One of the most distinguished song craftsmen of the 21st century, Tom Baxter is out on a 24-date UK tour in support of his first official release in a decade, the highly acclaimed 'The Other Side of Blue.'
The good news for fans in these parts is that Tom will be live at The Stables on Friday (Nov 2).
It was in 2008 that Tom brought out the self-funded 'Skybound,' the follow-up to the 2004 debut 'Feather & Stone,' which first alerted the wider world to his singular talent for absolutely believable, emotionally immersive composition. Since then, he's released one fan-only album, travelled the world, been through plenty of soul-searching and emerged at the other end with what may well be his best-ever work.
Baxter made his name with such heart-stopping originals as 'Better,' 'Almost There' and 'Day in Verona,' and his songs have been covered by much-loved entertainers from Dame Shirley Bassey all the way to Boyzone.
He's admired by the likes of Tom Waits, Rufus Wainwright, Gary Barlow and actor David Schwimmer, and by a steadfast set of fans that waited patiently for the release of his latest album.
'The Other Side of Blue’ is Baxter's most searingly personal work to date, performed entirely solo and with gorgeous illustration on guitar and piano. It's a beautiful and elegant return to his very core as a songwriter and a human being. “I feel like I've been through a very slow metamorphosis over the years,” he says.
“Even I'm not sure into what, but I can say I'm calmer inside, and I thought it was time for a full-on new release.”
While other artists rush so readily to provide the personal information that feeds the beast of self-promotion, Tom has kept his counsel, determined to be defined only by his music, and at his own pace.
But it has been a tumultuous ten years. He married the long-time girlfriend for whom he wrote the Ivor Novello Award-nominated 'Better,' but then endured a divorce and, more recently, was happily remarried.
Along the way, he lived in Devon, travelled to India, Los Angeles, Spain and then to Brazil, the place that inspired him to find the impetus to write again.
'The Other Side of Blue’ is entirely free of “production camouflage”, as he puts it, and is underpinned by 'The Ballad of Davey Graham', the song he was inspired to write after a request to play at the unveiling of a blue plaque for the great guitar pioneer of the title. In a moment of pure serendipity, Davey's partner had written to request Tom's contribution because Graham was not only an admirer of his, but she revealed that Baxter's music was the last that Davey had listened to.
Not that of Paul Simon, Jimmy Page or any of the other superstars he had inspired, but Tom Baxter.
What they didn't know is that the revelation completed a perfect circle, because Davey had been one of the very inspirations for Baxter to pick up a guitar in the first place.
Tom duly paid back the compliment by playing at the ceremony, and found that the whole experience refuelled his creative spirits to remarkable effect. He went on to finish what would become 'The Other Side Of Blue' with a renewed sense of his place in the musical ecosystem. As he describes the record himself, “There's no bells or whistles. Just me, myself and I, with absolutely nowhere to hide.”
Baxter's albums have always enveloped the listener with a delicious intensity, and so it is again on 'The Other Side of Blue,' which takes us from the heart-wrenching title track and others such as 'For Crying Out Loud,' to the happier place that Tom now himself inhabits, expressed in the gentle optimism of 'When I'm In Your Hands.'
An English original has returned. Get your ticket to see him live at Wavendon here
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