Hugh Cornwell is a man of the people. The original vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter for punk and new-wave legends The Stranglers, has made his new album, Hooverdam, available for free download to anyone and everyone… right now! The music is available worldwide from Hugh’s website www.hughcornwell.com, which can be viewed in twelve languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Mandarin, Turkish, Italian and Japanese), making Hugh’s music freely available to most of the world’s population.
Why make it available for free? “Everything that’s ever been recorded or filmed is now online and free – whether the copyright owners like it or not, and any work of artists that is honest – either from decades ago or right now – has intellectual value that will always translate into monetary value,” explains Charles Kennedy, head of Invisible Hands Music. This is a great record, made without ProTools, AutoTune, or any other piece of performance-enhancing stuff. It comes from the heart of a great thinker, writer and musician, and will be shared and listened to for decades to come. Physical copies will be available on vinyl and as a triple-sleeved digi-pak CD/DVD, which will contain Hugh’s film “Blueprint,” featuring live studio performance inter-spliced with an interview with Hugh at the Tate Gallery in London. Both Hooverdam and “Blueprint” were recorded in Toerag Studios with producer Liam Watson (best known for producing the White Stripes’ Elephant).
The music itself is a rollicking mix of rhythm & blues, rockabilly and post-punk. Early on the disc, “Going to the City” rolls and blares like a train shimmying its way down the tracks, a motor-mouthed wordsmith riding on top. “Delightful Nightmare” follows, slinking into view on a murky bass line to tell the tale of a ghostly lover. Closing out the album, Hugh gives us jangly guitars, a surprise saxophone solo and a dose of punk attitude in “Banging on at the Same Old Beat.” “So give me one more hit / Can’t get enough of it / And if you’re tired of it / Well I don’t give a shit.”
(In Stores September 8, 2009; Invisible Hands Music)
See Hugh Cornwell on Tour in September:
09/08: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
09/09: Long Branch, NJ @ Brighton Bar
09/10: Washington, DC @ Black Cat
09/11: Bordentown, NJ @ The Record Collector
09/12: New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
09/13: Boston, MA @ TT The Bear’s Place
09/15: Montreal, PQ @ TBA
09/16: Hamilton, ON @ This Ain’t Hollywood
09/17: Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
09/18: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
09/19: Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
09/20: Chicago, IL @ The Abbey