TOM NEWMAN

Tom Newman will forever be linked with one artist and album in particular, namely Mike Oldfield and 'Tubular Bells', which he co-produced. But he was heavily involved with the early days of Virgin Records and worked with many of their acts including Henry Fool and Gong, as well as putting out material of his own. It was his second album, 1977's "Faerie Symphony', which has gained him most fans, with Steven Wilson notably including it in his list of "Top 10 Concept Albums you may have missed'. It took him more than 20 years to produce a follow-up, and in a similar timeframe we now have his fourth release. Tom provides guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, bodhrán, keyboards, and the guests include the likes of Rob Reed (Magenta) and Jon Field (Jade Warrior).

This mostly instrumental album meanders along gently, and that is both its beauty and its curse as while it works as background music in that regard, there are times when the listener just asks, "what is the point?". It is a mix of modern classical and crossover progressive rock in many ways yet does not work well within either genre. There are times when there is some deliberate dissonance and splitting of melodies, which can make it hard to follow the logical musical path, but in many ways the path is lost, and one is just blundering through the forest hoping that at some point there will be light on the other side. There is some wonderful musicianship on here, but give that Rob Reed is heavily involved I would expect nothing less, but in terms of listening to this for enjoyment that is something else altogether. I am sure this will be of interest to the millions of diehard Oldfield fans out there, just because it is by Tom, and this is not something to which I will often return.

Overall, this album is really fun to listen to. You can practically experience many varieties of styles from one song to the next: from soul, blues, rock n' roll to folk, boogie, country... Interestingly enough is the fact that many good and reknown musicians such as Fred Firth, Chris Butler, Mick Taylor and his friend Mike Oldfield participate in this album. At the end it is clear that they all got together to experiment, to jam and - the very basic intention of music - HAVE FUN! They transmit that happiness throughout the whole album.

Analysing some of the songs, let's begin with "Suzie" which has a style of soul and blues, a dramatic sound that is carried well by the guitar and the lead singer; "Poor Bill" lifts the beat to a more rock n' roll style; once again, good solos. I felt like listening to those classic rock performers or bands such as Rory Gallagher, or Family. "Ma Song" is a funny old-blues-style tune, with the sound of metallic guitars, but very experimental. The sound and the instruments were recorded as if you were listening to them in the 20's or 30's, suddenly the voice have a bizarre twist, very experimental. "Penny's Whistle Boogie", well, the name tells you everything; it's an instrumental boogie piece, if you like Canned Heat, definitely this song will be fine for you. "She said, she said" a cover from The Beatles with a more folk style combined with Canterbury scene; the voices are the core of the whole tune, and in the background some hindi percussions that complement it. "Sad Sing" has a beat style, definitely portraying the origins and influence of bands such as Herman Hermits, Beatles, etc. The next song is "Superman", a very strange jazzy tune with saxophone, and a good happy rhythm with all the instruments, and funny voices singing the lyrics and choruses. "Alison Says" goes back to experimentation and the voices play again the most relevant part of the tune; voices singing different tonalities, which reminded me of "We Have Heaven" by Jon Anderson in Yes's Fragile album or the whole Ollias of Sunhilow. The last track "Day of the Percherons" is a complete folk song - just the name paves the way for the music - with a combination of instruments like celtic flutes, tambourine, drums, beautiful choirs, and folk guitar arrangements; I loved this tune because I love Mike Oldfield and Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn are two of my favourite albums. Also, this tune is what probably made Tom Newman go on with a more folk prog style in his next albums. There are other songs included in the album, such as "Ham and Eggs", "Sweet 16" which are folk country songs, quite enjoyable or "Have Mercy on My Eyes" which is another boogie blues song.

Is it PROGRESSIVE? Well, if you separate song by song you will discover that only a couple of them have progressive hints, more oriented to folk prog, that is why Newman is considered as a "Crossover Prog" artist. One thing I am sure about is that it is full of experimentation and it is highly enjoyable because the songs are different from each other. Probably not highly essential or excellent in prog terms, but definitely is one of those albums that I would be very happy to add to my collection for the people that play in it, for the representation of Tom Newman (and the others)'s background. If you like all the combinations portrayed in this album, I give it 3 stars; if you don't like it but enjoy the rest of Newman's or Oldfield's albums, a 2 star is enough. I belong to the former group.

