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Bossman features fourteen songs themed around the challenges of life and among guest performers are Kat Evans, a violinist who has played with Annie Lennox, Will Potten on flugel, trombone and trumpet and Alex Outlaw doing backing vocals
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The Band View
“The album is an eclectic mix of styles with fourteen songs sitting firmly in the Americana cool stable.
“The songs cover subject matter as diverse as broken homes, who is in control?, who exactly are you?, political lobbyists, appreciating missed people and friends.
“We are very pleased with the album. What I’d like it to really do is enhance our reputation as a good song band with some decent tunes and great playing.
“We intended to go for quality on the album, creating something interesting and, above all, it had to be enjoyable doing it.
“It’s not a ‘blast it out in your face’ rockers album. It’s an album to listen to. There are some nice songs with lyrics which should be savoured, including some real life stories, tributes and songs which ask questions about life.
“Some of them have hidden meanings. It’s really for the listener to explore and enjoy. I think that we have achieved everything we set out to achieve with the album.”
Songs on the album
1) BOSSMAN - “This is title track of the album - it's about mystical forces we like to delegate responsibility to when we don't want to put our necks on the line .......Ask the Bossman.
“If you had to ask who the bossman was I'd say look into your heart it's you. He's not in the sky, he's not in the underworld, and he’s a live in your consciousness. Don't delegate responsibility, embrace it, cherish it and let your Bossman live - for he's going to know.”
2) YOU ARE YOU AND I AM I - “This is a song of realisation; it's about the reality of chalk and cheese. Accepting differences and finding a fit or sliding apart, all consequences of realizing you are you and I am I”
3) TIME - “Your own Time is the most important thing you can give someone. We often waste time on arbitrary tasks when we could be spending time in a more constructive way. We all forget the importance of time with friends and family, end of the day they are the ones who care.”
4) BLUES - “The blues, is a feel and a sentiment, sometimes whaling & hollering traditional, sometimes more sophisticated. It's all the blues man.”
5) MOLLY’S DIVE - “Everyone has a Molly’s Dive, a physical or spiritual place they retreat to try and right the wrongs of the world, fuelled by alcohol, joss sticks or whatever rocks your boat. All hail to Molly and her tactical solutions.”
6) MARY JANE - “It's where you come from which makes you what you are, the way you breathe, think, react, and socialize. Beat someone's heart they'll beat someone else’s, some people are destined to fail because of their handed down lives.”
7) CIGAR BOX BLUES - “From adversity comes the mother of all invention. Who'd have thought an empty cigar box, given hours of pleasure as a distributor of tobacco, could give infinitely more pleasure in it's second life as a guitar smoking dirty old melodies from it’s dirty old body.”
8) MY VALENTINE - “Under the surface of politics there are dark and devious forces a foot. Who knows who is in the pocket of whom until everyone is dead and conclusions by the next generation are drawn, sometimes incorrectly, sometimes not - I just wanted to do an old-style shuffle feel and it turned it into a song of political intrigue”
9) THE GUITARIST - “Sometimes you hear a little tune or melody which resonates throughout your life, it equates a memory with a pertinent experience, something which, when heard, takes you back in time. This song is about one particular man who wrote those tunes, a good guy whose influence still directs country pickers today.”
10) THAT’S THE WAY IT GOES - “A song about chance. You work so hard for things and sometimes Lady Luck has a different view on what you should have. Must have been luck, either bad or good, from lady boys to criminals winning lotteries, that’s just the way it goes.”
11) WHO ARE YOU - “In the times when the self proclaimed ' greatest living rock star' sings appallingly to the splendid backing tracks of giants, then we have to ask, who are you? Who really are you ? Emperor’s new clothes? Life’s short, stop pretending to be who you aren't and live the life of who you are.”
12) TOP OF THE WORLD - “Reality is a shared perception of what is right and wrong, the more people think it, the more the boundaries are set. Being with someone who shares your own views, ideals and helps you achieve your goals is what relationships are about. There's nothing more special than being with that person.”
destined to fail because of their handed down lives.”
13) FRIENDS - “Humans are social animals, friends are with us to share life, sometimes all you need is a pair of ears to make things right, just to know that someone understands what you feel and empathizes with you. This song is about calling a friend when you need to.”
14) EVERY DAY - “Every day will be someone's last, love, cherish and appreciate them whilst it isn't. It’s about hearing that my dad had died, received in a phone call when I was on a train on the way back to London for a gig after leaving Scarborough, a rather personal song for me.”
Richard Townend : Guitar, Resonator, Keys, Vocals : Phil Pawsey : Harp, Keys, Vocals : Phil Wilson : Bass, Vocals : Glen Buck : Drums, Percussion
Guests : Kat Evans : Violin ; Will Potten : Trumpet, Flugel. Trombone; Alex Outlaw : Backing Vocals
Cover Design : LukeShropshire , Stephen Conolly & Phil Pawsey David Booth : Recording & Production
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