Scott Matthews

[AllisonAdler]

So The Independent (which I'm really not sure I should still read after Andy Gill's beastly review of the O2 show) had a thing on the best records of 2007 with the following:

ROBERT PLANT

Scott Matthews

There's a young singer and musician from Wolverhampton called Scott Matthews that you should definitely check out. His album is called Passing Stranger. You can hear a little bit of Jeff Buckley in there but he's got his own thing going on as well and he sings like an angel.

And wow, Robert's right (I'm not really surprised)--he's great. Quite interesting things he's doing with the Zep influence, amongst other things. Here's his myspace, which has clips and stuff:

Scott Matthews

[One Symbol]

Ah, thanks for mentioning this.

I've been a huge fan of Scott's since catching a tiny gig he played at Sheffield Forum last year.

Scott is a huge Zep & Nick Drake fan, and he weaves those influences well into his own music.

I can heartily recommend his debut release, "Passing Stranger" which came out initially on a small indie label, but has since been picked up & reissued by Universal.

Scott's a hell of a nice guy too (very funny & self-depreciating).

Here are some pics from his Sept 2006 appearance at Sheffield Forum. Enjoy:

http://community.webshots.com/album/561840...vhost=community

[MOJO]

check out these guys

http://www.myspace.com/sinopolirockmusic

[AllisonAdler]

Ah, thanks for mentioning this.

I've been a huge fan of Scott's since catching a tiny gig he played at Sheffield Forum last year.

Scott is a huge Zep & Nick Drake fan, and he weaves those influences well into his own music.

I can heartily recommend his debut release, "Passing Stranger" which came out initially on a small indie label, but has since been picked up & reissued by Universal.

Scott's a hell of a nice guy too (very funny & self-depreciating).

Here are some pics from his Sept 2006 appearance at Sheffield Forum. Enjoy:

http://community.webshots.com/album/561840...vhost=community

Those are great! Thanks!

[ninelives]

Thanks for the post Alison. I have been hearing some things about Scott recently and it's on my list to check out.

[Lee]

So The Independent (which I'm really not sure I should still read after Andy Gill's beastly review of the O2 show) had a thing on the best records of 2007 with the following:

ROBERT PLANT

Scott Matthews

There's a young singer and musician from Wolverhampton called Scott Matthews that you should definitely check out. His album is called Passing Stranger. You can hear a little bit of Jeff Buckley in there but he's got his own thing going on as well and he sings like an angel.

And wow, Robert's right (I'm not really surprised)--he's great. Quite interesting things he's doing with the Zep influence, amongst other things. Here's his myspace, which has clips and stuff:

Scott Matthews

Yes, I heard some of his stuff a while back, very interesting.

As to the Independent O2 review, I think Andy Gill was trying to be 'balanced' in his approach, but the fact that virtually every review I've read has been positive (Q called it gig of the century, for example), kind of puts him in the minority. Two points in his review did piss me off a bit, though:

• No black acts
  

Sorry Andy, but this was a Zep gig, pure and simple, even if it was to honour Ahmet. Anyway, the black singer with Bill Wyman's band had one of the best voices of the night.

• People willed it to be a great gig because they paid so much to get in
  

Well, putting aside that this spurious argument is total bollocks, it could have been Live Aid all over again, no matter how much people paid for it. That it was a great gig was at least in part due to the fact that the guys spent months in preparation.

I'm still grinning thinking about this gig, and it was nearly a month ago!

[AllisonAdler]

^ I know he was trying to be more balanced, but I also sensed a certain disdain for the band and the fans, so that's what kind of got me. I was especially nettled by the 'murky and sluggish' bit and the dissing of For Your Life, as well as the second line that you quoted. A parade rainer, I think.

I'm still grinning myself.

[ninelives]

Finally got a hold of his CD. Absolutely fantastic! Reminds me of Nick Drake meets Jeff Buckley with a lot of other influences going on. Highly recommend it.