| |
1 |
Leaves |
2 |
A Song About Nothing |
3 |
Monkeys On The Moon |
4 |
Lifespell |
5 |
Ghosts |
6 |
Future Beige |
7 |
Wiccan Chicken |
8 |
Train Of Thought |
9 |
Love Song |
10 |
New Songs Now |
11 |
Sleep Life Cycle |
12 |
Be There |
13 |
Three Headed Girl |
| 14 |
Superheroes Never Die |
| 15 |
The Fish Song |
| 16 |
Strange Orbit Of Life |
Chris
Conway - |
vocals, acoustic & electric 9 string guitars, tin & low Irish whistles, keyboards, kalimba, zither, bells.
|
|
|
|
|
The best from 2 solo concerts in CC's hometown of Leicester.
1. The Unlocked Songs album launch at The Musician in May 2021,
2. SoundHive Social event at Duffy's Bar in October 2023
|
background
The best from 2 solo concerts in CC's hometown of Leicester.
1. The Unlocked Songs album launch at The Musician in May 2021,
2. SoundHive Social event at Duffy's Bar in October 2023
How it came about...
After the pandemic haiatus, I found it difficult to relax when playing songs gigs. It took me a while to relearn my stagecraft, not overthink things, and just enjoy it. In October 2023, Chris Illet asked me to play a 45 minute set at the SoundHive Social he runs at Duffy’s Bar. His aim there is to make a nice friendly atmosphere for players and audience. Maybe it was that vibe that allowed me to chill out and enjoy playing songs again. My confidence grew. SoundHive also sent me a recording with separate guitar & vocal tracks for me to mix. This gave me about half a live album.
Then I remembered that I had mixed a mixed recording of the launch concert for my Unlocked Songs album at The Musician in May 2021. This was intended for a video that didn’t happen. My plan was to take the piano/keyboards-backed songs from that show, to add to the guitar-backed SoundHive recording. But I couldn’t resist adding the best of the guitar songs from that night too, as some of them have only rarely been performed live since. So I wove the sets together and here it is!
Live songs albums to me are like marker posts. Or maybe more like phonecalls home. “Hi - this is where I’m at!”- I hope you enjoy my live songs now. :-) - CC
|
review
CHRIS CONWAY
****
Live Songs Now - (Oblong) www.chrisconway.org
Veritable one-man music industry Chris Conway has a new album out – no surprise at all from this prolific (with a capital ‘P’) artist. Live Songs Now captures him finding his performer’s chops again after the pandemic interruption; it took him a while to relearn his stagecraft, he says. Invited to play a forty-five-minute set at the SoundHive Social gathering in Leicester’s Duffy’s Bar in October 2023, the friendly atmosphere proved a helpful catalyst for Conway. Happily preserved for posterity, some of those songs are here complemented by others recorded at The Musician in 2021 for his Unlocked Songs album launch.
The singer reckons live albums are, for him, like marker posts, or phone calls home: ‘This is where I’m at’. On Live Songs Now there’s a typically wide range of material, opening delightfully with the gently poignant ‘Leaves’. Maintaining the mood, though with a soupçon of humour, is ‘A Song About Nothing’, which, of course, is much more than its title would imply. It’s a pleasure to hear Conway’s material in somewhat stripped-down style here for he’s a fine songwriter and, despite his undoubted studio talents, clearly his voice and guitar are really all that’s needed to guarantee a memorable evening’s entertainment.
David White - RnR Magazine
|
trivia
Recorded live in Leicester, UK
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 , 13, 14, 15 - SoundHive Social, Duffy’s,Bar - 12th October 2023
5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16 - Unlocked Songs album launch, The Musician, - 28th May 2021
CC's first live album since 2010, and the first solo love album since 2009
7 songs are from the Unlocked Songs album.
Monkeys On The Moon, Three Headed Girl, & The Fish Song are from Deep Space Love
Leaves is from Songs For Dreamers
Lifespell os from Close The Circle
Future Beige is from Time Traveller
Train Of Thought is from My Mind's Island
CC's
fave track - Love Song :-)
|
|
