picked up his new album today and I think its fantastic, one of his best albums, despite a couple of re-releases and a short length which i dont mind, its good enough to listen twice over, its a solid album. A bit of a change as well working with an outside producer and a backing band but it works well.
Unfortunately i feel this guy is going to fall into the same category as ron sexsmith and toil in endless obscurity, both very underappreciated, especially Sexsmith. Although I think Hayden probably prefers its that way.
nevertheless im going to sing his praises even if no-one cares.. :jump
Hayden goes country (sort of) on The Place Where We Lived
By John Lucas
Hayden
The Place Where We Lived (Hardwood)
Hayden goes country! Well, okay, not quite, but backed by members of Cuff the Duke, the Ontario tunesmith takes a few steps in that direction on The Place Where We Lived, the surprisingly quick (16 months!) follow-up to last year’s fine In Field & Town. The most obvious nod toward Nashville is a short but gorgeous instrumental, “The Valley”, in which keening steel guitar and harmonica weep softly over gentle acoustic-guitar and banjo picking. Elsewhere, “Let’s Break Up” belies its theme with a jaunty two-step beat and a tunefully twangy guitar solo.
Paul Hayden Desser’s latest isn’t all about unironic John Deere caps and boot-cut Wranglers. “Dilapidated Heart”, for example, boasts some off-the-rails electric six-string work that would make Crazy Horse (the band, not the Oglala Sioux warrior) sit up and take notice.
Mostly, though, it’s business as usual—which, in Hayden’s case, isn’t a bad thing at all. He has been putting out records for 15 years, and each of them has been excellent, but Desser remains criminally underrated. Apart from a pair of Juno nominations 10 years ago (for best new solo artist and best alternative album—he lost in both categories), the guy can’t even get his due from the Canadian music industry, which should really know better.
The Place Where We Lived is unlikely to rescue Hayden from cult status. The disc doesn’t have any obvious potential hits on the order of “Where and When” (from In Field & Town) or “Home by Saturday” (from 2004’s Elk-Lake Serenade). Even so, the already initiated will find much to love, including the title track, a tender portrait of an over-and-done relationship told through a description of the couple’s former home. Equally poignant is the album-closing “Let It Last”, a spare lament to sad but indelible memories that owes part of its heart-searing appeal to Australian songbird Holly Throsby, who contributes stirring harmony vocals.
Maybe Hayden is destined to remain a semi-obscure figure in the great CanCon pantheon, but at the very least he can take comfort in this fact: those who like him like him a lot.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.straight.com/article-223041/recordings-hayden-goes-country-sort-place-where-we-lived">http://www.straight.com/article-223041/ ... e-we-lived</a><!-- m -->
Daily Disc: Hayden, The Place Where We Lived
Shambolic tenderness runs through the ten songs on The Place Where We Lived, the sixth record from Canadian singer-songwriter Hayden, whose gone by only one name since he made his first album in 1994. Over a backdrop of Wurlitzer guitar, organs and the occassional flourish of trumpet and trombone, Hayden's cracked Jeff Teedy-esque vocals reveal sad stories of Northern Ontario while an uptempo rhythm guitar places him above and beyond his navel-gazing peers.
Some credit for tone must go to producer Howie Beck, whose most recent album sounded like Elvis Costello meets the Beach Boys. While Hayden has worked alone for the past eleven years, Beck's contributions lend many of the break-up songs a toe-tapping, jukebox appeal. It takes a special talent to sing about "filling a room with sadness," in a voice which suggests a smile on the musician's face. Hayden may be pissed-off and beaten, but he's too wry to simply be sad.
A third of the album has a pronounced country and western feel. Backed up on several tracks by members of Oshawa's Cuff the Duke, saloon ballads like Never Lonely are given a kick in the torn denim pants thanks to steel guitars, keyboard and trombone. Indeed, on much of the record, Hayden almost sounds like Tom Petty singing with his Travelling Wilburys, a radical departure for a musician known as a hermit recording artist.
While less of a break-out album than last year's In Field and Town, which many believed was Canada's album of the year, this 30-minute record instead has a breezy musicality and campfire vibe. The Valley is an instrumental that features Hayden playing his heart out on the banjo and Dilapidated Heart mixes a simple accoustic guitar strum with a nasty electronic wallop to create something which sounds like a lost Neil Young and Crazy Horse tape. "I left you with so much sorrow, you just faded and wore down," Hayden sings over Howie Beck's bass and drums.
The best song on the record is called Let's Break Up and it's a kiss-off to an old lover whose title practically demands an exclamation mark. "If you're 'gonna leave me, don't be teasing, you need to take a stand," Hayden sings on the shuffling record which sounds like it was recorded in Nashville. "If you're going to mess up, give me a heads up, I need to make some plans." On The Place Where We Lived, recorded after tours with The National and Feist, Hayden indeed sounds like a man with a plan. After all, making sad songs you can dance to takes a steady, deliberate hand.
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Love him, love the new album, hope he tours soon!
Here's the iTunes pre-order bonus track for those of you who missed it (probably everyone):
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daylight Wrote:Love him, love the new album, hope he tours soon!
Here's the iTunes pre-order bonus track for those of you who missed it (probably everyone):
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CB59DABW">http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CB59DABW</a><!-- m -->
Awesome, thanks for the link!
