BILL FAY
''LIFE IS PEOPLE''
AUGUST 20 2012
53:59
1. There Is A Valley/4:15
2. Big Painter/3:59
3. Never Ending Happening/3:43
4. This World/3:43
5. The Healing Day/5:14
6. City of Dreams/6:10
7. Be At Peace With Yourself/5:00
8. Jesus, Etc./4:17
9. Empires/3:23
10. Thank You Lord/3:14
11. Cosmic Concerto (Life Is People)/7:56
12. The Coast No Man Can Tell/3:06
Matt Armstrong /Guitar (Bass)
Jay Bennett /Composer
Ian Burdge /Cello
Travis Cole /Choir/Chorus
Matt Deighton /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Harmony, Vocals (Background)
Bill Fay /Piano, Vocals
Richard Green /Guitar (Bass)
Joshua Henry /Producer
Waleed Isaacs /Choir/Chorus
Bernard Kane /Viola
London Community Gospel Choir /Choir/Chorus
Jonathan Mahan /Guitar (Electric)
Louise Murray /Choir/Chorus
Pete Newsom /Fender Rhodes
Wendi Rose /Choir/Chorus
Mikey Rowe /Celeste, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3, Mellotron, Piano, Vibraphone,
Wurlitzer
Alan Rushton /Drums, Percussion
Ray Russell /Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Nylon String)
Patrick Simon /Mellotron, Piano
Nathan Stone /Cello
Jeff Tweedy /Composer, Vocals
Vulcan String Quartet /Strings
Andrew Walters /String Arrangements, Violin
Joanna Walters /Violin
Tim Weller /Drums, Percussion
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
Life Is People is Bill Fay's first non-retrospectively released album since 1971. His first two, Bill Fay and Time of the Last Persecution, were released at the beginning of the 1970s, sold poorly, and were not reissued until 1998. Producer Joshua Henry (who grew up listening to Fay's early albums via his father's vinyl collection) and engineer Guy Massey persuaded Fay to reenter the studio, enlisting Matt Deighton, Mike Rowe, Matt Armstrong, some string players, four singers from the London Community Gospel Choir, and guitarist Ray Russell and drummer Alan Rushton (both played on Time of the Last Persecution). Jeff Tweedy (a longtime champion) also appears. Fay plays piano and sings. Fay has written songs and recorded at home for 40 years when he wasn't working in factories, shops, and parks. His experiences as a writer and as a citizen are inseparable from these strange songs, which are the works of a master craftsman. His bittersweet reflections on wasted life, loss, death, grief, environmental apocalypse, and human frailty are balanced by themes that affirm tolerance, healing, love, and spiritual redemption. Now in his late sixties, Fay's voice is seasoned, but not weathered. It's plaintive; it imparts the great wisdom in these songs humbly and without artifice. But there is no preparation possible for hearing Life Is People. It's an intimate recording even at its most epic and majestic, as evidenced by the glorious opener "There Is a Valley" and the shimmering "The Healing Day." The liturgical organ and piano that introduce the album's centerpiece, "Be at Peace with Yourself," is, in its repetitive subtlety and grace, a hymn to self-acceptance that is stated elegantly and without bombast. When the choir enters, the song lifts off, rooting itself deep in the scarred human heart. Elsewhere, Fay's sense of intimacy expresses world-weariness and haunted despair, such as on "Big Painter." Fay performs solo on "Jesus, Etc." (written by Tweedy), which makes a perfect bookend to the stark gospel prayer "Thank You Lord." In between them is the foreboding "Empires," a 21st century blues with stellar guitar work from Russell. "Cosmic Concerto (Life Is People)" gorgeously celebrates life in the process of being lived, be the circumstances mundane or profound. Fay (who is donating his proceeds to Médecins Sans Frontières) performs these songs as if they were living things, independent of his inner world. His reverence for them makes the listening experience one of great emotional depth. Life Is People brims with compassion, vulnerability, and tenderness. It is not a comeback record but a late continuation, a great work of art.
