Album Notes

"When it comes to singer/songwriters, Jamie Marshall takes a lot of beating ... an act worthy of Wembley Arena."
“ Don Craine, BluesMatters magazine

"Jamie Marshall is a new shining light in acoustic music."
- folking.com

[He has the] ability to pen songs that instantly hook with melody lines aplenty and an understanding of what makes a song jump at the listener. A classic songwriter who could quite literally show the big boys a thing or two”
- Sean McGhee in Rock and Reel

"vastly underrated... he has the presence, personality and stage craft to fill any size venue." - Get Rhythm
"It beggars belief that Marshall is not an adult rock icon." - Time Out

"a consummate entertainer and in the same breath a songwriter and singer of thought and conscience."
- Michael Mee, Tweedale Press

"a voice to break hearts"
- Terry O'Brien, New Acoustic Movement and The Playpen Club

http://www.jamiemarshall.com

For 20 years, I've been a big part of London's live music scene, gigging at venues as varied as the Royal Festival Hall, the Twelve Bar Club, and the London Transport Museum .

Nationally, I've appeared on UK radio (Radio 1, Radio 2, and Radio 5) and television (BBC 1, BBC 2, Channel 4, and Sky TV). At a local level, I was the featured live music guest on several local radio stations: BBC GLR, Radio Wales, Radio Bristol and Radio Newcastle.

In October 2001, I was the guest of media iconoclast and all-round geezer Big George on his BBC Three Counties radio show "The Sound of Music".
Clips from the hour-long show are featured on my Audio page.

http://www.jamiemarshall.com/audio.htm

Outside of performing, I've written music for television, including the theme tune for the BBC comedy "A Prince Among Men", and for a touring comedy show featuring Red Dwarf's Chris Barrie.

In 1991, my band and I toured the UK with Don McLean.
The tour culminated in us recording and performing a special 4-minute version of Don's hit "American Pie" on Europe's top-rated music TV show Top of the Pops.
I've also worked with Paul Young and Los Pacaminos, Thomas Dolby, British blues legend Long John Baldry, Clive Gregson and Ed Alleyne-Johnson, though I didn't always keep such respected company.

My first professional gig came via the back pages of Melody Maker. I was called by a bloke called Johnny Carroll - an Elvis impersonator from Thornton Heath, who specialised in the Elvis "Vegas" era. Unlike Elvis, who was always a big bloke, Johnny was 5'7" and a weasly ex-squaddie, who used to revel in showing us "candid" shots he'd taken of his Danish wife.
This was mostly done at the dinner table when she was present. We were going to be big in Denmark, but what actually happened was we lived out of the back of a van, ate boiled potatoes and cornflakes, and rehearsed on a pig farm - wonderful smell!

I used to front the band for the first half of the show, and we'd play Police and Pretenders covers, then Johnny came on to the overblown strains of Fanfare for the Common Man and went down like a lead balloon - maybe it was the stick-on sideburns.
He couldn't handle the fact that the kids liked us and not him, and I was sacked after 10 days

I've been making records since 1986, when I released a self-financed double A side single (Hungry for You/Closer to You). It was picked up and promoted by EMI Music Publishing.
Since that time, I've released a number of records, you can find details of these at:

http://www.jamiemarshall.com/recordings.htm

In June 2002 my band and I played to 10,000 people at a music festival on the banks of the River Thames in Twickenham, West London England.
The festival, organised in conjunction with the Eel Pie club, marked Twickenham's' rock and blues musical heritage.

In October 2002, I released Before I was Famous, a compilation of remastered tracks from the Troubletown EP (released on good ole vinyl) and the CD album In Our Lifetime. It's the first time that some of these songs have been available in digital format.

It features some tracks from “In Our Lifetime” as well as the material from the Troubletown EP. For those of you unfamiliar with this recording, the songs are: Troubletown, Turning into Dust, White Man's Africa, and Last Laugh Laughs Loudest (this latter track recorded as part of a live radio broadcast, in Geneva Switzerland). The additional track is my original, straight to MiniDisc, demo version of “Trust Me”.

http://www.jamiemarshall.com/audio.htm





-ALBUM REVIEW-

JAMIE MARSHALL
'HERE AFTER'


Another new face/voice for us to listen to is Jamie Marshall, the CD opens in fine fashion with 'She Is In Me', a track that drives along in acoustic fashion, it's one of those 'I've heard this some-where before' songs but for the life of me I can't remember the source'. Whatever, it's a cracking opening to the album with a good drum sound, nice understated guitar and Ham-mond -sounding keyboards.

