Nick's new album: Riven (1st September 2013) - OUT NOW!

WOOP WOOP

Am waiting eagerly for my copy - fingers crossed for tomorrow

 

Picking one up on Sunday at the launch gig !

 

Lucky you! Nothing here yet... I'll double check tomorrow

...spends evening googling methods of transportation to Weirdshire, hmmmm :-s

 

Yes, got one today, too!

This definitely gets my Vote!!! Brilliant, you're all in for a treat!
Very best wishes.

 

Too busy enjoying it

I also arrived home - but from a cancelled operation - thanks, NHS - to find said disc on the doormat and playing it has quite taken my mind off the frustration.:banghead:
The album is an absolute gem, on first hearing.
I haven't seen Nick live for a few years, but "Riven" is easily the best I've heard him on record.
Once again, purring gently. I shall be putting it on my mp3 list for my next assault on the medical services.:m2:

 

It's here

Now for a little listening time :m2:

 

Holy fudge. THIS ALBUM IS GORGEOUS. :m14:
I am off to a birthday tea this afternoon but I should try to get my thoughts together and write something up. TOO MANY FEELINGS. :blushing: :biggrin:

 

Yes... this is good

I am particularly enjoying some of the tracks on this, There Never Was, Riven, Here Comes the Gun, The Beginning is Nigh all tickle my spot for sure. There's a lot to 'get into' and I've only just begun :biggrin: I do like Nicks wordplay and humour and there's an honesty / openess / frankness in the lyrics which I appreciate.

It's doing a lot more for me than The Last Guitar to be honest and, though I've only played it on my iPod, to me it sounds better too.

Was the CD cover printed in Germany, or mainland Europe? The lyrics are clipped on the edge of some pages which is a shame, but hardly the end of the World... just sayin'.

I saw today that Nick is 1 year, 1 month and 1 day older than me. One-upmanship? :biggrin:

 

Sorry have to seriously disagree with Paula there !! The album is not Gorgeous !!



It's brilliant .... just not gorgeous ... can't get myself to describe a CD with that superlative .... though saying that the sleeve notes are very good too ( though I agree with Traveller - that they are cropped a bit, which is a shame ) - Fal's done well there ( again ).

 

Different adjectives for different folks - but I'll go with brilliant as well I can't get this album out of my head, the songs are sticking in there like glue!

 

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with the thumbs up Ive so far read... :blushing:

I am a big NICK HARPER fan. I first saw him supporting his Dad in the early 90s and he just blew me away with his songwriting, guitar playing and voice... I bought his LIGHT AT THE END... album and LOVED it! Every song. Beautiful.. SHADOW LANDS, 100 THINGS, HEADLESS... Just superb

As a musician myself, when Nick booked a gig at FIBBERS in York, I managed to get the support slot. It was great meeting him and buying SEED on the night. I LOVED that album too. Songs like RADIO SILENCE, KILTY STONE, CRAZY BOY and, especially, THREE MAGPIES are just classic, beautiful songs...

Then SMITHEREENS happened and I LOVED that too... In an ideal world it'd be a 2 disc album with the 2nd disc all acoustic versions of the same songs, but over all, I did enjoy the album a lot but hoped his next album would see him return to one man and his acoustic guitar sound that made him so unique and amazing 'live...

I wasn't as keen on HARPERSPACE (although I enjoyed one or two songs), BLOOD SONGS had a few good tunes on but again he was moving away from simple acoustic sound that I feel in love with in the first place. MIRICLES FOR BEGINNERS had the odd gem, but it still wasnt a patch on his early stuff. THE LAST GUITAER was almost the last straw for me... I just didnt like any of the songs on there... None of the songs had the beauty and emotion of his early work and, with drums/bass all over everything, the acoutsic sound had all but vanished...

