Simon Widdowson is responsible for Sweeper. He sings and plays guitar in his band. There are three others who play bass, keyboards and drums. Simon used to run a “legendary” recording studio in America. I’m not sure what he means by ‘legendary’ as he only opened it in 2001. Anyway Simon got fed up with American politics and culture so he now lives in Italy and the UK. He’s originally from the city of Leeds, a place in front of which you can put the word ‘legendary’ as it was ‘opened’ long before 2001.
I used to live and work in Leeds; down The Warehouse on a Friday night. Last band I saw in Leeds was The High at The Poly. They had on guitar the bloke who used to be in The Stone Roses.
Simon may have moved away from the USA but his music is firmly rooted there. It is light rock music for mainstream American radio. There is a Britishness to some of the songs: like The Bible or Travis without the tunes. If Simon could see his way to being less polite in the way he makes music his band may (and I stress the word ‘may’) sound more interesting. For now we have to make do with some solid and unexceptional song-writing played by a solid but unexceptional band.
I think I need to pay the credit card bill today. And I need to post a letter. What time is the last collection from the post-box down the road? Is it 4.45pm or 5:15pm?
I’ve been thinking. If I could spare the time and play this album about another twenty times I might end up liking it more. Then again I suspect that I would not like it enough to not begrudge Sweeper for making me play their album twenty more times to only end up liking it just a fraction more. It’s just not enough potential return on the investment I would have to make. It’s like going to Alton Towers and having to queue for an hour to have a 30 second ride on Nemesis. Hang on though, that analogy doesn’t work as I already know what Nemesis is like so queuing for an hour is not about the end result but more about what other rides I could be on while I’m stood there. So I won’t continue to play Sweeper as I may be missing out on a great CD by another artist; the grass is always greener... Or to put it another way: I can’t be arsed.
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I bet Italy’s a nice place to live. Never been to Italy myself. I think I’d like to stay in one of those towns by the sea in a villa that has a balcony overlooking the Med. I’d probably get fat by eating too much pasta.
Simon also wrote and produced Sweeper’s debut album. It is called ‘frame’ and has 10 tracks. It sounds like an album made by a group of session musicians; competent and pleasant but instantly forgettable. Simon’s voice is quite nice but is instantly forgettable. The instruments are played well but the sound they make is instantly forgettable. It is an album to play if you want to let your mind wander and think about other things. Mind you the track ‘Coming Out Wrong’ has just come around again and I’m beginning to get into the guitar playing.
I used to play guitar but I’ve not picked it up for years. I used to give a great rendition of ‘This Night Has Opened My Eyes’ by The Smiths. I’ve always liked Johnny Marr’s guitar on that track. I’ve definitely missed the post now.
www.simonwiddowson.com
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