Lowedges

Richard Hawley

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 20, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Xl Recordings
• ASIN: B00008YJDG
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,594 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Chamber Pop

Track Listings

1. Run for Me

2. Darlin'

3. Oh My Love

4. Only Road

5. On the Ledge

6. You Don't Miss Your Water (Till Your River Runs Dry)

7. Motorcycle Song

8. It's over Love

9. I'm on Nights

10. Danny

11. Nights Are Made for Us

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Lowedges is Richard Hawley's third album. Neither of its predecessors caused riots in record stores, but pretty much everyone who has paid attention to British pop music in the last decade has heard Richard Hawley. As a session guitarist for Pulp, Robbie Williams, Beth Orton, and others, Hawley commands the airwaves to a degree that any similar singer-songwriter would kill for. It can't be easy though to live with the irony that the work that appears under his own name is his least known and by some distance his best.

Lowedges sees Hawley sticking to the template he established on his two previous solo albums: knelling, tuneful ballads are built around an acoustic guitar and sung with a guttural croon that pitches somewhere between Edwyn Collins and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon. Like Leonard Cohen and Lee Hazlewood, Hawley revels in melancholy. Tracks such as "On the Ledge" and "You Don't Miss Your Water (Till Your River Runs Dry)" are confections of the most sumptuous misery. --Andrew Mueller

Product Description

Massively anticipated follow up to 2001's acclaimed 'Late Night Final'. Displaying his unique brand of windswept Yorkshire/Nashville crossover, 'Lowedges' is both classic and timeless. As a musician's musician Richard has received reverential acclaim from the likes of Coldplay, Doves, Nick Cave, Badly Drawn Boy and Radiohead. After working with amongst others Pulp, All Saints, Perry Farrell, Nellee Hooper & Baz Luhrman. XL Recordings. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hawley recommended!, July 15, 2003

By	livright "endust" (The Prairie, United States) - See all my reviews

At last, a disc to stick in between the Nick Lowe "crooner" trilogy (Impossible Bird, Dig My Mood, The Convincer). Like Lowe, Hawley writes strong material and sings it in a warm, trustworthy voice perfect for 3 a.m. Also like Lowe, he has his hard rocking period behind him for the moment (a former member of Pulp) but now sounds like a man who has come to terms with himself. So, you'll find several touching love songs, along with a tribute to the pleasures of riding his motorcycle (see it on the cover). No cool poses, just the truth as he sees it. Nothing fancy in the way of instrumentation either--everything serves a purpose, and the playing is as warm as the vocals (Hawley is also an outstanding guitarist). In these cheesy American Idol days, let's celebrate honesty and real talent where we can find them. Lowedges is a great place to start--one of the 3 best albums I've heard this year.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hear Richard's songs on the world , love and life, August 14, 2005

By	A C SHIELDS (melbourne , australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I suppose the main thing to say about Richard would be that his voice is not for extreme rock and roll fans . It is for those who like solid atmospheric songs with a fair amount of reverb on them . Imagine Roy Orbison slowed down with mostly positive lyrics that can celebrate or lament the simple things in life like appreciation for your loved one or looking back on past times .

The best singers can make you feel that you believe the stories they are telling - I think that is the most difficult thing to do . What is the difference between singing words and singing lyrics - the difference makes a great singer .

Richard certainly gets you into the mood of his records .
It is cinematic music in that it can conjure up pictures in your mind if you are so inclined .
Most of his songs are built on the guitars which play repeated patterns of notes ( arpeggios ) - some are instrumentals .

Listeners will come to this music by accident or through others as it is not promoted at all , relatively on the music business scale of things .

It will not suit all tastes as the tempos are mainly slow .
It is reflective music with reflective lyrics .
Buy it to see what you think .

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gem, July 25, 2003

By	David Witt (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Richard Hawley is amazing. The best musician that no one has ever heard of. He is one of those very few artists whose songs have an ability to transport you to another time and place. I don't think he'll ever hit the mainstream per se, but that's fine with me. I'll be happy to keep his music to myself and those few lucky people who have been introduced to him.

Is it just me, or would his songs make incredible cinema soundtrack music-- background music for a scene when a heartbroken character is walking down a lonely city street in the rain, for example. His music is haunting, evocative yet full of warmth and romanticism. I don't know exactly who to compare him to-- Chris Issac, perhaps? It's just a shame he waited until so late in his career to pursue solo projects. . .