Gareth Owen – Rolling By

AT 81 YEARS OF AGE, PRIZE-WINNING POET, NOVELIST, BBC BROADCASTER AND PLAYWRIGHT, ISSUES ALBUM OF HIS OWN COUNTRY SONGS.

Before I Get to Heaven Telling Lies Like This Jesse James and the Barber Nothing Better to Do Dream River Walk Out the Door Nowhere Ashes and Diamonds Lady Whiskey

GARETH OWEN has published some seven volumes of poetry, of which over a hundred have appeared in various anthologies. For a number of years he was the popular presenter of the BBC’s long-running ‘Poetry Please!’

He was playing ‘Othello’ in Birmingham when he met the 16 year-old Ruby Turner in the theatre, and for a time managed her career. Reading The New Musical Express one day, looking for angles to help her career, he came across an article about the Country singer, Tom T. Hall and was sufficiently intrigued to buy his album; became a convert to Country music and began writing songs, mostly until now unheard except by close friends. Many years later, Ed Begley, the M.D. of Shakespeare miscellany he was part of, heard the songs and was impressed enough to put together a band and get Gareth into a studio to record them   

Rolling by is the happy result. It’s pure Americana, with Owen’s poetic talents and his gift for a catchy tune, lifting the varied story-songs in a novel and beguiling fashion.

***

https://ift.tt/2K1Mj2u