Steve Gifford

Steve Gifford – Boy On The Beach

Milton Keynes based singer–songwriter Steve Gifford returns with an impressive third album “Boy On The Beach”, clearly inspired by the West Coast Americana genre.

After a rapturous reception at the Stables Wavendon, where he recently supported Grammy Winning artist Shawn Colvin, Gifford was invited back to launch his new album on 5th September

The opening number “Blame it on me” embraces laid back country with a touch of folk, and is followed by the wickedly catchy “Devils Daughter”, certainly the stand out track on the album (“I know I could be wrong / She could be the devil’s daughter/ Cold heart, fork tongue/ Waving lambs off to the slaughter).

Another prominent song is “Long Time in the Rain”, beginning with an acoustic solo and then breaking into a galloping rhythm.

The title track, “Boy on the Beach” shows Gifford’s calmer side and gently washes over you, evoking a sense of contentment, well-being and memories of childhood. A similar atmosphere is stoked up in “The Forest” which reflects his love of nature.

Many of the tracks are melancholy and reflective, such as “Heart in These Stones” and “Lost” which plucks at the heartstrings.
Gifford has a knack of commenting on everyday observations in modern life, such as the constantly ticking along and ironic “Tescos at 8”, and the bonus track “Monsoon Lady” (There’s a never ending queue for the sale that starts today / They buy things they don’t need just to take back again). “James and Lilley” paints a more haunting picture of an addict and his girlfriend.
Overall, “Boy on the Beach” is a well crafted album, which adds sense of variety, with Gifford trying his hand at different instruments such as the ukulele and harmonica. It is inspired by artists such as Cat Stevens and Donovan, earning it a place on the popular Euro Americana Chart, yet it’s personal and everyday lyrics make it unmistakably British in character.





- By Sammy Jones, Music Editor,The Citizen Newspaper Group

Steve Gifford – Boy On The Beach

Milton Keynes based singer–songwriter Steve Gifford returns with an impressive third album “Boy On The Beach”, clearly inspired by the West Coast Americana genre.

After a rapturous reception at the Stables Wavendon, where he recently supported Grammy Winning artist Shawn Colvin, Gifford was invited back to launch his new album on 5th September

The opening number “Blame it on me” embraces laid back country with a touch of folk, and is followed by the wickedly catchy “Devils Daughter”, certainly the stand out track on the album (“I know I could be wrong / She could be the devil’s daughter/ Cold heart, fork tongue/ Waving lambs off to the slaughter).

Another prominent song is “Long Time in the Rain”, beginning with an acoustic solo and then breaking into a galloping rhythm.

The title track, “Boy on the Beach” shows Gifford’s calmer side and gently washes over you, evoking a sense of contentment, well-being and memories of childhood. A similar atmosphere is stoked up in “The Forest” which reflects his love of nature.

Many of the tracks are melancholy and reflective, such as “Heart in These Stones” and “Lost” which plucks at the heartstrings.
Gifford has a knack of commenting on everyday observations in modern life, such as the constantly ticking along and ironic “Tescos at 8”, and the bonus track “Monsoon Lady” (There’s a never ending queue for the sale that starts today / They buy things they don’t need just to take back again). “James and Lilley” paints a more haunting picture of an addict and his girlfriend.
Overall, “Boy on the Beach” is a well crafted album, which adds sense of variety, with Gifford trying his hand at different instruments such as the ukulele and harmonica. It is inspired by artists such as Cat Stevens and Donovan, earning it a place on the popular Euro Americana Chart, yet it’s personal and everyday lyrics make it unmistakably British in character.



Steve Gifford – Boy On The Beach

Milton Keynes based singer–songwriter Steve Gifford returns with an impressive third album “Boy On The Beach”, clearly inspired by the West Coast Americana genre.

After a rapturous reception at the Stables Wavendon, where he recently supported Grammy Winning artist Shawn Colvin, Gifford was invited back to launch his new album on 5th September

The opening number “Blame it on me” embraces laid back country with a touch of folk, and is followed by the wickedly catchy “Devils Daughter”, certainly the stand out track on the album (“I know I could be wrong / She could be the devil’s daughter/ Cold heart, fork tongue/ Waving lambs off to the slaughter).

Another prominent song is “Long Time in the Rain”, beginning with an acoustic solo and then breaking into a galloping rhythm.

The title track, “Boy on the Beach” shows Gifford’s calmer side and gently washes over you, evoking a sense of contentment, well-being and memories of childhood. A similar atmosphere is stoked up in “The Forest” which reflects his love of nature.