Widely known as being the producer of Mike Oldfield's groundbreaking ''Tubular bells'', Tom Newman was born in 1943 in a small suburb of London to Irish mother and a second generation Russian-Jewish father.He got married at the age of 22, around the time he was performing with the Psych outfit Tomcats, which would evolve into the short-lived Psychedelic Rock act July in late-60's.At the beginning of the 70's he met Virgin's future leader Richard Branson and both collaborated for the constrcuction of The Manor Studios in Oxford.He would soon meet a young Mike Oldfield and produce his now highly-acclaimed debut.Newman himself had his own solo album out in 1975 on Virgin, ''Fine Old Tom'', his last collaboration with the mega label.In 1977 he returned with a huge line-up and a second personal album on Decca, entitled ''Faerie symphony'', featuring among others his old July bandmate and future Jade Warrior member Jon Field.

A pretty minimalistic and ethereal affair, ''Faerie symphony'' sounds like a mix of Psychedelic/Folk, a bit close to PETE FINE's or PAUL BRETT's solo works, with pre-New Age stylings, that lack dynamics and passion, instead Newman, who handles multiple instruments in this work, tries to build folky, dark textures in a cinematic way.His work with MIKE OLDFIELD seems to have inspired him as well, though the album sounds more like a late-60's/early-70's work than a more recent offering.Plenty of acoustic instruments blended with traditional British sounds recall Newman's Irish roots in an archaic Celtic mood, containg lots of flutes, percussion, bagpipes, oboe, harp and violins.These deliver a very rural atmosphere with a strong psychedelic approach.Parts of the album contain light orchestral textures with strings and very mellow keyboards.Only a pair of the short arrangements are closing the rock territories with some decent electric guitar solos in the vein of MIKE OLDFIELD and DAN AR BRAZ.Combined with some nice Celtic tunes out of the grandiose bagpipes these seem to be the most passionate passages of an album, that otherwise sounds very hypnotic and extremely ethereal.

''Faerie symphony'' seems at moments to be totally out-of-date, while the lack of serious melodies and the overall very minimalistic soundscapes do not help either.This album would strictly appeal to fans of dated Psychedelic Folk, loving acid and trippy atmospheres and do not mind the absence of rich instrumental movements.

Although hardly prolific, the producer, composer, engineer and multi-instrumentalist Tom Newman has enjoyed a rather colourful musical career. He would start out with the universally-ignored pop-psych outfit July, a group that featured Newman in the twin roles of both lead-guitarist and main songwriter, before developing a parallel career behind the mixing desk which saw him join Richard Branson's burgeoning Virgin imprint at the beginning of the 1970's. This move would find Newman helping to engineer Mike Oldfield's seminal 1975 album 'Tubular Bells', making Newman the only other musician to feature on the notoriously reclusive and shy young Oldfield's record, a feat that would eventually allow him to produce his own solo album 'Fine Old Tom' during the same year. Although 'Fine Old Tom' would ultimately fail to find an audience, his earlier work with July would, finding popularity several decades down the line and attaining cult 21st century status, the album now regarded as one of the high points of the brief British psychedelic movement that blossomed during the latter part of the 1960's. However, whilst Newman is probably best remembered for the July album and its endearing single 'Dandelion Seeds', the Englishman's best work is to be found on his fantasy-themed second - and final - solo album 'Faerie Symphony', a sprawling, deeply-ethereal and highly-atmospheric prog-folk record from 1977. Finally issued on CD during 2009 by Mark Powell's prolific reissue imprint Esoteric Recordings, 'Faerie Symphony' is a true relic from a bygone age, a magical instrumental album steeped in the traditions of both J. R. R. Tolkien and the fantastical imagery found on the covers of early-seventies progressive rock albums. Featuring an organic, earthy sound conjured up by the plethora of different instruments - both electric and acoustic - 'Faerie Symphony' develops slowly across thirteen interlocking pieces, brewing up a unique musical experience that is probably best enjoyed under herbal circumstances. Stylistically if not sonically 'Faerie Symphony' very much resembles the earlier works of Oldfield, especially 'Ommadawn', which shares this records mystical ambience. So, as a result, this is very much for those listeners who enjoy Oldfield's 1970s material, this twinkling concoction of twittering flutes, softly tribal percussion fills and slowly unfurling rhythms the kind of album that may well take a few listens to truly comprehend. However, those who do take the time to explore what would turn out to be(so far) Newman's final work, will find a fascinating album full of dreamy melodies and dazzling instrumental landscapes. Hardly immediate stuff then, yet for some 'Faerie Symphony' makes for a truly cinematic experience quite unlike any other. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

