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To purchase James Grant CDs please go to the Vertical Records Shop
Albums
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Sawdust In My Veins (1998 Survival Records)
Sawdust In My Veins was James' first solo album, the title purloined from a
line in the film, "The Greatest Show On Earth". The mood elaborates on
the darker side of the later Love And Money records, making magic out of
misery...
Pray The Dawn starts the proceedings with the mournful harmonica of the
great Fraser Spiers interweaving with lush strings while James sings, "Your
hearts a pump, your heads a dump, your souls' a slum..."
"I Cant Stop Bleeding", pretty much speaks for itself, as does the
beautiful, "Cure For Life". The title track's circus imagery hints at his
travails in the music industry and his oft stated assertation that he felt
music was a vocation /blessing /curse.
He said at the time , "Unfortunately , I was born to be in showbusiness ..."
"Hide", which he described as song noir was featured initially in the
movie , "The Near Room", for which James composed the soundtrack.
Amidst the melancholy there is hope, redemption, self - deprecating humour
and Grants powerfully understated guitar and lyrical twists and turns.
Featuring long term collaborator Donald Shaw, Karen Matheson, the
aforementioned Fraser Spiers, James MacKintosh and the BT Scottish Ensemble.
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My Thrawn Glory (2001 Vertical Records)
From the flugelhorn and acoustic guitar of Minus Ten to the Scott
Walker-esque panorama of the title track, MTG never wastes a note or a
syllable. Does It All Add Up... starts with piano and ends in swirling
strings, soaring vocals and slide guitar and reflects the epic nature and
themes of this album . Religion, described by MOJO as a great cover for
Elvis', lays bare his feelings for a lost love, Jacquelines Shoes is a
cheeky peaen for foot fetishists everywhere and On Blood Is Sweeter, Grant
plays the devil, advising a spurned lover to take revenge...
"My Thrawn Glory (the song) is a combination of myself, Jesus Christ
and Elvis, ideally, I would like to perform it at Caesars Palace and then
ascend into heaven playing the guitar solo at the end..."
Again featuring and co- produced by Donald Shaw on keyboards, Karen
Matheson on backing vocals, James MacKintosh on drums, Ewen Vernal on bass
and The BT Scottish Ensemble .
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I Shot The Albatross (2002 Vertical Records)
Featuring James' stunning musicianship and vocals, I Shot The Albatross also boasts a remarkable Charles Buckowski reading (The Tragedy Of The Leaves) and guest vocals from Monica Queen (A Tale Best Forgotten, Anyone Lived In A Pretty Town).
The idea of putting music to poetry began ten years ago when he bought 'The Rattle Bag' and read William Blake's 'Long John Brown Loved Little Mary Bell'. Then in 1999 James, along with Donald Shaw, worked on a soundtrack for the film "Transitions", for which he edited and read a selection of 20th Century Scottish poetry juxtaposed with music and visual images. In the course of his research, he heard Edwin Morgan read Helen Adams' 'A Tale Best Forgotten' and couldn't get it out of his head... Edwin sent him a copy and it took off from there ...
Says James: "The idea of setting music to poetry kicked in again after a lot of reading and trawling websites. W H Auden, ee cummings, Emily Dickinson, Norman McCaig, Buckowski, Rimbaud, Edwin Muir, William Soutar plus the aforementioned Helen Adam and William Blake are the corpses that will spin!"
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Holy Love (2004 Vertical Records)
- Holy Love - MP3 clip
- Before She Shot The Arrow
- Give The Poppy To The People
- Monica - MP3 clip
- The Streets You Walk Everyday
- Rhinestone Lullaby
- Dandelion Clock
- I'll Comb The Tangles From Your Hair
- Mary Magdalene
- The Soft Option
Holy Love is a divine return, a gospel/country tinged affair, but with Grant's own inimitable lyrical style, passionate voice and superb guitar playing.
"I suppose I'm no different to most songwriters, in that, at some point, you want to make a record that's raw, intimate, acoustic, it's just taken me a couple of decades to pluck up the courage and have the confidence to sing the songs as they are, not to overburden or embroider them."
Co-produced by Donald Shaw, the album features dobro meister Jerry Douglas and the beautiful voices of Karen Matheson and Monica Queen.
Many of the songs on HOLY LOVE have a powerful prayer-like quality; the epic title track a hymn to the glory of love; Monica, a playful warning to suitors; The Streets You Walk Everyday, full of hope; Before She Shot The Arrow, the antithesis ..
Let Us Rock ..., er , in a very gentle way ..
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Strange Love (2009 Vertical Records)
- This Could Be The Day
- Darkstar
- Strange Flowers
- The Hallowing Touch
- My Father’s Coat
- The Bay At The Nape Of Your Neck
- Lake Louise
- Is This The Kiss?
- Can’t Beat The Music
- Scarecrow Song
- Catherine Burns
'They Bloom In The Darkness...'
James Grant returns with Strange Flowers, his most upbeat record since Love And Money's legendary Strange Kind of Love.
More of a full blown band affair than the introspective Holy Love, another phenomenal collection of songs begins with the sweeping strings of This Could Be The Day and goes on to eclectically cover topics such as vampires(Strange Flowers), how Satan was perhaps the first solo artiste(Can't Beat The Music) and features as its centrepiece the epic My Father's Coat.
There are shades of Scott Walker, John Martyn, John Barry and 70s' soul but the voice, the inimitable lyrical twists and turns and blistering guitar playing are absolute James Grant.
Filled with uncommon candour, passion and dexterity, Strange Flowers reaffirms his reputation as one of the finest singer songwriters and performers there is and will undoubtedly be one of the albums of 2009.
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Singles
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Pray The Dawn (1998 Survival Records)
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Hey Renee (2001 Vertical Records)
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