penny black music

CD SINGLE REVIEW - 'FIND THE WAY' BY MALCOLM CARTER
FROM PENNY BLACK MUSIC JULY '06

It has to be said that it seems strange that Edinburgh-based Steve Adey has a CD single released. Way, way back in time some artists and bands were known as ‘album bands’. They didn’t release singles because, one felt most of the time, they were too important for that. I feel Adey is an ‘album artist’. Not because he feels he is too important an artist to release singles but because the music he makes is too intense to really appreciate over the short time span offered by a CD single. An album is really the only way one can fully appreciate the soundscapes Adey produces.

To his credit, Adey has made his CD single an attractive package. One that, if you were captivated by his recent ‘All Things Real’ album you might still purchase because Adey , apart from putting ‘Find The Way’ and ‘Last Remark’ from the album as opening shots on the single, has also included a new recording of ‘Find The Way’ which is easily the equal of the album version, stripped back and revealing even more of the mournful beauty which is apparent throughout all Adey’s work, and also a new version of ‘Mississippi’ which also appears on the album and which is also featured here in a more basic arrangement. One that works well on this song too. There is also a video for ‘Find The Way’ which was filmed in Edinburgh earlier this year and is well worth watching.

Although a good representation of Adey’s music, releasing ‘Find The Way’ as the first single off the album is a brave move. The radio play it will get is surely going to be limited; Adey’s music is best appreciated at certain times, and there are songs on the album like ‘Evening Of The Day’ which are much more immediate and suited to radio play.

But for fans of Will Oldham hearing ‘Find The Way’ on the radio will be something of a treat and hopefully will steer them in the direction of the album. The song is taken at a deathly pace and with back up vocals from Helena MacGilp and Naomi Van Noordennen floating like lost angels during the last part of the song it’s an atmospheric piece of music which does deserve to be heard.

All in all, with the video and a cool digi-pack cover, this is an appealing release but the album really is the one to go for.

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