Many of the tracks are melancholy and reflective, such as “Heart in These Stones” and “Lost” which plucks at the heartstrings.
Gifford has a knack of commenting on everyday observations in modern life, such as the constantly ticking along and ironic “Tescos at 8”, and the bonus track “Monsoon Lady” (There’s a never ending queue for the sale that starts today / They buy things they don’t need just to take back again). “James and Lilley” paints a more haunting picture of an addict and his girlfriend.
Overall, “Boy on the Beach” is a well crafted album, which adds sense of variety, with Gifford trying his hand at different instruments such as the ukulele and harmonica. It is inspired by artists such as Cat Stevens and Donovan, earning it a place on the popular Euro Americana Chart, yet it’s personal and everyday lyrics make it unmistakably British in character.



Steve Gifford – Boy On The Beach

Milton Keynes based singer–songwriter Steve Gifford returns with an impressive third album “Boy On The Beach”, clearly inspired by the West Coast Americana genre.

After a rapturous reception at the Stables Wavendon, where he recently supported Grammy Winning artist Shawn Colvin, Gifford was invited back to launch his new album on 5th September

The opening number “Blame it on me” embraces laid back country with a touch of folk, and is followed by the wickedly catchy “Devils Daughter”, certainly the stand out track on the album (“I know I could be wrong / She could be the devil’s daughter/ Cold heart, fork tongue/ Waving lambs off to the slaughter).

Another prominent song is “Long Time in the Rain”, beginning with an acoustic solo and then breaking into a galloping rhythm.

The title track, “Boy on the Beach” shows Gifford’s calmer side and gently washes over you, evoking a sense of contentment, well-being and memories of childhood. A similar atmosphere is stoked up in “The Forest” which reflects his love of nature.

Many of the tracks are melancholy and reflective, such as “Heart in These Stones” and “Lost” which plucks at the heartstrings.
Gifford has a knack of commenting on everyday observations in modern life, such as the constantly ticking along and ironic “Tescos at 8”, and the bonus track “Monsoon Lady” (There’s a never ending queue for the sale that starts today / They buy things they don’t need just to take back again). “James and Lilley” paints a more haunting picture of an addict and his girlfriend.
Overall, “Boy on the Beach” is a well crafted album, which adds sense of variety, with Gifford trying his hand at different instruments such as the ukulele and harmonica. It is inspired by artists such as Cat Stevens and Donovan, earning it a place on the popular Euro Americana Chart, yet it’s personal and everyday lyrics make it unmistakably British in character.









- Maxwell Kusi Obodum

Steve Gifford –UNGODLY HOUR (Own Label)

REVIEW by DAVID KIDMAN
Net rhythms Feb 2010

Steve’s an increasingly well-regarded singer-songwriter
on the London music scene, based in the
land of the proverbial concrete cows (Milton Keynes).
His stock-in-trade is what I described in my review of his earlier album Boy
On A Beach as down-to-earth, modestly heartfelt yet clear-sighted
writing couched in a fairly simple acoustic-driven setting. I was
admittedly a touch underwhelmed by Boy On A Beach, finding it
altogether too even-toned in places. But to a large extent Steve seems
to have taken note of these points for his fourth album, and he’s made a
more conscious effort to vary the tone and texture of his compositions,
especially in terms oft the more considered nature of the melodic input
on this new set. And the guitar work is more crisply defined, ringing
out attractively through the textures with just the right amount of
intricacy to maintain a lively interest.
The observational focus on each individual song is arguably sharper now too,
and thus more impressive. And although there’s still a feeling that some songs
remain slightly elusive in the context of making a lasting impact, giving the
album extra plays definitely reaps greater rewards once again.
Steve employs a fuller backing this time too, with a larger corpus of
musicians to draw from –although the core line up is The What Allan Band
(Ian Catchpole, Simon Ambrose and George Horler), we also find Steve
bringing in half-a-dozen more instrumentalists, a couple of extra
backing vocalists, and even a gospel choir on one track.
Vocally, Steve’s as confident as ever, perhaps more so, and especially
convincing on the more introspective songs like Take This Love, where his
attractive way of phrasing the melodic lines recalls that of
Gerry Rafferty.
The disc’s opener Molly In The Garden has a kind of
easy-rolling Eagles feel to it, which the more reflective nature of the
lyric partially counters, especially in the altered-tempo interruptions.
Interestingly,
Steve’s very introspection can also embrace and project
a quality of immediacy that other songwriters don’t quite manage to
achieve (Song For Elle) is a stand out in this regard, helped along by
its relatively uncluttered arrangement with its distinctive and clearly
defined colourings). Call Of Duty builds well from a tentative
reggae-styled opening into a powerful roots-gospel groove.
Elsewhere,Steve gives us a classy British spin on the open-hearted roots-rock
template ,exemplified by the honest stylings of (say) Tom Petty, but
makes it his own and his sound is less easy to define. I’m not entirely
sure that Steve’s new-found penchant for fuller textures always works at
the service of the songs, and there are times where I feel Steve’s
desire to pump up the energy level and vary the musical settings by way
of extra augmentation gets in the way of direct expression of his
lyrics, but all this is only relative.
And I did feel that after the title track the quality of invention tailed off
just for a while –though he certainly redeems himself with Blue and Not In My Name.
But cutting to the chase, taken as a whole and as a considered
artistic statement, Ungodly Hour is actually very good indeed: an
intelligent, appealing and stimulating collection that’s blessed with an
admirably clear and fresh recording full of believable presence and
energy.
www.stevegifford.co.uk and www.myspace.com/stevegiffordmusic
- David Kidman