BIOGRAPHY
by Richie Unterberger
Obscure British singer/songwriter Bill Fay made a couple of albums in the early '70s that matched Dylanesque songwriting with unusual arrangements. Fay had actually done his first single, "Some Good Advice"/"Screams in the Ears," for Deram back in 1967, produced by early Donovan co-manager Peter Eden. The single introduced his characteristic downbeat melodies and scrambled poetic lyrics, though with somewhat more pop-oriented production and melodies than those heard on his albums.
It wouldn't be until 1970 that his self-titled debut appeared. Bill Fay is an odd record, in large part because his songwriting had the obvious ambition of song-poets like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen but was more cosmic in scope. There was a bit of the British lilting storytelling style to his songwriting, in the path of Al Stewart, Donovan, and Nick Drake, as well. Orchestral arrangements figure strongly on that first self titled recording.
His second LP, Time of the Last Persecution (from 1971), was more straightforward and rock-oriented in its production. Major British session players including guitarist Ray Russell and drummer Alan Rushton contributed to the sessions. While his debut received generally favorable critical notice, it was Time of the Last Persecution that got the lion's share. Due to its rather dire and apocalyptic subject matter, there was some outlandish speculation by music journalists about the state of Fay's mental health (it was nonsense).
Due to poor sales of both records, Decca released Fay from his contract and eventually deleted both recordings. They subsequently became cult classics and were reissued on CD in 1998. They were subsequently greeted with nearly universal acclaim. This cultivated a renewed interest in Fay by everyone from Jeff Tweedy to David Tibet; the latter released the songwriter's lost third album, Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow (credited to the Bill Fay Group) in 2004. Bill Fay and Time of the Last Persecution were remastered and reissued again in 2007 by Esoteric. In 2010, Tibet released a compilation of early demos as well as newer home recordings entitled Still Some Light.
Producer Joshua Henry, who had grown up listening to Fay's early albums from his father's record collection, tracked down and finally persuaded the reclusive songwriter to record a new album. He hired Matt Deighton to assemble a band, and also recruited Russell and Rushton to appear on several tracks; the end result, Life Is People, appeared on Dead Oceans in August of 2012.
''LIFE IS PEOPLE''
AUGUST 20 2012
53:59
1. There Is A Valley/4:15
2. Big Painter/3:59
3. Never Ending Happening/3:43
4. This World/3:43
5. The Healing Day/5:14
6. City of Dreams/6:10
7. Be At Peace With Yourself/5:00
8. Jesus, Etc./4:17
9. Empires/3:23
10. Thank You Lord/3:14
11. Cosmic Concerto (Life Is People)/7:56
12. The Coast No Man Can Tell/3:06
Matt Armstrong /Guitar (Bass)
Jay Bennett /Composer
Ian Burdge /Cello
Travis Cole /Choir/Chorus
Matt Deighton /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Harmony, Vocals (Background)
Bill Fay /Piano, Vocals
Richard Green /Guitar (Bass)
Joshua Henry /Producer
Waleed Isaacs /Choir/Chorus
Bernard Kane /Viola
London Community Gospel Choir /Choir/Chorus
Jonathan Mahan /Guitar (Electric)
Louise Murray /Choir/Chorus
Pete Newsom /Fender Rhodes
Wendi Rose /Choir/Chorus
Mikey Rowe /Celeste, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3, Mellotron, Piano, Vibraphone,
Wurlitzer
Alan Rushton /Drums, Percussion
Ray Russell /Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Nylon String)
Patrick Simon /Mellotron, Piano
Nathan Stone /Cello
Jeff Tweedy /Composer, Vocals
Vulcan String Quartet /Strings
Andrew Walters /String Arrangements, Violin
Joanna Walters /Violin
Tim Weller /Drums, Percussion
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
Life Is People is Bill Fay's first non-retrospectively released album since 1971. His first two, Bill Fay and Time of the Last Persecution, were released at the beginning of the 1970s, sold poorly, and were not reissued until 1998. Producer Joshua Henry (who grew up listening to Fay's early albums via his father's vinyl collection) and engineer Guy Massey persuaded Fay to reenter the studio, enlisting Matt Deighton, Mike Rowe, Matt Armstrong, some string players, four singers from the London Community Gospel Choir, and guitarist Ray Russell and drummer Alan Rushton (both played on Time of the Last Persecution). Jeff Tweedy (a longtime champion) also appears. Fay plays piano and sings. Fay