Search - Bill Fay :: Bill Fay

The Well Kept Secret You've Been Looking For

K. H. Orton | New York, NY USA | 06/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I picked up FROM THE BOTTOM OF A GRANDFATHER CLOCK on a whim. I had never heard of Bill Fay but being a Nick Drake fan, I was hoping for another shadowy genius in a garrett. What I heard sounded amazingly more like SGT PEPPERS on downers, chockfull of "Day In The Life" sentiments. And these were just the demos & outtakes.



Needless to say, it didn't take much prodding to pick this up. For those who stubbled across GRANDFATHER, you'll be far from disappointed by this "lost" 1971 masterpiece. Though ambitiously orchestrated, Fay's jaded delivery keeps things from sounding overdressed.



"Garden Song" starts off spare & winterly before bursting into a vernal wash of strings & horns. A promising start. Almost perversely, "The Sun Is Bored" follows with a distinctly Eleanor Rigby chill.



Throughout the most of this album, Fay wears the mantle of perpetual outsider, dissatisfied with what life has to offer. Rather than play "the games we want you to play" Fay takes on the view of the kid who stands on the sidelines letting the ball pass him by. The one unable to fit in with society's expectations.



This view is backed the cryptic liner notes, reprinted from the original album. That said, the present day notes provided by Fay in the reissue demystify all that & are humbly down to earth.



Though songs like "The Room" with its depiction of heroin addiction, are decidedly overcast, Fay always manages to paint just the right glimmer of hope into the horizon. And therein lies his skill. No matter how bleak things get lyrically, there's always a catchy hook to hang on to.



Though I've heard demos of many of these songs, the likes of "Narrow Way", "We Have Laid Here" & "Methane River" are new to me & each showcase Fay at his enigmatic best. Other highlights include the anti-war ballads, "Sing Us One Of Your Songs May" & "Gentle Willie". "May" being particularly moving.



Without a doubt, Fay's signature song has to be the anthemic, "Be Not So Fearful". According to the liner notes, it was recently covered by Wilco. Based on what I hear here(& on "Grandfather"), I'm loathe to seek it out.



Also included are two rare bonus tracks, which verge more on Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd territory. "Some Good Advice" captures Fay in fine, sarcastic form while "Screams In The Ears" is far more in keeping with the search-for-inner meaning feel of the album.



Others have described Fay as the missing link between Nick Drake & Ray Davis. I would say he's more like a cross between The Beatles & a sort of English Leonard Cohen. In any case, this might just be the well kept secret you've been looking for.



Fay's last album for Decca has also been reissued. But be warned, TIME OF THE LAST PERSECUTION takes a decidely dark, paranoid turn. And I can't recommend GRANDFATHER enough.

"

Interesting songs, wish he'd lost the arranger.

jblyn | Maryland, USA | 10/27/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I suspect that when Bill Fay recorded this album in 1968, he didn't have a lot of say in who would be producing and arranging his songs. Too bad, because a lot of very interesting and worthwhile songs on this album are undone by overblown, vacuous production, with string arrangements that mostly seem out of place half the time and "psychedelic" guitar which has no business being there at all. That said, Fay has an engaging voice and seems enough of his own man in the songwriting department that if the padding on his recordings were taken away, the songs would really shine. It's a shame, but you might like this album anyway."

Perfect

J. Ammons | Martha's Vineyard, MA USA | 12/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a borderline perfect record. I have heard this record catch a lot of flack because of its "overproduction" and its "over orchestration", but I played it in a common room at a music community where i live, and a lot of people thought it was a new artist! It is just baroque-pop thirty years early.



With songs like "we have laid here" and "be not so fearful", this album certainly isnt a bob dylan record, nor is it a nick drake album, as much as its producers may have wanted it it be. but it is really brilliant in its own right. it is one man, playing his guitar and being blown away by the brilliance of his own simple songs by a massive orchestra. I love stuff like this. it hasnt left my cd player since i bought it several weeks ago!"