Sunflowers Light The Room Howard Gladstone Press and Reviews

Candles On The River

Rambles, April 8, 2006 www.ramblesnet.

Howard Gladstone has a particular brand of folk music that's unlike most of what I'd call great music. Though his music is more complex than a lot of folk styles, his lyrics, his voice and the slow, flowing rhythm that is consistent all the way through the CD is basically a heart-warming melody. It's not quite as sweet as maple syrup -- more like the warm burst of a blueberry when you bite into the pancake. And no matter what your station, regardless of your fears, your failures, your hopes or awards, eating a warm blueberry pancake is a fine, large human experience.

Gladstone is a singer-songwriter whose soft voice often stirs things up unexpectedly when his lyrics bite into the social conscience of humanity and touch us right in the heart. That's the kind of style evident in Gladstone's second CD, Candles on the River. Although the lyrics have an edge, they aren't in your face. The edginess points toward humanity and caring, giving a voice to many troubled souls. While the CD plays, Gladstone's songs take you away from the loneliness of injustice because the loneliness disappears when shared. His understated voice and lyrics somehow produce songs of strength and courage.

I wasn't completely sold on Gladstone's first recording, Sunflowers Light the Room; while I appreciated the lyrics, I wasn't in tune with the style. Now, with Candles on the River, I'm enthralled. The way Gladstone delivers lyrics, it's as if you are hearing him sculpt a song. Just like ice carvers at a winter festival, Gladstone shapes ordinary words into beautiful visions. And he inserts pauses that add to the delight, to the image, to the mood and to let you savour the whole thing.

Guitar by Gladstone, and lots of help from fine musicians such as Tony Quarrington, make for arrangements that really make the songs interesting. My favorite is "Down to the Delta," with a bit of blues going on. It satisfied. "Fishing by the Book" and "Candles on the River" have smart arrangements, but the whole CD is a statement crafted by Gladstone, in the Gladstone style, and I like it very much.

by Virginia MacIsaac

Rambles.NET

8 April 2006

GREEN MAN REVIEW -

Howard Gladstone, is a singer-songwriter from Toronto, Canada. Candles on the River is his second album. Howard handles all the vocals to his songs and plays acoustic guitar. He is accompanied by some excellent musicians, namely: Tony Quarrington on acoustic and electric guitars, lap steel guitar, mandolin, backup vocals and percussion; Dennis Keldie on piano, Hammond organ, accordion, and mandolin; Russ Boswell on bass; and Al Cross on drums. Anne Lindsay adds violin; Eddie Baltimore plays slide guitar; Bruce Longman plays bass; with backing vocals supplied by Clela Errington and Allan Soberman. The musicians do a fine job and there are some good guitar solos and riffs keeping the songs alive.

If you are trying to put Howard and his band into any one category it's a bit of an odd ball this one. It's not folk music, it's not country, it's not rock or pop as such, it's just different. Most of Howard's songs have a bluesy / jazz arrangement to them with an almost lounge-lizard feel. Howard doesn't really sing the lyrics, but is very laid back and rather narrates them in tune to the music. Nothing wrong with this delivery, it's just different! He's what I call a singing poet! Some may find this delivery somewhat clinical, but one advantage is that you can hear every word clearly. Imagine if you can, a newsreader on the TV singing a folk song without any emotion. In truth you will either love it or hate it. However, after listening to the album a few times it does grow on you. After studying the song lyrics, I realised there are some quite good songs here that just need singing. For me, the measure of a great song is one that stays in your subconscious and you find yourself humming the tune after switching of the hi-fi. Sadly none of the songs on this album really did it for me, - but your response may be different.

Having said that, one or two of the songs did stay in my memory and are worthy of an extra mention. They are: 'Fishin' by the Book' a topical song about the over-fishing of the seas, the Spanish still do it, why? 'Down to the Delta' reflects the history of the blues and wonders where that music is going. The title track 'Candles on the River' has a slight Asiatic (Indian) feel to it -- is an eye for an eye the correct attitude to life?

Howard Gladstone

Candles on the River • Howard's website: www.howardgladstone.com

Howard Gladstone wrote the tunes he sings on his second album of folk/roots country songs. A one-time music reviewer, Gladstone’s songs are interesting because of his passion for musical icons, people and places that he celebrates and laments in tunes like the 8-minute “Down to The Delta,” and “Too Many Voices Gone Silent”. The CD is co-produced with Tony Quarrington who provides back-up guitar work along with various band members. The songs have the virtue of simplicity and an obvious sincerity, ...

Stanley Fefferman for The Live Music Report

Review by Jerry Tenenbaum
Posted to The Band Website December 2004
Howard Gladstone: CD release: "Candles On The River"

It was just over 2 years ago that I reviewed Howard Gladstone's first CD
"Sunflowers Light The Room" in the Band Guestbook. He had just performed it
at Clinton's on Bloor St. in Toronto. It seemed appropriate to review it
here. Howard had links to Robbie; and his music echoed much of what the Band
and others near to the Band represented.

