Bill Fay - BILL FAY***

Garden Song/The Sun Is Bored/We Want You To Stay/Narrow Way/We Have Laid Here/Sing Us One Of You Songs May/Gentle Willie/Methane River/The Room/Goodnight Stan/Cannons Plain/Be Not So Fearful/Down To The Bridge

Self titled debut album from obscure British singer songwriter Bill Fay. Although demonstrating songwriting originality, critics claimed his weak vocals were overwhelmed by the heavy lush orchestration.

“Bill Fay's self-titled is overwhelmingly dripping with orchestrations that completely take my attention away from the words. It's also remarkably odd that his voice is drowned by these stuffy arrangements, which is perhaps all very well as he is a rather poor vocalist.”

“A good collection of singer-songwriter tunes with ornate orchestration. This doesn't set my world on fire, but I'd be hard-pressed to identify a bad track.”

“Bill Fay seems such a tragic figure. The album always sustains a pretty sombre feeling, but Bill keeps it covered up with the smile of his big, horny baroque arrangements.”

“I wasn't sure about this album once I started listening to it, but with each song Bill Fay's compositions and voice got progressively more beautiful and passionate. This is a wonderful music experience from start to finish. His voice or music may not be everyone's cup of tea, because his singing style is a bit odd. The arrangements are so gorgeous, though.”

“Not a very good singer or musically interesting, and not that good as a songwriter. Whatever his ideas were, he had trouble conveying them in a meaningful way.”

“This really is a lost gem if you appreciate English late sixties psychedelic folk. It's quite beautiful in its pastoral vision of northern Englishness, very jazzy at times, very orchestrated - maybe a bit too much at times - but Bill Fay's distinctive vocals are so full of emotion.”

“Throughout most of this album, Fay wears the mantle of perpetual outsider, dissatisfied with what life has to offer. A lot of very interesting and worthwhile songs are undone by overblown production, with string arrangements that mostly seem out of place half the time, and a "psychedelic" guitar which has no business being there. Fay has an engaging voice and seems enough of his own man in songwriting.”