Tom always wears his heart on his sleeve and these cathartic, autobiographical songs are a feature of his solo work.
Up next the full band pieces, Easy and Take It Like A Woman emphasise the real versatility to Tom’s work.
The acoustic Another Bird On The Wire inspired by Leonard Cohen showcases Tom’s incredible vocal range and also features some subtle piano from Kelly Wood.
How Could I Be So Wrong? is a complete departure from anything Tom has ever done before, an epic piece with Tom’s powerful vocals and Andrew Stewardson’s synths.
My Madness changes the mood and tempo again.
Three more fine acoustic tracks White Feathers, Open Up and Turnstyle and the full band piece This Is My First Rodeo bring this stunning album to a close.
The Grand Mal is an excellent collection of songs. - music of the highest quality.
You can catch Tom playing songs from the album on 6 December at the Grayston Unity, 8 Horton St, Halifax HX1 1PU
Phone: 07807 136 520
Visit: https://thegraystonunity.co.uk/event/tom-hingley-band/ where you also can hear tracks from the album.
Visit: https://tomhingley.co.uk/
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