Patrick Ovenden is a British multi-instrumentalist who has recorded a lot of stuff in what I'm guessing is a home studio. Some hit, some miss, some experimental. He's very much influenced by Classic Rock groups like the Moody Blues and Jethro Tull (also Mike Oldfield). Recently, he decided to put up an awful lot of his works on Bandcamp--stuff going back to 1990, for Christmas sake--most of it free for the taking.
Three of Patrick's records are Christmas related. The earliest,"Winter In White Pages Lost", is one big long piece that plays off that Mike Oldfield influence. The most recent of the Christmas sets, "A Traditional Christmas", is from last year. Some of its very good ("We Three Kings" and"Away In A Manger", for example), some less so. But the one that grabbed me was the one that shows off those Moody Blues/Jethro Tull roots.
"Christmas Shopping" shows a 2014 date and its got a couple of tracks I couldn't warm up to but, for the most part (as I, too, love the Moodys and the Tull), its a fun little record that is very much in the Classic Rock, orchestral Folk Psych vein. Now keep in mind that Jethro Tull had a lot of people in the group and the Moodys had an actual orchestra backing them on "Nights In White Satin". So Patrick, whom I'm guessing is responsible for all the instruments and almost all the vocals himself in his home studio, is at a bit of a disadvantage. That translates to a tad of a lo-fi sound, but not so much. Among the highlights for me were "A Winter Garland" (though the opening bit lasts too long for my taste), the title track, "Christmas Morning", "Christmas Star" and "How Majestic Is Your Name".
So head on over to Bandcamp, if you're intrigued, and listen to Patrick Ovenden do his thing. Heck, listen to him doing all of his things. It's there for you to be had.
Three of Patrick's records are Christmas related. The earliest,"Winter In White Pages Lost", is one big long piece that plays off that Mike Oldfield influence. The most recent of the Christmas sets, "A Traditional Christmas", is from last year. Some of its very good ("We Three Kings" and"Away In A Manger", for example), some less so. But the one that grabbed me was the one that shows off those Moody Blues/Jethro Tull roots.
"Christmas Shopping" shows a 2014 date and its got a couple of tracks I couldn't warm up to but, for the most part (as I, too, love the Moodys and the Tull), its a fun little record that is very much in the Classic Rock, orchestral Folk Psych vein. Now keep in mind that Jethro Tull had a lot of people in the group and the Moodys had an actual orchestra backing them on "Nights In White Satin". So Patrick, whom I'm guessing is responsible for all the instruments and almost all the vocals himself in his home studio, is at a bit of a disadvantage. That translates to a tad of a lo-fi sound, but not so much. Among the highlights for me were "A Winter Garland" (though the opening bit lasts too long for my taste), the title track, "Christmas Morning", "Christmas Star" and "How Majestic Is Your Name".
So head on over to Bandcamp, if you're intrigued, and listen to Patrick Ovenden do his thing. Heck, listen to him doing all of his things. It's there for you to be had.
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1. A Winter Garland
2. Christmas Shopping 3. Snow 4. Christmas Morning 5. Christmas On My Mind 6. Jingle Bells (trad.) 7. Christmas Star 8. This We Believe (feat. Michael Bave) 9. January Man 10. Evensong (instrumental) 11. The Ballad Carol 12. (Adonai) How Majestic is Your Name PATRICK OVENDEN'S WEB SITE DOWNLOAD AY BANDCAMP |
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