A Review of the Quietly Spinning Man CD
"Inside Out"

"Inside Out"
by Quietly Spinning Man

Osmosys  Records OSMOCD025
Copyright: Osmosys Records 2004.  
http://www.qsm-music.co.uk

This review is written by Dai Woosnam, daigress@hotmail.com, 1/05

Here is a British duo completely new to me. I confess to having to overcome a prejudice at the very start: names like “Badly Drawn Boy” and this one tend to make me immediately call on what Papa Hemingway called his “in Built Shit Detector”. I automatically suspect that it will be an “Emperor’s Suit of Clothes” job.

But I put such notions aside here, and listened to the album with the degree of objectivity that all reviewers should bring to their work. And there was much to please me.

“Quietly Spinning Man” is the daft name for Andrew McNeill and Gavin Beckwith. Andrew, better known to all his friends as “Niel” (sic) seems to be the chief songwriter of the two: you might say he is the master of the single entendre. That is not quite the put-down it might seem: there is a lot to be said for simple lyrics that do not try to be ultra-clever, but yet use rhyme and scansion.

The songs are a bit lacking melodically, but both chaps have pleasant voices that do not let the songs down.

But there is one thing that does let the songs down: indeed, does the songs a disastrous disservice. I refer to their blasted “drum programming”. The infernal thing sent me nuts, and had me screaming for silence within minutes. It sounded like somebody was putting up a log cabin for each of the songs!  

“Quietly Spinning Man” indeed! “Screaming Demented Reviewer” more like.  

There was a very telling comment in the publicity handout accompanying my review copy. It seems that the duo realised that the arrangements of their songs “needed more instruments than they could play”! Eh?  

Look, if it means using such dastardly technological aids, then please CHANGE THE BLEEDIN’ ARRANGEMENT!! If the songs are good enough, then you ought to be able to sing them “a cappella”.

If they ain’t, then don’t release them! That said, these songs ARE better than the drum machine would suggest.

Buy the album at www.qsm-music.co.uk

Dai Woosnam
Grimsby, England
daigress@hotmail.com


Track List:

All songs “Beckwith/McNeill”.

Copyright © 1998-2008 Kevin & Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews. All rights reserved.

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