Fine Old Tom

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ALBUM INFORMATION

Total Tracks: 22   Total Length: 67:55

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Fine Old Tom

m.lane458

FYI. Tom Newman was originally the guitarist/vocalist and songwriter in chief for July a UK freakbeat/psych outfit whose sole lp is one of the most consistent psych releases ever, I heartily recommend that you track down a copy. He later found gainful employment at The Manor studio. Chances are that if your band were signed to Virgin in the early 70s and you recorded at The Manor studio then Mr.Newman would be the engineer for the sessions and subsequent album release and his cv is a veritable who's who of early 70s rock. But he also kept writing songs during this period of backroom activity and demoed/recorded many of the tunes heard on his first solo release during studio downtime.

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A nicely mixed bag

Sermo

I had never heard of Tom Newman before I found this album listed in a Fred Frith discography. I gave it a try and found a nicely mixed bag of psychedelic progressive folk glam rock&roll. The album is lacking of coherence, there's no overall theme, sound or style, and Newman's voice is not memorable enough to tie the individual tracks together. But the songs themselves are well crafted, conceived in a creative, playful way. "Suzie" seems to get the most attention, according to eMusic's download figures, but my personal recommendation for a first try is the 11th track, "Penny's Whistle": The naive whistle/flute sound are backed by a groovy shuffle-bass and occasional, very interesting guitar solos and riffs. The whole piece is versatile, but sounds like one single cast. On the whole I think, this is not a must-have album and you should keep your hands off if you're need an album of your choice to be a concept album. However, if you're a fan of the late Beatles, early David Bowie or Smile

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They Say All Media Guide

Longtime producer/engineer for Mike Oldfield and many others, Tom Newman displays his creative chops on this, his first solo effort. A real sleeper, Fine Old Tom is a relatively obscure yet refreshing original pop/prog-rock project constructed by Newman and his pals, with Jon Field, Mike Oldfield, Ned Callan, Chris Cutler and Fred Frith in the starring roles. Everything on this eclectic album is done with original style and vigor to spare, convention being left by the wayside. Even Newman’s cover of Lennon/McCartney’s “She Said She Said” is inventive. Beatles influences are obvious in several of the pop-oriented compositions. Album highlights include the energetic “Nursery Rhyme,” a prog piece with cynical lyrics and blistering guitar, and the excellent “Superman,” a reggae-meets-punk experiment. – David Ross Smith

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