Released: 27 January 2023
Comments -
Stu - LAWRENCE HAYWARD is well worth your interest and he will be forever in my heart! a Casio drum machine joy with clever witty lyrics!! ENJOY.
Dean: What a genial host. Ever since I was invited, I have felt very comfortable.
I stupidly wondered if I would accept the invitation at all and then, one foot inside, I realised how prejudicial I had been. As soon as Lawrence took me warmly by the hand I started to wiggle.
He put a pot on the stove and when I tasted the stew on offer, I tasted 'Only Fools and Horses', Chaz 'n' Dave, Ivor Cutler, with a good measure of domestic harmony and perhaps even a little Steely Dan. What ever it was, it tasted of hospitality and congeniality.
I really enjoyed Pink and the Purple and Honey. Fianca for Mr Flowers is entirely genius. I'm giving it a star because I was off on my way with Walt down the road and that song made me laugh out loud. Master will give you a whack. To be perfectly honest I don't think many albums are generally that self effacing or genuinely happy. Cheers Stu 🌟
Paul: The start point - I am only familiar with one song that Lawrence has been involved with, the brilliant 'My Face is On Fire' by Felt. I don't really know why I didn't follow that up, partly down to that scoundrel John Peel not playing them I'd suggest.
This is very different to that Felt track, and not in a good way. I'm Gonna Wiggle is a half-decent start but then the rest of the record taps into a tinny, tinny keyboard and a mockney accent which did not tick my boxes. I was struggling to get to the end to be honest. Three tracks saved it - Four White Men in a Black Car, Honey (a cover version) and Record Store Day. The accompanying video to the last of those three flashed up a record by Anthony Newley. Is this what Lawrence was trying for? A modern day Anthony Newley? (I get Dean's Small Faces reference too.)
The end point - I hope a lot of people buy this and Lawrence doesn't have to sleep on the streets any more. But I won't be one of them.
Ben: very catchy, humorous, upbeat songs, especially considering the subject matter (eg relative poverty, poundland etc). But the song structures are very simple and there’s little depth or quality to the sound - I have no idea where Dean gets a Steely Dan reference from. It’s like a collection of weird one-hit wonders, e.g. Nellie the elephant, da da da etc. So I quite like the humour and catchiness but there isn’t enough musical or lyrical depth for me to listen again.
More Stu - It’s one of those, everything he does makes me smile! From the gorgeous FELT guitar and keys Melodie’s to the bontempi playfulness of MOZART ESTATE! It’s an extremely personal record given his own personal plight! I love the lyrics, they really do tell his story! He was told by the local council that he was living in relative poverty as opposed to poverty! Making up terms to cover up the austerity measures that have crippled whole communities! His reflection on society has a little in common with mine. Lawrence has very very little BUT oh boy the man’s talents suggest he should have been much better off! I sympathise, I’m humbled, I admire his dedication to his craft ❤️❤️❤️❤️ This LP perfectly sums up the person and I find love and sorrow in every song!!! I can see him sat in a greasy spoon in Camden staring out at a grey wet London sky, watching the daytime community trudge by wearily, looking for scraps and visiting POUNDLAND to buy lunch. It’s an experience that WE don’t have BUT we need to be conscious of it!! We live in a society that accepts the less well off and portrays them as the scourge of this society! They are NOT, it’s the elite!! Lawrence is brutally honest and that’s what I love about him!!
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