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It took them 15 years to make this album. OK it wasn’t quite planned like that.
Work started in 1995, a different century. Then somehow life got in the way. A few of the band needed regular pay and it all went on hold…then the tapes got lost.
It wasn’t until those tapes resurfaced dustier, unmarked and intact earlier last year that the band regrouped and decided if something was worth doing it was worth doing well. They listened, they rewrote, they added, they finished. What was good then provided a starting point but new songs, new attitude and great playing made for new and fresh music, a sound very much of today.
And this vibrant, hard hitting album is just that. Like Runrig on speed with a hefty touch of West Country tradition thrown in, this is a CD that brings joy to the heart and a spring to the step. (It’s already been No 2 in the Amazon folk chart preorders.)
From the frenetic opening track to the interesting rhythms of Don’t Go Home, The Longest Mile shows exactly why this six man group are proving so popular live. With a stack of festival dates to their credit these past two years – Glastonbury, Guilfest, Wychwood, Isle Of Wight, Larmer Tree,Trowbridge etc – this is a band that simply stuns the audience with their energy, skill and melodies. Between them they play a range of instruments from accordian to violin, from hammond to guitar, and unsurprisingly a host of more dates are scheduled for the Autumn.
The full track listing for The Longest Mile, their fourth album to date, is as follows:
The Garden Song, To The End, Orphans, Blood And Soil, Hurricane Day, To Be Someone, After The Storm, Don’t Go Home, My Dear Friend, The Longest Mile, Wreckage.
The Longest Mile is produced by Phil Tennant (producer of the Waterboys, the Levellers and others), a man who knows a fine band when he hears it. Lyrics are written by Damien Kay and music is by Damien and Paul Godfrey. The full band line-up comprises Damien Kay, Paul Godfrey, George Whitfield, Tom Price, John Forrester and Andy Wickson.
Prize: Win one of three copies of The Outcast Band CD.
This competition is now closed. The winners are as follow:
Jill Marshall, Shenley Church End, MK5
Chris Edmonds, Weston, BS22
Barbara Bennett, York, YO19
More Necessary Info:
– The winners must be aged 18 or over.
– Proof of identity and age may be required.
– Use of a false name or address will result in disqualification.
– All entries must be made directly by the person entering the competition.
– Entries made online using methods generated by a script, macro or the use of automated devices will be void.
– First correct answer out of the Editor’s hat wins the prize.
– Winners’ full names, cities of residence and first part of their postcodes will be published on this page when the competition ends.
– Details will be sent to the winner.
– LondonNet is not responsible for prize distribution.
– The Editor’s decision is final.
– There is no cash alternative.