Tonight I have just returned from the CD release of his new CD "Candles
On the River". The performance was again at Clinton's, a great little room
at the back of a bar with nice acoustics and a great feel to it. It suited
Howard and the gang perfectly. What we got tonight was a continuation of
some personal and topical lyrics enmeshed in some beautiful melodies with
arrangements that satisfied. Again, with the production and excellent
musicianmanship of Tony Quarrington, a well-known and highly respected
guitarist, Howard has delivered a fine piece of work. Denis Keldie on
keyboards and accordion was superb, evoking a Hudson/Kooper feel to many of
the songs. Russ Boswell on "skinny" standup bass and Gary Orme on drums (Al
Cross plays drums on the CD) completed a tight ensemble.

Howard and the boys played two sets, delivering all the new songs and a
selection of some from the "Sunflowers" (first) CD. What I heard was a
maturation of his style in some songs. Particularly noteworthy are "Prisoner
of New Orleans", "Damaged Angel", "Candles on the River" and "Photograph".
These songs deal with personal loss, tragedy, serenity and memories
respectively. They are atmospheric and are played with arrangements that put
you into New Orleans or on the banks of the Ganges. I was personally moved
by "Photograph" as Howard delivered his feelings at looking at a photo of
times past and the people and places that this conjured. "Damaged Angel"
deals with fetal alcohol syndrome, "Aboriginal Burial Ground" with
desecration and "Fishing By the Book (with its Maritimes feel)" and "Going
Offshore" ('Buffetism' poking dark humor at a serious problem)with
globalization and corporate indifference, leading to potential ruination of
centuries old ways of life. Gregg Quill of The Toronto Star called
"Sunflowers" a 'fascinating debut'. I'd have to say that the fascination
continues as Howard explores vital issues and keeps them front-and-centre.
It is amazing sometimes how things seem to have a synchronicity. Robbie is
interviewed by Howard early in the Band years, Robbie goes back to his roots
and sings about his people, and Howard puts in yet another link in the chain
with "Aboriginal Burial Ground".

Eddie Baltimore played slide guitar on two of the cuts on the CD. Sadly,
he passed away recently just as the CD was being completed. Howard pays
tribute to a lost friend with "Too Many Voices Gone Silent" which he told us
he added to the CD.

Once again, Howard Gladstone, with the help of some stellar musicians,
has produced a worthy CD of personal reflections and topical songs. And, oh
yes, Howard, in that "slightly offkey Cohenesque delivery " (as Gregg Quill
described you in his review of "Sunflowers"), for a second there, I thought
I heard the sweet tones of Ricky Nelson. Congratulations!

To-Nite Magazine, July 10, 2003
also available on www.to-nite.net

Among the many talented Folk artists who took the stage for the June 28 Folksingers For Peace concert at Mel Lastman Square was Howard Gladstone, captured in the pic below by Shirley Gibson. Sometimes overlooked because his brother Brian, who organized the inspiring and superbly run event, has such a high profile, Howard's album Sunflowers Light The Room recently received a rave review in The Toronto Star. His group, which will include ace guitarist Tony Quarrington, performs at TO's Blues On Bellair on Thursday July 17.

Toronto Star, June 5, 2003
CD Review/ Roots/ "Sunflowers Light The Room"
Echoes of artsy 1970s psychedelic folk rock, outlaw country, Moorish modes and Dead-edged jazz pop infuse this local songwriter's unpolished but fascinating debut with loads of retro appeal, down to his deadpan, slightly off-key Cohenesque delivery.
Stylistically, this album is a bit of a dog's breakfast. Accordions mix it up with with Greenwich Village folk-period 12-string guitars, a hard blown sax, the odd chamber violin ensemble, twangy dobro and Moog synthesizer (!) but somehow producer Tony Quarrington's precarious production hangs together.
If you heard this music in a crowded room, you'd suspect it was a lost gem from another time.
- Greg Quill

Dean Verger, Owner, Rasputin's Folk Cafe, Ottawa
I enjoyed the gig. You have a good stage presence. And the interaction between you and Tony was marvelous. Thank you

CANADIAN-MUSIC.COM - May, 2003

Howard Gladstone has crafted the most melodic album I have ever heard.
He uses an impressive array of collaborators to create songs with many layers,
sometimes too many. While the guitar pieces are always completed with
incredible skill I found that they often had too much going on. Too many
notes pushing the piece past eloquence. All the instruments are
professionally played and not a single amateur hand touched this album
through the entire process. However, the songs didn't really excite me,
maybe as a matter of taste, maybe because they were just too slow. Howard's
soft, half-spoken lyrics sometimes reminded me of Lou Reed if the Velvet
Underground had gone commercial and the rhythm guitar occasionally reminds
me of the Grateful Dead in rehab(without narcotic creativity). In clearer
terms, this album is for older people who like groovy, blues based music
that's really mellow.
SeaHen. www.canadian-music.com

Rambles - March 2003

Sweet, sweet words that bring thoughts of love and sunshine and gladness into the space that surrounds the music defines this CD. Howard Gladstone is a folksinger with a guitar who sounds like he enjoys life, takes the blows, but still finds much to appreciate and rejoice in.

