Trying

A LITTLE BIT OF BIO: Paul Fairall is a native of Leicester, England. He studied under noted guitar player, JOE PASS. He performed with various members of FAMILY, including ROGER CHAPMAN, CHARLIE WHITNEY and ROB TOWNSEND. In 1977 he joined a Rock and Roll Revival band signed to SPLASH RECORDS owned by CHAS CHANDLER. He formed the band Cameo Rôle - a new wave pop band featuring players like ex-Blind Faith bass player RICK GRECH. They did numerous support gigs for artists such as BOY GEORGE and TENPOLE TUDOR. In that same period he recorded a self-released album with Mr. Grech and Cameo Rôle. In 1987 he met up with bass player IAN PORTER (now a recognized writer for television and media music) and joined the critically acclaimed new wave band FISHER Z for their 1987 record release. Whilst on tour, he met his future wife and songwriting partner, an American artist in Paris. He emigrated to America in 1989. MARK CHRISTENSEN, lead singer of THIRST and Paul produced and cowrote songs for their debut album, featuring ANDY NEWMARK on drums. In 1996 he and his wife, Linda Danz, embarked on a songwriting partnership forming the publishing company Fairall Danz Music, Inc. 'Trying' is their first album of original songs, played and sung by Paul Fairall. The album was recorded at 331/3 Recording in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in September, 2000. MIKE KLEIN, who engineered the Sony/Columbia release of singer JAMES MADDOCK, 'Songs From Stamford Hill', engineered and co-produced the current album from Paul Fairall called 'TRYING'. The album was mastered by ANDY VANDETTE at Masterdisk in New York City. REVIEWS FROM FANS: The tone of Paul Fairall's debut 'Trying' brings to mind a small intimate gig, the listener is bouyed up with some whisky or vodka, malt liqour, or whatever is the chosen poison, very relaxed, but lucid enough to catch the sharp lyrical observations that are being strummed your way via Fairall's vocals. 'Trying' is intimate, while retaining a deliciously mysterious air; the sort of album a listener cherishes in order to imagine the characters being sung about and the nature of human relations being sung. The keening quality of the opening mandolin in 'Linda's song' adds to the sweet and assured melancholy of the lyrics 'In a way we hold each other up in a way you'll never see'-a love song exclusive to the the relationship of it's subjects. From a little antipodean point of view this album encapsulates all that is good about English and American music traits that are evident in this album of insightful sarcasm and rough-edged warmth. - Norah Murray, Sydney Australia I put on 'Trying' when I'm feeling introspective and want substance--poetic lyrics combined with music that's melodious yet still rockin'. It takes me to other places, and I like that.You know what it reminds me of? The way I feel after reading 'Wuthering Heights,' one of my favorite novels. I get a sense of the Old World. I see fog, and bogs, and women walking around in long, satiny gowns. Romance. It's like Paul's the story-teller, a bard, wandering around spreading the tales of eons and eons of humanity. And, of course, the cover tells it all. - J.S. NYC 'Fairall's music has all the hallmarks of the troubadour singer/songwriter. Having paid his dues in the bars and halls, with a voice sweet and seasoned, he tells stories of ordinary people. Co-written with Linda Danz these are songs of indolence and experience, a sort of passive resistance. They are never mawkish or condescending but describe the inner life of their characters whether that be of the singer himself or of people he admires such as Virginia Woolf in the first track. The stones in her pockets refrain joins with the river of Styx analogy to lead us into the underworld that was both Woolf's source of inspiration and final undoing. This menopausal mire is described by Fairall with great delicacy. He also has the wit and a light enough touch not to turn this into a dirge. In the simply named Linda's Song he weaves a tribute to his partner and the universal truth of partnership and their capacity to hold each other up. It is a hymn to the couple and to the possibility of the mature relationship. This simple gem of a song is about things that might go unnoticed because of their subtlety. Fairall works best as a lone voice with an acoustic guitar and he seems to have the innate ability to recognise this and not over-produce. There is very little here that could be called excessive or bombastic. He should be heard more and should be filling halls as opposed to arenas as this is music that requires intimacy. His lineage is obvious, Dylan, Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, Tom Waits, and there are even aspects of his sincerity that remind me of a more raw David Gray. It would seem that his time might just be about to arrive.' - Billy Quinn, London I've been aware of Paul Fairall's instrument capabilities for some time now and always found it great listening but was delighted to hear his voice on the CD 'Trying'. Why has it taken so long to hear him? Teaming up with Linda must be the key because now together they have generated a really excellent CD. The songs they have written fully exploit the range and amazing strength of the voice married together with the instruments. I personally like End of the Day which starts with a slight hint of off beat emphasis gradually getting stronger and stronger into Reggae bringing back memories of ear piercing blues down at Highfields. The lyrics will touch anyone who listens as they are rooted in experiences shared by most. I hope to hear more from them again soon. - Martin Knowles, Billesdon England Trying' is the best kind of record - memorable tunes, played brilliantly, with words that you often don't quite understand but which hook in your head. A must if you like music in the shape of song. - Neil Mercer, England On' Virginia': Paul Fairall's tenor voice, accompanied by his hard-driving guitar riffs and drums, has all the degrees of grit and passion to make us feel the bitterness of Virginia Woolf's life, but it is his mandolin solos and his and Linda Danz's lyrics that gently and subtly probe the depth of her remorse. Rich in irony and understatement, the words from the chorus ' a little dip in the Underworld on such a nice day, stones in her pocket, shoes on the shore,' imply that Virginia was merely looking for souvenirs on the beach, just like any other beachcomber. We can't help but empathize with Virginia, not only because Paul, singing in the first person, becomes Virginia, but also because he conveys her complicated persona, full of self-deprecation while poking fun at us all. He sings ' You understand what I'm saying,' yet one hundred years ago, most people were mystified by her writings as well as her suicide, as perhaps many still are now. The stanza ' Words shouldn't fail me at the moment, yet they do and they're gone, ' contradicts the notion that what is written is permanent, and refers as much to our own immortality. After hearing the song once on the CD, it resounded again and again in my head, such that a magical alchemy resulted, that forced me to look at her life in a whole new way. I kept playing the song over and over, and because of the rich texture of it's musical components, I heard something new every time. In that sense, I believe that Virginia is a great song. On' Along the Way': For me, the beauty of this song is the way the musical elements harmonize with the content of the lyrics. Along the Way is perhaps the journey of a long-term relationship between two people. Dealing with whatever comes upalong the way, day after day, the couple ends up accepting not only the other, but also, themselves. Paul sings at a slower tempo, which accentuates the meaning of the first line, ' In the long run, you know and see things.' His guitar strumming pattern rythymically repeats the message that if you stick with someone long enough, through all the troubles and unsettled feelings, and ha

Number of Discs: 1

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