Welcome to Simon's page!
Simon is a talented singer song-writer from Southend. Born and bred in Essex (Romford), he started song- writing after joining Romford folk club in 1990.
He was also inspired by local song-writers such as Steve O'Kane and Dennis Homes.
He is now launching his solo career with his self- penned project:
" The Storyteller"
Simon Oliver
at
The Sail Loft
The Swan
12th March 2006.
The Swan has two features which produce a greater challenge for performers than most typical folk clubs; with the performance area in one of the two rooms opening off the bar, as much as two-thirds of the audience are out of sight of the artist.
Also a substantial number are in the bar for the drink and the conversation rather than the music.
In contrast to many guests in this situation who kick off with a loud robust number aiming to forcefully command attention (that is certainly my preferred option when performing), Simon opened with a comparatively restrained, yet persuasive rendering of his own song, “The Storyteller”.
Very soon the attentive proportion of the pub’s population grew from the enthusiasts in the music room to most of those present.
Having established his presence Simon displayed his mastery of the twelve-string guitar. There was an interesting balance between variety in texture and tone and a consistency of style; it was not easy to distinguish his own songs from the long standing traditional ones.
The one cause for concern was his mention of throat trouble – hardly noticeable until he brought it up.
It became apparent, however, during the closing song of the first set when a gritty voice gave and unusual ‘bluesy’ vibrancy to “The Nightingale”.
Sadly – but perhaps wisely – Simon decided that a shorted second set would spare his voice.
Disappointing though this may have been for the audience it gave us chance to hear Simon on the whistle. Playing on the “C” whistle rather than the more common “D”, he reminded us of the rich breathy tones available on the larger whistles, comparable to the sophisticated concert flute. He played two recent compositions, the Titanic theme and the Ashokan Farewell.
He closed the evening with a song of his own, a wistful recollection of youngsters – his schoolday friends - playing near the
And wanting to hear him again, a feeling shared by many in the audience. If this was Simon Oliver with his throat trouble then he’s well worth going to hear when he’s on form.
Denis Ahern 13th March 2006
Tim Almond has reviewed Simon's debut demo:
read it here!
Simon Oliver Demo CD – The Storyteller
Let’s start with a simple, important positive. This is an album of nine songs… and Simon can sing and sing well!
He has good tone and good delivery, and I did not tire of his voice at all – not even on the second listening.
Each of the songs are accompanied by him playing guitar and here again there is a good tone (and I know that it is no easy matter to get a good sound when recording an acoustic guitar). So the basics of this album set a high standard: any criticisms should be seen in that light –
the overall presentation comes across as professional, so that the glitches that would be glossed over in a more amateurish production get noticed.
One omission, understandable as this was a demo, but unfortunate nonetheless, was the absence of any accompanying notes to explain the origin of the songs.
Apart from one I knew, I was left guessin whether or not the tracks were Simon’s own composition, the work of other writers, or from that great depository ‘trad’. Certainly, a number of the songs had the feel – at least in the lyric – of a typically traditional folksong, most notably
The Rifleman, but it could have been written in a style that suggests a two hundred year pedigree… but only be six months ago.
Ok… a small niggle that will surely be erased when Simon proceeds from demo to full production.
The opening track is The Storyteller.
A clear voice, a strong melody and polished guitar make a good opening.
The lyrics spoke of “promises of tales of love, woe and romance to make your heart glow…” Well… maybe that veers a little near to the land of cliché… but I certainly didn’t feel that we were let down in the delivery of that promise!
Inevitably, with nine tracks, some work a little better than others, and personal preference plays a part.
My favourites were the aforementioned The Rifleman and The River Cam – this latter being one of those reflective, reminiscent songs that all us budding songwriters aspire to write.
the Rifleman
I’ve never punted on the River
River
Maybe this is a personal thing (I normally pick rather than strum) but I found the fingerpicking (both on Rifleman and River Cam) gave a little more room and air to the song: there was more space for the ideas in the lyrics to breathe.
Sometimes, in the strummed accompaniments (Storyteller and Lady Julian) I found myself listening for something else in the instrumentation – which didn’t come.
This is one of the subtle differences between the live and recorded medium. In a live setting, I suspect the absence of any other instrument to give colour to the accompaniment would be much less noticeable. Listening to a CD, however, and deprived the additional communication of facial expression, body language and physical presence… there were moments when I wished for something else to be added… perhaps a violin or accordion… to give some variety.
The book that inspired Lady Julian
This was especially the case in Lady Julian where there are several extended guitar-only phrases repeated several times: I felt these phrases were too long because there was very little actually happening with the song through them.
The album finishes well: The Nightwatchman and Michael Tomlin are the last two tracks, and I liked both these pieces.
It was easy to picture the scene in The Nightwatchman and I liked the lyrics especially of Michael Tomlin.
St Clement's Church, Leigh-on-Sea, where Michael Tomlin is buried.
Sometimes it’s good to be subtle and let the listener do some work, rather than spoonfeeding them, and I appreciated the intrigue that this last piece created.
The one track that I felt didn’t work was Simon’s version of Candle in the wind.
It was technically well put together but, maybe because of being too familiar with other versions of the same song, I never felt that this piece was being ‘owned’ by the singer, unlike the other tracks. For me, this didn’t fit with the general ethos of the whole album.
That aside – and it is only a subjective reaction to one track of nine – I thoroughly enjoyed this album.
If I have niggles they are, as I said at the start, because of an expectation of professionalism that Simon sets up which means the occasional underrecording of the guitar for example is noticeable but doesn’t spoil the enjoyment.
Like all solo performers, there is a problem with variety. Inevitably, there is a similarity of sound across the tracks – a second instrument on even just two or three tracks would really have lifted this album to impressive heights, but as it is, it stands well as a strong presentation of good material, and should certainly encourage anyone to catch Simon live if you get the chance!
Tim Almond
bravenet.com