His sound is different in that his voice is soft and low, not a whisper but a croon -- a comfortable warm croon, not at all a swing style. His music is described as "somewhere between acoustic rock, country and folk." And I can't argue with that.

Based in Toronto, Gladstone has moved into performance, complementing his first career as a writer. His live band includes Juno Award winner Tony Quarrington, Bruce Longman, and Gary Orme, who are all respected musicians of considerable talent. On this album, he is accompanied by these and many more.

I was impressed by the rhythm in his lyrics, a perfect balance of words, innovative expression and clarity of thought that takes one off to new places. He has a lot of solid material that's wide open to various musical interpretations. I strongly suggest the folk style of these songs is not the beginning and the end of where Gladstone's compositions can be appreciated.

I'm not sure what he's aiming for in this CD, and if it's to present his songwriting, it's a winner. If it's to introduce himself as a singer and songwriter, I have a few reservations. No, I take that back, he is a wonderful folksinger. But, as I listened to this CD, I found that while I appreciated his lyrics, I was imagining more: Celine Dion's voice bringing some of the songs to a new level, and maybe a couple should be spouted by a deep rasp like Gordon Lightfoot's, and some could be easily added to the repertoire of a rock band. Gladstone is a songwriter whose work shouldn't be stuck in any one category.

I have to admit that I'm not a pop fanatic, nor a folk connoisseur, but I think many of these songs should be out there where more people can find them and appreciate them. Gladstone really has something here and I hope he'll share it with others to extend the pleasure of such beautiful music to other recording styles.

When I listen to "Sunflowers Light the Room," I hear a spiritual tone, an awakening and "Silver-Handled Dagger" is a slightly bluesy ballad with a working-on-a chain-gang sound. Undoubtedly Gladstone has a way with words and expression. This CD is definitely folk, but it sweeps across the cobblestones of so many other possible avenues. Perhaps "Howard Gladstone" is a style; listen and you can decide for yourself. I liked this CD, but it took me while to figure out why I liked it. Because of the lyrics.
- Rambles
written by Virginia MacIsaac
published 29 March 2003 www.rambles.net

Howard Gladstone's new CD offering, Sunflowers Light The Room, has everything to do with the capturing of moments. It also encourages the listener to glean new and illusive truths from those simple moments that, when linked together, often have a way of defining our lives here on Planet Earth. Make no mistake, Gladstone demands participation from his audience. In lines like: "Feel and sense their living breath, in the sunlight and in the death Between the lightning and the thunder's gloom, sunflowers light the room" we are reminded that essential resilient truths exist amongst the sometimes more obvious moments of confusion and circumstance. Gladstone also appears keenly aware of the blur between essence and circumstance. On this CD he weaves together 14 cuts which not only capture moments of passionate core humanity, but also suggest a sense of continuum and flow to this journey of discovery. Produced by virtuoso guitarist Tony Quarrington, and featuring an all-star cast of musical friends, Sunflowers Light The Room sounds alternately as dark and richly textured as a Leonard Cohen offering, and at other times, as light and lilting as a trip back to Simon and Garfunkle's "Scarborough Fair." Having had the pleasure of seeing Howard Gladstone perform in a solo live situation several times, I can only extend further kudos to Quarrington for his production which deftly emphasizes the strengths of these songs without making the material and the artist like something they are not. This CD is, in the end, a generous and heartfelt invitation to join a sincere, insightful artist on an uncompromising journey of passage and revelation. It's all about the moments that heal, and unite, and help to fuel the light. Norm Hacking December 2002
www.normhacking.com

CD RELEASE REVIEW:

On Nov. 9 2002, Howard Gladstone debuted his new CD "Sunflowers Light The Room" for 100 guests. In a cozy room at Clinton's on Bloor St., Mr. Gladstone introduced us to the provocatively sensitive songs of this album.

The sound in the room was superb. (Intimate shows like this remind me of why I hate the large venues and prefer this type of musical experience.). Mr. Gladstone is clearly influenced by The Band and Bob Dylan. However, he has added his own unique sensibilities to a group of very strong songs. His voice fits the songs to a tee. You know that he means it and cares about the songs and their message when you hear him perform.

Tony Quarrington on guitar (great arrangements and production on the album/cd), Bruce Longman on bass, and Mike McLelland on drums provided excellent support for the evening. They were tight and Quarrington in particular was innovative and interesting.

Mr. Gladstone has clearly fulfilled a lifelong ambition with this major undertaking. The two sets entertained as the band dealt out these aural treats. Many of the songs are seemingly deeply personal and you learn a lot about Howard Gladstone as you listen. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is generous enough to let us share.

The entire project can be reviewed at his website and in particular the artwork on the cd is worthy of a careful look. The arrangements of the songs, the musicianship, the package and in particular, the love and caring of Mr. Gladstone for his oeuvre makes this debut cd /album worthy of high commendation to the Dylanophile/Bandfan.

- Jerry Tenenbaum jerry.tenenbaum@utoronto.ca (originally posted to "The Band" website.)