Howard Jones releases Ordinary Heroes - watch video
By bandweblogs on Jun 8, 2010 in Albums, Music News, New Releases, Videos | Tags: Howard Jones, youtube
The iconic UK based artist Howard Jones returns with a seminal new album, Ordinary Heroes, set for US release June 29th, 2010.
The new collection is Jones' most personal album to date, a stripped down straight ahead pop album filled with classic piano and string infused songs.
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In the six years since Howard Jones' last album, Ordinary Heroes shows Jones to be in a different place musically, moving away from his early synth pop sound (which put him on the map in the early 1980's with hits such as "No One is to Blame" and "What is Love").
Howard Jones is in a more reflective mood with Ordinary Heroes, looking both inward and beyond the personal with a soulful pop album where storytelling is unobstructed by graceful, memorable melodies and supported by simple, elegant instrumentation.
The aptly entitled album is filled with songs about the hero in all of us.
With the title track "Ordinary Heroes" and the opening song "Straight Ahead", Jones takes us into the lives of regular folks, often unrecognized and unacknowledged, but heroic in their own way.
Watch "Soon You'll Go" video:
This universal theme also turns personal for Jones with songs like "Soon You'll Go" and "You Knew Us So Well" which also reflect his own journey as a father watching his daughter grow up and dealing with the loss of a loved one to suicide.
"For me, both as a creative artist and man, life is about transforming obstacles into something of value. It's quite hard to live in the modern world, so with this album I wanted to celebrate the courage and fighting spirit in our every day lives," explains Jones from his London loft where he wrote and laid down the original songs for the new record. He continues, "I wanted to create an album that had a simplicity of sound to it, where you would not be distracted from the lyrics."
Thus, the remainder of the instrumentation was recorded in a studio in the west of England without overdubs on top of his original piano and vocal tracks. The final touches included a trip to Wales to record the choir for the emotionally touching song, "Soon You'll Go."
With this new album Jones does not let us forget, that even in the most troubled times, love prevails over loss and a sense of optimism and a little courage will carry us forward beyond all obstacles.
With additional heartfelt songs such as "Someone You Need", "Love Never Wasted" and "Even if I Don't Say", Jones has created an album that soothes and inspires even the most wearied souls that better days are ahead.
Photo credit: James Cumpsty
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