Richard Hawley Lady's Bridge CD

English singer-songwriter Richard Hawley gained notoriety for his smart, elegant brand of contemporary pop-rock over the course of his first three albums (2005's COLE'S CORNER, for example, was nominated for Britain's Mercury Prize). The follow-up was 2007's LADY'S BRIDGE, an album that arguably surpasses the mightily impressive COLE'S CORNER.

The disc is tinged with a retro, rockabilly groove, a feeling accentuated by the cover art, which features Hawley in a sharkskin suit, reclining with a vintage hollow body electric. On both the more rock-&-roll-tinged tunes, and the swirling, atmospheric ballads, Hawley evokes the ghosts of Elvis and Roy Orbison, but LADY'S BRIDGE isn't a rehashed style exercise. It plays instead--with its beautifully applied arrangements, gorgeous tunes, and elegiac lyrics--like the work of a consummate musician.

Recording information: Axis Studios, Sheffield, England; Yellow Arch Studios, Sheffield, England.

Photographers: Martin Parr; Christine Saunders.

Personnel: Richard Hawley (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, lap steel guitar, Spanish guitar, baritone guitar, hammer dulcimer, lyre, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, vibraphone, glockenspiel, bass drum, snare drum, bongos, cymbals); Richard Hawley; Isobel Radford (baritone); Shez Sheridan (guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, 12-string guitar, lap steel guitar, baritone guitar, lyre, background vocals); Elizabeth Garside, Liz Garside (cello); Clive Mellor (harmonica, trombone); Jen Fawcett (flugelhorn); Johnny Wood (double bass); Jon Trier (bells); John Pullin (unknown instrument); Sally Doherty (vocals); Ellen Brooks, Naomi Koop (violin, viola); Charlotte Miles, Kathleen Ord, Lizz Lipscombe, Susannah Simmons (violin); Liz Hanks (cello); Colin Elliot (accordion, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, vibraphone, double bass, electric bass, drums, congas, castanets, tambourine, timpani, tom tom, percussion, crotales, Theremin, background vocals); Eleanor Radford (cornet); Dave Keighley (tenor trombone); Nick Stokes (bass trombone); Clare Moore (euphonium); Trevor Goodison (tenor horn); Dean "Bam Bam" Beresford (drums); Rebecca Penn Critten, Sophia Penn Critten, Tasmin Penn Critten (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Mike Timm; Colin Elliot; Kevin Bacon ; Jonathan Quarmby.

Spin (p.121) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he record maintains its hypnotic spell with slow-as-IV drip rhythms that set the scene for Hawley's moonlit walks down lonely streets."
Entertainment Weekly (p.69) - "Haunting yet hopeful, BRIDGE crosses the gap from great to instant classic." -- Grade: A
Uncut (p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "While he still sings like a kinder, sadder Jarvis Cocker, he does it with such sincerity that it seems churlish to resist."
Magnet (p.97) - "Echoes of Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney and Lee Hazlewood abound; it's all in the sympathetic, tasteful playing of Hawley's backing band, his own burnished, bruised baritone...and the little guitar licks..."