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| |
| Artist : George Stanford |
| Album : George Stanford-(Advance) |
| Bitrate : VBR kbps |
| |
+-------------------------------[Release Info]-------------------------------+
| |
| Label : Mercury Records |
| Year : 2008 |
| Genre : Pop |
| Rip date : Mar-07-2008 |
| Store date : May-27-2008 |
| Size : 54,7 MB |
| |
+--------------------------------[Track List]--------------------------------+
| |
|Track Listing: |
| |
| 01 - My Own Worst Enemy 03:53 |
| 02 - Big Drop 03:46 |
| 03 - Get Free 03:35 |
| 04 - Nikole 03:38 |
| 05 - Downriver 03:59 |
| 06 - Loving You 04:19 |
| 07 - Let's Stay Here 02:39 |
| 08 - Heartbeat 04:03 |
| 09 - 30,000 Feet 03:41 |
| 10 - Worrth it 04:06 |
| 11 - Song for The Untrue 03:37 |
| |
| ───── |
| 41:16 min |
| |
+-------------------------------[Release Notes]------------------------------+
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| Enjoy! |
| |
| If George Stanford ever decides he no longer wants a career in music, he |
| can always fall back on his ability to fluff and fold--a skill he |
| learned at the 10th Street Laundromat in South Philly. |
| |
| "I had a great landlord who owned the laundromat and the apartments |
| upstairs," he recalls. "When I wasn't recording in my home studio-- |
| which was difficult because of the constant hum of the dryers-- I was |
| downstairs, folding and cleaning people's laundry." |
| |
| However, one listen to Stanford's Smash/Mercury five-song set, simply |
| titled "The EP," leaves no doubt that it will be a long time before the |
| artist asks if someone wants their shirts starched. |
| |
| And for good reason. Stanford's EP shows a songwriter following in the |
| tradition of such greats as Paul Simon through to Chris Martin. It also |
| displays his immense range of talent: With his unique and definable |
| voice, Stanford also plays all instruments except drums on the EP. |
| |
| Stanford's full-length CD, produced by Stanford along with, John Alagia, |
| Dave Tozer, Eric Ivan Rosse and Brian Malouf, will come in 2008, but he |
| felt it was important for listeners to get a taste of what lies ahead. |
| "The songs on the EP are largely my own rough mixes and one song is |
| completely bare bones, just me singing in a room, really stripped down. |
| It's kind of how the label heard me first and what attracted them to |
| me." |
| |
| Growing up outside of Philadelphia, Stanford was surrounded by song. |
| "Music was always there," Stanford says. His parents' love of classic |
| country and bluegrass by such legendary artists as Ralph Stanley, Hank |
| Williams and Merle Haggard taught him the value of taking the listener |
| on an adventure through song. "I love hearing people tell a story. |
| That's probably why I like old country records so much," he says. "Then |
| with people like Paul Simon, there's the first listen where you hear the |
| story and there are so many layers where you can go back and pick out |
| so many lyrical or sonic elements every time." |
| |
| Stanford first picked up a trombone--or as he calls it, his "gateway" |
| instrument-- when he was a kid. Bass, guitar and piano followed. His |
| love for music led him to study at University of the Arts in |
| Philadelphia. However, he ultimately abandoned his studies. "I |
| realized that a degree in jazz performance really won't get you a hot |
| cup of jack squat," he says with a laugh. "In examining all the artists |
| that inspire me and get my blood pumping, like Bob Marley, I realized |
| school wasn't necessarily a big part of where any of them came from. I |
| decided the only way to really school myself in music is to play music." |
| |
| But his schooling did provide one career path; he and several of his |
| fellow students formed a band called Townhall. In their few years |
| together, they became something of a regional sensation, playing in |
| front of up to 2,000 people. |
| |
| "I learned about being on the road and about the craft of songwriting |
| and the craft of entertaining," he says of his days in Townhall. "Even |
| if it's just a six-inch platform, as soon as you step up on stage, just |
| give them a show. When people buy a ticket, they want a piece of you in |
| a sense and there's also something just in terms of respecting the |
| tradition of all the great people who inspired me, like Tom Petty, who |
| was the first artist I saw live." |
| |
| Eventually, the members of Townhall grew apart and Stanford decided to |
| go solo: "I found I was reaching people in a fundamentally deeper and |
| more effective way when I would just play my songs with my guitar," he |
| says. |
| |
| Confirmation of that fact quickly came when, through a little help from |
| a fellow Philadelphian, Stanford landed his record deal. Stanford wrote |
| "Heartbeat," a tune also featured on "The EP," with the aforementioned |
| Tozer, another Philly boy best known for his work with multi-platinum |
| sensation John Legend. |
| |
| The set opens with "My Own Worst Enemy," a mission statement of sorts |
| about Stanford's relationship with an alternately loving and harsh |
| mistress: music. "It's given me the greatest things. It's about the |
| struggle of trying to make a life out of it," he says. "When I was |
| struggling, I'd start to think about my options and I really couldn't |
| think of any so it always came back to music for me." |
| |
| The EP's emotional center is "Downriver," a stripped-down song |
| highlighting his ringing guitar work that was recorded live at Los |
| Angeles' taste-making Hotel CafΘ shortly after his arrival in the City |
| of Angels, where he currently lives. |
| |
| "That's a real important song for me," he says. "It sums up that |
| feeling of surrender, when I decided if I never make a dime from my |
| music, I have to be okay with that because this is the path I've chosen. |
| It was very liberating in a lot of ways. There's going to be rapids and |
| obstacles, but the only way to reach the other side is to throw away |
| your fears and go with the flow." |
| |
| It looks like the Laundromat will have to wait. |
| |
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