Newman - The Elegance Machine

[Stefan]

 

New album out August 8th (AOR Heaven).

 

From germusica.com:

In 1997 Singer, songwriter Steve Newman formed the band Newman and since 1998 have been producing consistently high quality albums filled with hook laden songs and thought provoking lyrics. The now, hard to find self-titled album was followed up in 1999 by the awesome "One Step Closer" album. Continuing the high standard came "Dance In The Fire" and then "Sign Of The Modern Times" in 2000, and 2003 respectfully. Fans and critics alike began to realize they were dealing with an artist that would evolve and mature with them. The year 2006 saw the release of "Heaven Knows", and once again proved beyond all doubt that Newman were becoming one of the top purveyors of Melodic Rock in the UK. Later in 2006 Steve Newman broke away from his former label to form "Chrome Dome", an independent label set up for the purpose of continuing to release the Newman product. Any doubts about the quality or consistency were cast aside when in 2007 "Primitive Soul" was released to great acclaim. This was followed in 2008 by "Decade" a double album celebrating 10 years of Newman. However, not wanting to take the usual route of a "hits" album this was packaged with a second CD containing another 14 unreleased songs which ended up being so well received it was reviewed as a new studio album. "Decade" may have been a great way for a band to sign off and call it a day, however, not only was this not even considered, the focus went into producing the next stage of the bands career.

In 2010 "The Art Of Balance" was released to huge acclaim from critics and fans. The band followed this up with a string of successful live dates including Cambridge Rock Festival, Firefest Festival, and a UK Tour supporting John Waite. All this was achieved in the face of huge emotional strain after Steve suffered losing both his parents that year. In fact, as the writing progressed onto the following recording "Under Southern Skies" this AOR Heaven release ended up being a very personal and reflective album for Steve.

All this time , the live band, with the addition of Pete Newdeck on Drums, joining Steve (Vocals, Guitar), Shaun Bessant (Guitar, Vocals), Paul Boyle (Keyboards, Vocals), Dave Bartlett (Bass, Vocals) were gaining momentum, culiminating in shows in Greece, Spain, Germany, and the US.

2014 saw the re-recording and release of the acclaimed first album as a Limited Edition, This coincided with a successful UK tour with Vega.

PRESENT:

Now, the legacy continues with the brand new release "The Elegance Machine", the culmination of songs written over the past two years and an album that once again encompasses what Newman stand for. The powerful guitars are present, as is the strong songwriting and huge melodies. But this time it also brings in modern influences such as on the title track "The Elegance Machine" and "Halo" giving the recognizable and reliable Newman sound a more contemporary edge. A natural follow up to "Siren" the album delivers a harder edge than its predecessor, but without losing the emphasis on strong hooks. Steve has always been known for his thought-provoking lyrics, and "The Elegance Machine" is no exception with subject matter ranging from corporate business greed (The Suit), through domestic violence (She Walks In Silence), and even onto the space themed (Prayer For Apollo).

Once again Steve has teamed up with Rob McEwen (drummer for the last 8 Newman albums), and has also brought in the talents of Geoff Wootton backing vocals on "The Suit", "One Good Reason" "Halo", and Mark Thompson-Smith (Praying Mantis, Big Life) backing vocals on "Illuminate", "Send Us Salvation" and "Pretender Surrender".

[Jez]

Cool. Never an artist to disappoint

[Swazi]

Very cool!

Met Steve in Nottingham last year. Really a nice bloke!

[Nightrain]

Always like his albums, lookin forward to this

[Geoff]

Yeah, me too. I always like his stuff, so looking forward to this.

[kourosofsteel3]

Yeah, me too. I always like his stuff, so looking forward to this.

 

 

Yeah, samey here, let's see If I'll get a 3rd new cd this year.

[Stefan]

Samples:

 

The Elegance Machine

 

One Good Reason

[Dead Planet]

Another def pickup....like both of those samples...

[Geoff]

Rubbish title track (seriously shit lyrics) but I love the other song. Sounds killer. All sounds like Newman to me.

[Stefan]

Tracklisting for 'The Elegance Machine':

 

"The Suit (Skyscraper)"
"The Elegance Machine"
"Don't Stay Lonely"
"Illuminate"
"Confess"
"Halo"
"One Good Reason"
"Prayer For Apollo"
"Send Us Salvation"
"Pretender Surrender"
"She Walks In Silence"
"Scars"

[Nightrain]

One Good Reason is a better song, but still dig The Elegance Machine,

not paying attention too much about the lyric, but does he speak about 'female' as 'The elegance machine' ?

[melodicrockoz]

This newman definately sounds like it's his best work of late but how will it compare to the mighty "one step closer" is anybody's guess.

I'd love to see Steve outdo that classic but that album IMHO is one of the greatest melodic rock albums of all time so it's tough ask to tmatch it let alone top it.

[Stefan]

[kourosofsteel3]

Well, I'm lovin' it. His voice+harmonised vocals of this blue collar melodic blissful rocker are like magnet to me!

 

 

I've been spinning it for 3rd time in a row and this says a lot! 85% is my initial rating. The ending ballad has a strong potential and aging bouquet though!

[Geoff]

This is very good, solid stuff. And it must be said that Steve Newman is probably the best producer in "our genre" at the moment, and if not, damn close. This thing sounds amazing.

 

But songwise, I have to admit, it's left me a little cold again. I can't quite pinpoint it. I think I have an idea, but I'm not 100% sure. Musically, it is great. And I found that I really liked when he went back to basics with a song like 'One good reason.' Don't get me wrong, I like I lot of the other songs, like 'Halo,' 'Prayer for Apollo,' 'Send us Salvation,' 'Pretender Surrender' and 'She walks in silence.' All very strong melodic hard rock songs.

 

But where he loses me a little? I have to say, it's in the lyrics. He is by no means a bad lyricist or song writer, but I just find it very hard to be drawn into his lyrics. I find that the typical relationship stuff draws me in much easier rather than when he's singing about subjects I just honestly, truly don't care about. It just makes otherwise decent songs that little bit less interesting.

 

Anyway, it's a very good album. Sounds amazing, and strong as always. I said the same thing about Harem Scarem, that maybe going back to basics for an album would be a sexy change for the better?

[Nightrain]

A consistent and enjoyable release and the production is really a killer, I believe Steve Newman should handle all the production stuffs, he really knew the magic!

86.3% after two spins and a decent bet if this is gonna be a top 10 finisher

[kourosofsteel3]

A consistent and enjoyable release and the production is really a killer, I believe Steve Newman should handle all the production stuffs, he really knew the magic!

86.3% after two spins and a decent bet if this is gonna be a top 10 finisher

 

 

Sorry but I just can't hold:

 

new Newman >>>>>>>>>> New P. Mantis

 

 

Btw, did they come with this title after looking the cover artwork? They have better tracks to choose for title, despite the great riff of TEM (and the meaningless key intro).

 

It's a great cover, although I could argue that it's an incomplete effort to come with an artwork with an infinite loop in the tradition of the great M.C. Escher.

[Nightrain]

the cover somehow reminds me of Sixx AM's latest album, damn i forgot the title

[kourosofsteel3]

the cover somehow reminds me of Sixx AM's latest album, damn i forgot the title

 

 

SAME ARTIST?

 

[PeterS]

This works . Very strong after a few listens. Going to be a top few for the year I suspect .

[Stefan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kcfjdK4wsY

[Stefan]

[Geoff]

The lyrics for songs like that annoy me a bit. I definitely prefer his more basic boy meets girl type stuff, banal to some as it may be.