TOM NEWMAN appears to have been the "Robin" to MIKE OLDFIELD's "Batman". Just as a series based on the Robin character would never fly, a solo album by TOM NEWMAN represents a monsoon like dilution of the genius on display in most of OLDFIELD's works of the time.

One need go no further than the opening cut, like an outtake of an outtake from the weaker side of the "Tubular Bells" album. We also hear JADE WARRIOR in tunes like "The Fluter", not surprisingly given JON FIELD's participation, but Field can't work much magic in this format. Elsewhere a rather timid HORSLIPS in the more celtic oriented passages. But where is Tom himself? Perhaps this is a backwards way of looking at it, since what is deemed the Oldfield sound may owe equal debt to Newman. But one can only live in the world as it transpired, and in 1977 this was largely a disjointed rehash of instrumental prog cliches which, taken individually, might almost pass muster, but as an entity are invalid.

A few noteworthy excursions do standout, particularly the mysterious "Fairy Song" and the majestically layered "Dance of Daoine Sidhe". "The Unseelie Court" inspires nigh gut wrenching ambivalence, a brilliant and anticipatory riff slowly built upon that is at least twice as long and five times as unlistenable as it deserves to be

This disk's lack of cohesion, overall sense of deja vu and brevity, and filler quotient all suggest that Newman, blessed as he clearly was as producer, was not up to the task of recording artist, let alone that of symphony composer.

If there is an artist clearly in a shadow of a better-known artist, it's this chap. And the shadow is cast by MIKE OLDFIELD, whose magnificent debut Tubular Bells (1973) Newman was putting together with Mike, working in Virgin Records. Also on Tubular Bells II Newman was in the production team, and maybe on some other Oldfield albums too, I can't remember.

This is the second solo album and the closest he ever got to making a, hmm, semi- masterpiece of his own if you like. Indeed, if you listened to this in a blindfold test, you'd probably think it's a Mike Oldfield album from mid-seventies. Progressive, folky, pastoral instrumental music featuring lots of acoustic guitar, keyboards, flute and percussion, creating images of faraway fairy tale lands. And just like Oldfield, Newman handles most of the instruments himself. The main collaborator throughout the album is Jon Field on woodwinds; the other guy from JADE WARRIOR - and so it comes as no surprise that music sounds quite a lot like that band as well. The background of Tom Newman is linked to the Jade Warrior guys too.

I would want to enjoy this album more than I do. But I can't help feeling a bit frustrated about the way all the thirteen tracks - except the least enjoyable one (which has time to become annoying) - are very short, and the whole album is too short. Naturally the other obvious reason for not feeling very positive about this work is its lack of true originality, since it so much sounds like a cross between Mike Oldfield and Jade Warrior. I bet anyone prefers listening to early Oldfield albums which are way more exciting and mature. But I understand that Faerie Symphony openly payed hommage and was inspired by Oldfield's work. And of course an Oldfield connoisseur would not be mistaken to think it as an Oldfield album when (s)he listens to it completely. It does have an atmosphere of its own. So, with this starting point in mind Newman did great results.

Released in 1977, it goes without saying that this album was totally ignored at the time. However I think it is respectable to make a serene, introspective instrumental album so plainly of a progressive nature at the time when it was very unfashionable. The cover art is amazing: both sides of the leaflet serve as the front cover, the one you don't see here is an orange-toned fairy tale painting. An informative essay on the artist is included in the CD released some years ago.