Loquacious Music

If you’re looking to download my new album, Bloom, you can click here!

Amazingly, after being so quiet for so long, I have released two albums in one week. Here is the latest:

It’s called In the Morning: The Songs of Babybird, and I’ve recorded it over the past few days. Here are the liner notes from the digital booklet:

I first heard Stephen Jones’s music at the listening station in Tower Records in San Francisco, California. I think it was in March of 1996, but I can’t be sure. What I can be sure of, however, is the impact that that album, Ugly Beautiful, and all of Stephen’s other work—past, present, and future—has had on me as a musician and as a person. From his lo-fi roots to his hit single, “You’re Gorgeous,” to his most recent album, the lovely Between My Ears, There’s Nothing But Music, Stephen has managed to create songs that are joyful, whimsical, contemplative, and heartbreaking—often in the same track!

These songs were recorded between 23 and 25 March of 2008. The only instruments I used were my voice, my acoustic guitar, and my electric guitar. There was no metronome. There was no Auto-Tune or pitch correction. With the exception of a few backing vocals, there were no overdubs or “do-overs” of any kind. I sang from my heart, like Stephen does. My covers aren’t perfect—there are bits I flub or notes I just don’t hit—but I’d like to think that my labour of love comes across as I intended it: a heartfelt-appreciation for one of my favourite singers.

Syd Barrett, Robyn Hitchcock, Laurie Anderson…There are so many musicians whose unusual take on things and sense of style makes us re-think the world around us. But what Stephen does is different from all of these other folks. He makes us re-think the world but also makes us glad to be in it. I am grateful to him and to Babybird fans the world over for reminding me why I play—and listen to—music in the first place.

—Ben Gott
Bridgeport, Connecticut U.S.A.
26 March 2008

You can download a 50.7 MB .zip file with the album as high quality, DRM-free MP3s, a digital booklet, and a .jpeg of the cover art by clicking here. Enjoy! Here’s the tracklisting:

Cornershop
Bad Habit
CFC
Steam Train
Wave Your Hands
Man’s Tight Vest
Hatesong (bonus track)

UPDATE: Look!  A link from Bad Pages!