AMERICAN GIRL


:: Christene LeDoux :: Steve Gifford ::
11 June 2008 / The Met / Bury (mcr)
By JA

On this occasion, the Winelight Club fields just two artists, but it’s hard to imagine a better choice to invite along to play a longer sets. Steve Gifford may look like a 50 year old Chief Accountant from any randomly selected London Borough, but his sound is that of sweet reflection, lifted by deadly accurately and skilled guitar picks. Nothing over the top here though, he uses strums and bounces off a series of effective string picks. If Simon & Garfunkle had replaced Art with Chris De Burg, you may just get an inkling what his sound is all about. With a set made up of various nuggets of original material, there's plenty of heartfelt content. He even throws in a little Ukele interlude with a few covers ( Mud’s “Moon of Love” and Simon / Garfunkles’ “Feeling Groovy”). His material is drawn from life and when the family themed “Boy On The Beach” trips in, it’s hard to keep a dry eye.

The effervescent Christene LeDoux is an American with plenty of audience participation in mind. Hers are songs of personal experiences; a road trip through her life with warm descriptive narratives set over extended song introductions. LeDoux is from the East Coast of America but is certainly well travelled, telling us of her journey across the U.S. and Europe. She asks for permission before using the F-word, which almost contradicts the crystal clear complexion of her vocals which when combined with the sparkling guitar work all serve to captivate. Some of Christene's storyboards are well over ten minutes long, but it’s time well spent as she shifts straight into sweet protest lullabies that close the story. An isntant favourite carries the line “I Am Tumbleweed” - it's a pin-drop moment.

As LeDoux takes us on this journey, the crowd are asked to provide a chorus and beats, along with, quite oddly, an open forum on recommended alcoholic cold remedies. She pays homage to the seminal American roots folk musician Utah Phillips who died just a few weeks ago, who she cites as a major influence on her music. LeDoux closes on a protest song about Bush and the “War” , even placing a careful distinction between supporting the soldiers whilst still ably questioning the moral code of why they are there in the first place. Entertaining, warm and as a sublime bonus, talented too.


Resources:
Christene Ledoux
Steve Gifford





- Manchester music review

Steve Gifford - Boy On A Beach (Smokey Rooms Productions
Milton-Keynes-based Steve was a familiar name on the 1980s London music scene, after which he took a sabbatical to raise a family, finally returning in 2002 with a well-received singer-songwriter album Cut And Run, the success of which he followed up with 2005's Building Bridges. Both of these albums characterised Steve's modestly heartfelt yet clear-sighted writing and performance style, which encapsulates life's experiences in honest and straightforward language and backed by unaffectedly simple acoustic-driven instrumentation. Boy On A Beach is album number three, and comes after three years of growing recognition including headline shows at London's Borderline and key dates supporting Shawn Colvin. It unashamedly continues this approach, this time adding a slightly more laid-back west-coast-cum-country styling to the musical settings, which despite the fairly regular presence of softly whining pedal steel (courtesy of Kevin Bartholomew) often also exhibit something of the folk-pop demeanour of mid-70s Cat Stevens or mid-period Lindisfarne. In the main, Steve's songs are calm, contented and wistfully reflective, in character gently crafted, pleasing and accessible, in a plain and low-key way befitting his quite unassuming (though agreeably confident) profile. The downside of this - and I gotta be honest here - is that there sometimes seems a certain lack of depth to Steve's musings, an impression perhaps generated by the even-toned and consistent nature of the musical settings. There's not a lot of variety in mood and expression over the album's 59 minutes, and I also feel the whole exercise could do with a little more dynamism in places in order to lift Steve's music above the genially creative and into the more powerful and self-eminent bracket of contemporary songwriter-performers. It's easy enough to make a connection with Steve's world, but not so easy to remain fully engaged. The disc does contain its most distinctive material at the beginning and towards the end, and aside from the upbeat, eastern-inflected Alcatraz (with its S.F. Sorrow riff) and the atmospheric bonus cuts James & Lilley and Monsoon Lady, I find Lost and No More Running are otherwise perhaps the album's most distinctive tracks (and yet even these two seem to come to an end before their thought processes have quite run their course).
www.stevegifford.co.uk
www.myspace.com/stevegiffordmusic
David Kidman December 2008


- Net Rythms