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Simo Neiglick writes:I got the CD yesterday. At first I was a bit dissapointed to find out that there are only three different versions of the same song on the CD, but after listening I'd say they are different enough from each other to justify their inclusion. The song itself is a beautiful, moving ballad that would have fitted perfectly on "The Great Unknown". The 'Big Noise' version (I take it this is not a live recording - no crowd noise - but rather just similar to the one they played at the show) focuses on Tony's singing (which is very good) with just synth-strings and an acoustic guitar or two to back him up. The piano based instrumental brings out the strong melody in the song. And the final 'original' version is like the previous two put together, with more instruments and featuring Mark in the drums. Though I must say that the drum sound and beat is such that if it did not say that Mark was playing I'd think it is a drum-machine! I'll have to listen more carefully... maybe he's concentrating on the cymbals and hihats this time - at least those seemed to stand out more. Anyway, a fine song - I can highly recommend it! Cheers, Simo |
Christian Jennings writes:Tony's new single arrived in the mail yesterday! It has great artwork, which you've already seen if you visited Oliver's page lately. The painting on the front cover is worth the price of the CD. In addition, there is a photo on back which apparently was taken during the Big Noise concert (?) featuring Tony and six other musicians I don't recognize. Anyone know who these people are?As for the music, "One Day to the Next" is a quiet, unassuming ballad. Tony's voice is just fine. Personally, I don't think the song itself is as refined or stirring as the others on "The Great Unknown" but it's still an enjoyable piece of work. The first track, the "Big Noise" version, is just vocals with synth and acoustic guitar. The second, instrumental version, features Josh Phillips on keyboards and an electronic drum loop, along with some nice booming bass from Tony. The third version ("Choir") is basically a combination of the first two tracks with some extra flourishes thrown in. It's the best version, for my money. The liner notes say Mark plays drums on the third track, but unless I'm missing something, he must have just punched in the buttons on the drum machine. The lyrics are very descriptive of what it's like to have M.E., and Tony obviously has some personal experience to draw from (members of his family have suffered from M.E.). But his choice of words on this song is just a little too cliched... maybe he should have asked Stu to give them a tweak or two. Overall, I'd have to say this single is no more or less than the charity effort it was meant to be. Which means that even though it's not Tony at his best, we should all buy it anyway, and store it right next to the "Non!" single on our CD shelves. :) xian jennings |