I dont use iTunes so i usually rely on friends for this stuff, thanks again.
Count me in as a Hayden fan ever since I first heard 'Bad as They Seem' on 89x (Windsor) back in high school, I guess in 1995.
...and that is an outstanding cover of Slow Show, in fact I prefer it to The National's version (not taking anything away from The National).
EPenguin10 Wrote:...and that is an outstanding cover of Slow Show, in fact I prefer it to The National's version (not taking anything away from The National).
totally agree its an amazing cover.
Ive been a fan as well since 95, i loved that song when it first dropped. I met Hayden at the Hip's Y2K show in Toronto (the second night) he came into the crowd after his set to talk to some suits in the row behind ours, I stopped him and we had a small chat, nice guy, he played a great set that night too.
[youtube]scEIC5bG1Yk[/youtube]
thanks, i haven't seen that video in quite a while...
i wonder if this album will get the nod for the polaris prize...
new album in the works. should be out in Feb.
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happy days!
robbroncs Wrote:new album in the works. should be out in Feb.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://wasteyourdaysaway.com/">http://wasteyourdaysaway.com/</a><!-- m -->
happy days!
Excellent news! Really enjoy this man's work.
I was a Hayden fan back in my early university days. I still get his newsletter, although even he admits that its been a while since anything was sent out. This came out on Wednesday:
Quote:Hi There,
You're likely receiving this email because you signed up for it long ago when you were younger and had more free time. I recently came to the conclusion that just because I listen to a 1965 jukebox, record on a 1969 tape machine and drive a 1979 VW, it doesn't mean I shouldn't update the way I reach out to people who may be interested in my whereabouts. So, this is my attempt to keep a dialogue about Hayden news such as release dates, contests, secret shows and exclusive content around my upcoming album due out on Arts and Crafts. Kinda like an old fashioned fan club, but using 2012 technology....If this sounds good then welcome, if it sounds annoying, then please hit the de-subscribe button below. No hard feelings.
The new album is called Us Alone, and will be available on February 19th. We've released one new song called Old Dreams, which you can download for free by clicking below and watching the second in a series of videos that I've been making to introduce each song on this record.
View the vignette teaser for Us Alone on CBC Music.
Download the first single "Old Dreams" as a free download from Rolling Stone.
I'm in Europe right now doing a few shows and I'm looking forward to playing in Canada early in the the new year. I'll be sending out a note here letting you know when and where you might be able to come see a small, secret show leading up to the album's release.
Thanks,
H
Hoping for a show in Toronto during the new year
I can't wait to see this man tour again. He is such an underrated songwriter and a fantastic performer. Doesn't hurt when Cuff the Duke are his backing bad either.
Scotty12 Wrote:Hoping for a show in Toronto during the new year
You got it:
Quote:Hi Friends,
Four years is a long time to be away, so to help celebrate his exit from hibernation, Hayden will be embarking on a tour of small, very unique venues. This will be a rare opportunity to see Hayden and his new band play songs from the new record, Us Alone, out Feb 5th on Arts & Crafts with presale orders now available!
The Dates:
February 6 Kingston, ON at The Grad Club
February 7 Guelph, ON at Cooperators Hall
February 8 Dundas, ON at The Dundas Valley Montessori School
February 9 Creemore, ON at Avening Community Centre
There will also be a series of intimate shows in Hayden's hometown of Toronto. Three clubs, chosen by Hayden, for reasons only he knows. Please arrange a babysitter, get your ass off the couch and come see one of this country's least seen artists…
The Dates:
February 20 The Dakota Tavern (early show)
February 21 The Cameron House
February 22 Rivoli
Tickets for this special set of Toronto celebrations will be available at local retailers Rotate This and Soundscapes, as well as on the A&C Gallery website at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.galleryac.com">http://www.galleryac.com</a><!-- m --> along with the full tour as listed below.
Presale orders for Us Alone on CD, digital and vinyl will also be available today on the Gallery website, along with new merchandise including a tshirt designed by Hayden. Check out the new stuff and let us know what you think!
Hayden’s Tour:
February 6 Kingston, ON at The Grad Club*
February 7 Guelph, ON at Cooperators Hall*
February 8 Dundas, ON at The Dundas Valley Montessori School*
February 9 Creemore, ON at Avening Community Centre*
February 13 New York City, NY at Mercury Lounge*
February 20 Toronto, ON at The Dakota Tavern
February 21 Toronto, ON at The Cameron House
February 22 Toronto, ON at Rivoli*
March 7 Wakefield, QC at Blacksheep Inn*
March 8 Montreal, QC at La Sala Rossa*
March 15-17 Austin, TX at SXSW
March 20 Seattle, WA at Tractor Tavern*
March 21 Portland, OR at Doug Fir Lounge*
March 23 Vancouver, BC at The Rio Theatre*
March 24 Nelson, BC at The Royal on Baker*
March 26 Edmonton, AB at The Royal Alberta Museum*
March 27 Calgary, AB at Festival Hall*
March 28 Saskatoon, SK at The Bassment*
March 30 Winnipeg, MB at West End Cultural Centre*
*with Special Guest Lou Canon
Hope to see you all out on the road!
Love the intimate venues, very excited for these shows!