When I heard about RIVEN i was hoping against hope that it'd be a return to form for Nick. That they'd be some beautiful, heartfelt songs in there with relatebale lyrics and drums would be kept to a minimum (even a half and half approach like SEED would be better) but ... no... drums on everything...

It's almost like Nick is trying hard NOT to be 'commercial' in any way. Thus sacrificing melody, emotion and beautiful songs... There's none on RIVEN... It's all manic and 'look how zany I am'... I dont mind that on some songs... I understand not all songs can be ballads or just acoustic.... But a balance between the both is what id needed surely?

As it was when I first listened to RIVEN (the album) I was constantly dissapointed all the way through I wanted a song on there to break my heart or been in awe of it's beauty but... no.... :nopity:

We bought tickets for Nick's show in York this friday months ago so I'm now hoping he'll play a load of old tunes because if it's a night of his new stuff I'm not going to enjoy it much ....

I still love Nick's voice, his incredible guitar work and his zany humour but I just wish he'd return more to his 'one man/one acoustic' approach that made him so fantastic to begin with... To be fair, there are hints of it on the new album but the songs just aren't there IMO... For the 'fix' I used to get by listening to Nick I now turn to Newton Faulkner, who's new album STUDIO ZOO is the sort of raw acoustic approach with strong songs that Nick used to do so well.... I hope aginst hope that he'll do it again one day....

M :m8:

 

Thank you, that's cool

 

Thanks Marc, welcome and I'm glad you came here to post your thoughts...

I may be coming at Nick's music from a different angle - I mean, I didn't know Roy's music, I was a Squeeze fan who saw Nick at their gigs - but I really like the evolution of his recorded output. I find the lyrics more personal and moving as the albums go on. Maybe I'm getting old and emotional Is it maybe because he talks about the stories behind the songs live and I heard them before I heard the album? I don't know. But I never heard 'The Beginning is Nigh' until I put on the album and I can't get that song out of my head. The whole album circle is light to dark and back again... in music and lyrics and artwork.

I guess I could have taken the acoustic being pushed a bit more forward on some tracks, but it's not a deal breaker. For me anyway. I love the 'loud' - it's not like sledgehammer loud, but I am playing it pretty feckin' loud! I do think these are 'big drum' songs. My husband said when we were first listening, 'This isn't an acoustic album, but it's a good rock album.' I guess I'm cool with Nick going there? Who knows, he may go back to more acoustic work in future. He may go out with a full band too!

(and you know that Nick is ON 3 songs on Studio Zoo, right? :biggrin: )

Happy to share a pint with you Friday night to discuss this further?

(that's me come a bit closer to my proper review haha)

 

That bell is there for ringing

Dear Doctor,
I agree with Marc about the quality of the superb songs he mentions from Nick's earlier recordings, but I find myself uplifted, moved and positively enthused by Riven. It is different, certainly, from the earlier work, but I like the diversity. I can't help thinking of the shout of 'Judas!' when Bob Dylan started playing with a rock band! Perhaps worst of all, I have become very fond of The Last Guitar. I'm going to Hertford next Friday to celebrate this bi-polarity. Is there any hope for me?

 

I've just tried ordering Riven from the shop on harperspace.

When I went to the make payment page, I got this message

Fatal error: Call to undefined function func_generate_anonymous_username() in /web2/user21319/website/xcart/modules/Checkout_One/checkout_one_register.php on line 49

Has anyone else had a problem? is it because I haven't registered?

thanks for any help.

Colin.

 

Hi Colin - yeah try registering then logging in before you buy, I heard that worked for someone else? Let me know if that works, ta...

 

Oh! And Marc, it was really good meeting you in York - have your thoughts on the album changed at all after hearing the songs live, or after a few listens? :biggrin:

 

PS - a little bird says that the error should now be fixed, though you will have to register and login to buy (you'll now be prompted to do so if you haven't already)... this is very worth doing, always buy from the artist etc etc

 

Just realised that we paid a premium price when we bought it at his launch - an extra pound and a penny ?!