'The Judas Tree', ah yes it's a bit Mark Cohn and a bit of Climie Fisher, nice edge to the vocal. A reflective 'what could have been' - mmm, yes we've all been there and hope springs eternal.

What is becoming evident is that as the tracks start to roll by this is a musician, songwriter, and singer of the highest calibre. I would put him alongside someone like Jon Strong - strong melodies, very good lyrics, good musician, I could go on but this album really speaks for itself.

'Vagabond Heart' takes us along at a similar pace to 'The Judas Tree', I like the lyrics, before he puts his foot on the pedal for 'Hallelujah Day' featuring some nice emotive slide from Micky Moody. 'Maybe Now' is another 'slow burner' but what could easily have turned out be a crass love song is moved onto anoth-er level by Marshall's lyrics and production plus Moody's delicate slide. 'The Tricks That Time Can Play' has a bit of Irish in the feel and probably a con-tender for a 'boy band' song, as they seem to go for the big romantic ballad. The tempo moves up again for Which Side of the Line' decorated with piano and slide before the Cajun-ish 'I Can't Pretend', I think it's just the squeeze box that gives the track a Cajun feel as Jamie's songwriting is a bit more adventurous than the standard Cajun thing'.

Now here's a nice little laid-back groove for 'The Question Why', a bluesy/smoky affair which for me is a path I think he should explore. 'The King is Dead' is slightly more 'country tinged', the kind of song you'd hear on 'Rebel Country' when it was around on CMT, I prefer his 'bluesy' mode. The album finishes with the up-tempo 'Long Way To Fall' bring-ing back the accordion to good effect.

I've said it before, I'll just re-enforce, if Jamie was from Nashville a lot of people would be raving about this album but the fact is he's not, no 'buts' no 'ifs' this is very good, well recorded, well played and well sung. I 'lean' towards certain tracks but that's because I have a personal preference for Jamie in a bluesy groove.

Marshall, like Jon Strong and many others find themselves in limbo as the majors demand young acts. But performers of this ilk are the backbone of live music. The stadium tours make the rounds employing a few extras in every city, but it's the pub gigs that go on day and night all over the UK are the ones that employ the extra bar staff, work for brew-eries, drivers, van and PA hire, music shop assistants and of course the performers themselves. The bonus is when someone like Marshall or Strong appears at a pub/small venue near you - make sure you're there. cj

From "Get Rhythm" March 2000


-GIG REVIEW-

JAMIE MARSHALL
THE DISPENSARY
NEWCASTLE ON TYNE ENGLAND
1/03/01

Yet another mature British singer/songwriter who's had all the plaudits but is still a stranger to Northern shores. Marshall, originally from Liverpool, is only now stretching his legs and starting to find gigs outside of London. While he may play festivals in Ireland and Scotland it's the small gigs around the UK that have to be played, and now he's doing it. Jamie is quietly spoken with only a hint of Scouse but this belies his vocal power on stage. His set is a mix of tracks from his latest album, 'Here After', new songs and reworking of classics. He may only have been playing to a small audience but he has the presence, personality and stage craft to fill any size venue.

Then there's his voice, rich, deep and with a rough edge, as far removed from his 'talking voice' as you can get. The PA at The Dispensary was well set-up with a good guitar sound emanating from his old Takamini (when they made them like Martins). The opening songs were 'The Question Why', and 'The Judas Tree' both delivered with confidence and winning a good response from the audience. Other songs from 'Here After' included the opening track, the heartfelt 'She Is In Me', a reflective 'The Tricks That Time Can Play', a soulful 'Vagabond Heart', the cajun tinged 'Long Way To Fall', the blue collar rock of 'Hallelujah Day' and the country feel of 'Maybe Now'. Jamie mixed it up a bit with a strong version of 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine', 'What's Going On' and 'Ordinary People' but the real surprise was near the end of the show when he sang 'Trust Me', one of his latest songs which will, no doubt, grace his next album. That was my highlight of the evening.

Jamie Marshall still reminds me of Yorkshire singer/songwriter Jon Strong, another vastly underrated talent, maybe we should send them all on tour to the States. Both Marshall and Strong are versatile songwriters that don't fit into any convenient pigeon hole and maybe that's the problem, but see either of them live and you will be impressed.

The next evening would see Jamie play at The Barrels in Berwick where a warm, packed house would enjoy this amiable troubadour.