Waterfront.
“Ghosts of the Good”
“Ghosts of the Good”
Valentine’s
Day – Fallen Angel – Sweet
Johnny – All
things must pass – Long time running Ghosts of the good – Jimmy
River’s song – Another Page – Wounded Man –
Hello
goodbye again – CRY (bonus track)
Chris
Duffy and Phil Cilia aka Waterfront met at high school aged 11. They
formed a school band and subsequently spent the next ten years
‘earning their spurs’ gigging the British pub, club and university
circuit throughout the early and mid eighties, before getting their
first break in 1987 courtesy of New York music biz mogul, Charles
Koppelman. Waterfront’s debut single, CRY went top ten in the USA (US
AC #1), and top twenty in the UK. The eponymously-titled album that
followed delivered sales of over 600,000.
Duffy and Phil Cilia aka Waterfront met at high school aged 11. They
formed a school band and subsequently spent the next ten years
‘earning their spurs’ gigging the British pub, club and university
circuit throughout the early and mid eighties, before getting their
first break in 1987 courtesy of New York music biz mogul, Charles
Koppelman. Waterfront’s debut single, CRY went top ten in the USA (US
AC #1), and top twenty in the UK. The eponymously-titled album that
followed delivered sales of over 600,000.
Then
they disappeared, only to re-emerge now after 23 years in the
wilderness with this intriguing and mature collection of
country-infused songs in their second album, “Ghosts of the
Good”. (Chordamundo Records)
they disappeared, only to re-emerge now after 23 years in the
wilderness with this intriguing and mature collection of
country-infused songs in their second album, “Ghosts of the
Good”. (Chordamundo Records)
The
direction of this new offering couldn’t be more different to the
white-soul-pop served up by Waterfront of the late eighties. Cilia
and Duffy have re-invented themselves as mellowed songwriting
journeymen, drawing on influences including Glen Campbell, the Eagles
and Ryan Adams. From the poignant opener, “Valentine’s Day”
to the up-tempo title track, “Ghosts of the Good” the
listener is treated to a crisp layers of acoustic guitar riffs
interlaced with haunting, well-worked vintage-sounding arpeggios that
compliment the laid back vocals. Lyrically, you get a feeling that a
lot of the storylines are autobiographical, with a sub-text of love
and loss most evident in “Valentine’s Day” and “Hello
Goodbye Again” but they have also included a lyrical hint at the
LA excesses of the 80’s in “Long Time Running” – an
hallucinogenic
tale of an out-of-control
night at the Hyatt on Sunset, with a room shared with the ghost of
Errol Flynn.
direction of this new offering couldn’t be more different to the
white-soul-pop served up by Waterfront of the late eighties. Cilia
and Duffy have re-invented themselves as mellowed songwriting
journeymen, drawing on influences including Glen Campbell, the Eagles
and Ryan Adams. From the poignant opener, “Valentine’s Day”
to the up-tempo title track, “Ghosts of the Good” the
listener is treated to a crisp layers of acoustic guitar riffs
interlaced with haunting, well-worked vintage-sounding arpeggios that
compliment the laid back vocals. Lyrically, you get a feeling that a
lot of the storylines are autobiographical, with a sub-text of love
and loss most evident in “Valentine’s Day” and “Hello
Goodbye Again” but they have also included a lyrical hint at the
LA excesses of the 80’s in “Long Time Running” – an
hallucinogenic
tale of an out-of-control
night at the Hyatt on Sunset, with a room shared with the ghost of
Errol Flynn.
For
old time’s sake Cilia and Duffy have resurrected their biggest hit,
‘CRY’ as a bonus track – albeit a country makeover version, which
will appear in a movie soundtrack of the film “Toy Box”
scheduled for release in 2013. Is it Country as we know it? No not
really, but there is enough depth here to make these songs appeal to
any countryphobe with open ears, and showcases two time-served
songwriter-performers who still have much to offer.
old time’s sake Cilia and Duffy have resurrected their biggest hit,
‘CRY’ as a bonus track – albeit a country makeover version, which
will appear in a movie soundtrack of the film “Toy Box”
scheduled for release in 2013. Is it Country as we know it? No not
really, but there is enough depth here to make these songs appeal to
any countryphobe with open ears, and showcases two time-served
songwriter-performers who still have much to offer.
Reviewer:
Hank Jodrell. May, 2012
Hank Jodrell. May, 2012