has written songs and recorded at home for 40 years when he wasn't working in factories, shops, and parks. His experiences as a writer and as a citizen are inseparable from these strange songs, which are the works of a master craftsman. His bittersweet reflections on wasted life, loss, death, grief, environmental apocalypse, and human frailty are balanced by themes that affirm tolerance, healing, love, and spiritual redemption. Now in his late sixties, Fay's voice is seasoned, but not weathered. It's plaintive; it imparts the great wisdom in these songs humbly and without artifice. But there is no preparation possible for hearing Life Is People. It's an intimate recording even at its most epic and majestic, as evidenced by the glorious opener "There Is a Valley" and the shimmering "The Healing Day." The liturgical organ and piano that introduce the album's centerpiece, "Be at Peace with Yourself," is, in its repetitive subtlety and grace, a hymn to self-acceptance that is stated elegantly and without bombast. When the choir enters, the song lifts off, rooting itself deep in the scarred human heart. Elsewhere, Fay's sense of intimacy expresses world-weariness and haunted despair, such as on "Big Painter." Fay performs solo on "Jesus, Etc." (written by Tweedy), which makes a perfect bookend to the stark gospel prayer "Thank You Lord." In between them is the foreboding "Empires," a 21st century blues with stellar guitar work from Russell. "Cosmic Concerto (Life Is People)" gorgeously celebrates life in the process of being lived, be the circumstances mundane or profound. Fay (who is donating his proceeds to Médecins Sans Frontières) performs these songs as if they were living things, independent of his inner world. His reverence for them makes the listening experience one of great emotional depth. Life Is People brims with compassion, vulnerability, and tenderness. It is not a comeback record but a late continuation, a great work of art.
BIOGRAPHY
by Richie Unterberger
Obscure British singer/songwriter Bill Fay made a couple of albums in the early '70s that matched Dylanesque songwriting with unusual arrangements. Fay had actually done his first single, "Some Good Advice"/"Screams in the Ears," for Deram back in 1967, produced by early Donovan co-manager Peter Eden. The single introduced his characteristic downbeat melodies and scrambled poetic lyrics, though with somewhat more pop-oriented production and melodies than those heard on his albums.
It wouldn't be until 1970 that his self-titled debut appeared. Bill Fay is an odd record, in large part because his songwriting had the obvious ambition of song-poets like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen but was more cosmic in scope. There was a bit of the British lilting storytelling style to his songwriting, in the path of Al Stewart, Donovan, and Nick Drake, as well. Orchestral arrangements figure strongly on that first self titled recording.
His second LP, Time of the Last Persecution (from 1971), was more straightforward and rock-oriented in its production. Major British session players including guitarist Ray Russell and drummer Alan Rushton contributed to the sessions. While his debut received generally favorable critical notice, it was Time of the Last Persecution that got the lion's share. Due to its rather dire and apocalyptic subject matter, there was some outlandish speculation by music journalists about the state of Fay's mental health (it was nonsense).
Due to poor sales of both records, Decca released Fay from his contract and eventually deleted both recordings. They subsequently became cult classics and were reissued on CD in 1998. They were subsequently greeted with nearly universal acclaim. This cultivated a renewed interest in Fay by everyone from Jeff Tweedy to David Tibet; the latter released the songwriter's lost third album, Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow (credited to the Bill Fay Group) in 2004. Bill Fay and Time of the Last Persecution were remastered and reissued again in 2007 by Esoteric. In 2010, Tibet released a compilation of early demos as well as newer home recordings entitled Still Some Light.
Producer Joshua Henry, who had grown up listening to Fay's early albums from his father's record collection, tracked down and finally persuaded the reclusive songwriter to record a new album. He hired Matt Deighton to assemble a band, and also recruited Russell and Rushton to appear on several tracks; the end result, Life Is People, appeared on Dead Oceans in August of 2012.
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