With an unabashed nod to the past, John’s songs join hands with some of the classic Transatlantic singer-songwriters from the late-60s and early-70s like James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Graham Nash and Paul Simon. There’s even a touch of Peter Sarstedt’s continental chic in the opener, Tomorrow’s Saturday! When was the last time you saw his name in a press release, eh?

At first glance, there’s an almost pastoral beauty to his music – incredible, flat-picked acoustic guitar dancing effortlessly across heartfelt vocals – but it’s not too long before you start to notice the scratches, scabs and scars that tell the real story. Not that Songs From The Garden ever wallows in its sadness. The dogged determination of John’s lyrics – just listen to ‘Get Back Home’ – and the prickling energy of that gorgeous guitar never stop pushing the songs forward.

You’ve probably heard lots of debut albums from guitar-playing singer-songwriters… but we think it’s a long time since you’ll have heard anything like John Aldington.

Songs From The Garden by John Aldington – another proud moment for Sitting Target!



REVIEWS:

Acoustic folkster John Aldington's new album 'Songs From The Garden' is an airy but vibrant offering in that quite typical, eloquent and graceful British style.

Aldington's music is all clean-lined, unplugged and refreshingly optimistic sounding. Aldington's guitar style is one of relentless, crisp, clean picking and punctuative strumming whilst his vocals are lightly weighted but cleverly assertive - Aldington's voice cuts through and across his busy but descriptive guitar work resulting in a joyfully vibrant but workmanlike and mood-enhancing vibe. Aldington certainly knows how to deliver his poetic ramblings; his style can be boldly rhythmic and wordy or sparsely augmented and concise - whatever, whichever, Aldington definitely gets his music across and certainly begs to be heard.

'Songs From The Garden' is almost a step back in time; it's open but expressive simplicity reminiscent of Sarstedt, Donovan, McLean and Rose. But, Aldington's very much on-the-money here with his wonderfully honest acoustic wares that also blend in the nuances of Fretwell, Rice and Young to result in a warmly enticing sound that's musically rich in emotion and loaded with meaningful lyrics - pretty cool stuff all-in-all!

John Aldington's 'Songs From The Garden' pretty much takes acoustic music back to basics; just voice and wonderfully executed but restrained guitar delivering Aldington's open but enticing musical poems. It's simple but it's pretty compelling. Maybe not quite having the commercial appeal of albums such as 'O' or 'Magpie' by the aforementioned but possibly just as worthy and equally 'timeless'. 'Songs From The Garden' by John Aldington is a pretty cool and sophisticated album of ezy 'folk' songs that offers a bit of respite from some of the more overly-produced works of late - 'Songs From The Garden' benefits from its inherent accessibility brought about through its totally stripped-down approach and equally simplistic but deferential production.

Peter J Brown aka toxic pete (www.toxicpete.co.uk)


Never having been a follower of singer-songwriters such as James Taylor and Cat Stevens, there was a danger I could have overlooked the first album from John Aldington, a modern day solo artist who is compared to those early-70’s stalwarts. However, having been enchanted by his contributions on Sitting Target label’s ‘The Germinal Disc’ compilation, I have been looking forward to listening to his works again. Like a cross between the starry-eyed romance of Gilbert O’Sullivan and the gritty intimacy of The Montgolfier Brothers’ Roger Quigley, there is something magical about the songs of Aldington which transcend nostalgia and sound fresh and alive.

Aldington is a narrator of romantic tales; one such story is ‘It’s Too Late’ where “hearts get broken” and the gentleman at the centre of a love triangle has “got a woman at home”. It’s a simple subject but one where Aldington’s old-fashioned style of songwriting works extremely well. Indeed, by voicing third-person disapproval in his lovely, haunting tones and employing addictive key changes, this song and most of the album are elevated to something special.

Not many artists could get away with “Looking back through the years of that endless summer” and “some dreams get lost along the way” (as on ‘Looking Back’) but Aldington’s performance in front of the mic seems so pure and unsullied that the innocence is captured perfectly; the fact that he accompanies it with a fine piece of jangly guitar certainly helps too. Similarly, the beautiful ‘Growing Pains’ aches with melancholy and is another stunning track.

Whilst listening to his songs, I can almost visualise Aldington sitting on a sturdy tree branch and observing another failed love affair from afar. He shakes his head sadly and then is inspired to write a new tune about what he has just witnessed. My overactive imagination aside though, ‘Songs From The Garden’ proves that Aldington is not only a fine vocalist and tunesmith but he has also captured that lost art of storytelling. More of the same next time please.

- Leonard's Lair


"…fabulously written songs...lyrics that have been considered long and hard...heartfelt delivery…"

- Acoustic Magazine


8/10
- Folkforum.nl, (the Dutch authority on all things acoustic)



John Aldington was amper 16 jaar oud toen hij met zijn akoestische gitaar een plaatsje zocht onder de bomen in de grote parken in Londen en omgeving om daar zijn eigen gecomponeerde liedjes ten gehore te brengen aan iedereen die maar wilde luisteren. Nu - dertig jaar later - schrijft hij nog steeds liedjes die hij via het moderne medium dat de cd toch is aan de buitenwereld wil kenbaar maken.

Een tijdje geleden werd Aldington - die professioneel als cameraman werkt in tv-studios - uitgenodigd op een tuinfeestje waarbij de uitnodiging vermeldde dat iedere gast een eigen liedje moest komen zingen en zo voor entertainment van de andere gasten moest zorgen. Het bleek dat zijn werk in de smaak viel bij het aanwezige publiek want hij mocht nog een tijdje verder zingen. Dit gebeuren inspireerde hem om eigen composities te creëren en ze op deze cd “Songs From The Garden” te zetten.

Met enkel de begeleiding van een akoestische gitaar klinken de elf nummers op deze plaat zeer sober, naakt en intiem. Het is vooral de goede stem van de zanger die de aandacht van de luisteraar moet proberen vast te houden. En daar slaagt John Aldington behoorlijk goed in, hoewel het misschien beter zou zijn om de hele cd niet in een beurt uit te zitten om eentonigheid en verveling tegen te gaan. Met de liedjes die over de liefde gaan en de echte emoties van een getormenteerde ziel bloot geven scoort hij volgens ons het best. Vandaar onze voorkeur voor songs als “It’s Too Late”, “Looking Back”, “Get Back Home”, “Who Am I?”, “Had Enough” en het heel mooi afsluitende nummer “Closing Time”.

De voor de hand liggende vergelijking met de muziekstijl van sixtieslegende Donovan en veel recenter met songsmid Damien Rice zijn terecht en moeten een serieuze stimulans zijn voor John Aldington om met volle overgave aan een volgende plaat te gaan werken. Er is momenteel namelijk een gretig en geïnteresseerd publiek te vinden voor dit soort muziek en songs.

(valsam)

www.rootstime.be