Hugh Cornwell offers new album for free
I love The Stranglers. I think they were one of the best bands to emerge from the late punk era, though they never comfortably fit the punk mold in the first place. After all, they could play their instruments! Plus, how many punk bands peaked in popularity with a waltz?
A great deal of my admiration can be attributed to lead singer Hugh Cornwell, who just had ‘it’. Despite his sometimes throaty delivery (or perhaps *because* of it) he had a real charisma about him. He forced you to sit up and take notice. I’ll admit I haven’t followed his solo career with the same enthusiasm as his work with The Stranglers (I lost track of them after they reformed without him, too), but I’ve listened to several tracks off his latest solo effort and admit I’m intrigued. It’s called Hooverdam, and Hugh is offering it up for free from his website.
Invisible Hands Music label head Charles Kennedy had this to say about the offer: “Everything that’s ever been recorded or filmed is now online and free – whether the copyright owners like it or not, and any work of artists that is honest – either from decades ago or right now – has intellectual value that will always translate into monetary value.”
Seems like he’s approaching it the right way, though I will say I was disappointed to find out that the free album being offered is in a measly 128 format. I think I’d admire the offer more if he’d at least offered a V0 or 320 download. It’s hard to appreciate the record without being able to hear it in full quality.
Hooverdam will be out in various physical formats – including vinyl and as a triple-sleeved digi-pak CD/DVD – on September 8th.
Hugh Cornwell – Banging On At The Same Old Beat
[ZShare] [YSI]
The Stranglers – No More Heroes
[ZShare] [YSI]
TOUR DATES:
09/08: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
09/09: Long Branch, NJ @ Brighton Bar
09/10: Washington, DC @ Black Cat
09/11: Bordentown, NJ @ The Record Collector
09/12: New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
09/13: Boston, MA @ TT The Bear’s Place
09/15: Montreal, PQ @ TBA
09/16: Hamilton, ON @ This Ain’t Hollywood
09/17: Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
09/18: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
09/19: Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
09/20: Chicago, IL @ The Abbey
Tags: hugh cornwell, News, the stranglers
But Sean, Golden Brown just can’t be beat. To this day it’s still one of my all time favorite songs. It may just be the ONE! I have a thing for harpsichords… the sound is so good.
‘Golden Brown’ is amazing, I can’t deny it. But I love ‘No More Heroes’.