Dave Simpson-The Guardian- Thursday 3 January 2013 16.30 EST
Even the album cover art has some collage styled similarities to LoVE & "Forever Changes"!
Cut From A Star
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... YFxTT1hnPo
After more than a decade drumming for Liverpool psychedelists the Coral, in 2009 Ian Skelly was struck down by a fever that led to him experiencing dreams and hallucinations. It inspired this solo debut, in which he filters guitars, flutes, mellotrons and sharp pop/folk songwriting through a psychedelic haze. Recorded on a vintage tape machine in the Coral's rehearsal space, much of Cut from a Star sounds as if it could have been blasted straight from the late 60s.
The title track features the sort of lysergic-soaked melody beloved of the Move or Arthur Lee's Love.
Nickel and Dime suggests Skelly bought a rail ticket at Liverpool Lime Street station and got off at Woodstock, while Caterpillar, ostensibly a song about a small crawling insect, enjoys a butterfly-like metamorphosis into a gentle but kaleidoscopic beauty. Skelly's lyrics about dreams within dreams and paper skies might sound as if they were inspired by wacky baccy rather than illness, but these tunes have a wistful, fantastical power.
Paper Sky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-bly9dvP44
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Review for Clarkophile.blogspot.com
Part 2 of my look at Gene's 'Dark of My Moon' has been delayed by two things: 1) the holidays; and 2) my current obsession, the magnificent debut solo album from the Coral's Ian Skelly, Cut from a Star.
So taken was I with this record that I felt compelled to drop everything, put other pressing matters on the back burner, and contact Shindig Magazine to pitch an idea for a story on it. They were receptive, and consequently I interviewed Ian yesterday and wrote the piece today.
I would strongly urge anyone with a love for dark, pastoral psych to seek out this record. In a word, it's magical. A stunning debut.
By the way, Ian is a big Gene Clark fan, so you just know he's a wonderful chap. I was honoured to hear him say that he enjoys reading The Clarkophile.
http://clarkophile.blogspot.com/