måndag 6 Apr 2009, 6:16

Marvellous Year is the first full release under the name Don McGlashan & the Seven Sisters – reflecting a more “band” effort than his first solo album Warm Hand. As you will hear, The Seven Sisters are bursting with “unfailingly musical” talent, giving the songs real energy, atmosphere and depth. Don’s songwriting and ability to capture melody and the everyday moment is as strong - or even stronger – than ever.

Another reason Marvellous Year is so darn good is that both Don McGlashan and the band (Chris O’Connor, Maree Thom, John Segovia and Dominic Blaazer) have been on a real musical roll for the last couple of years. The band have played numerous shows, such as to thousands at the Auckland Domain, WOMAD and various theatres, clubs and pubs up and down the country.

As Don says “I think because I was performing, writing and recording a lot in 2008, I was able to try lots of ideas out - on the band, in the studio, and on audiences - so there's a lighter, more relaxed feel to some parts of this record. Warm Hand took a fair while because I was trying to find a sound for my solo stuff. I was gradually assembling the band as I recorded. Now the Seven Sisters is established, and we're used to playing together, so Marvellous Year was able to happen a lot more quickly, naturally, and with less head-scratching. It sounds, to me, more like a bunch of songs written for, and played by, a really good band.”

As well as the band input, Marvellous Year was also a joint effort in the production stakes, with Don working alongside Sean Donnelly (SJD). Don says aside from Sean’s undeniable musical talent and ears, his input was to: “Challenge me, push me and throw banana skins in my path whenever I got too complacent.” The album itself was recorded at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios, mixed brilliantly by Jordan Stone and features guest backing vocals from Neil Finn and string arrangements by Victoria Kelly
Don recently played sold out solo shows in London, showcases in New York and Vancouver and toured with Crowded House - both opening for and playing in the band. This took him through Australia, USA and Europe (including Russia!).

As if that wasn’t keeping him busy enough, in the last year Don has also composed, supervised and recorded two soundtrack albums; the Toa Fraser directed Dean Spanley (Recorded by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and featuring Peter O’Toole, Sam Neill and others) and the charming Show of Hands (written and directed by Anthony McCarten and featuring performances by the Seven Sisters, Anika Moa and Reb Fountain). The soundtrack CD to Dean Spanley is released March 09 on Mana Music and Show of Hands was released December 08 on Arch Hill Recordings.

In 2007 Don co-wrote, with Toa Fraser, The Colossus of Roadies, “the story of a sweaty, flatulent rock n roll roadie who finds himself struck down in a freak accident” and was also recognised as a “Living Legend” by the City Of Auckland. In 2006 Don composed the music to Fraser’s hit movie No 2 – which spawned the APRA Silver Scroll winning hit “Bathe in the River” - originally sung by Hollie Smith and beautifully revisited by Don on Marvellous Year.

So, reading all this you might well ask, does the title Marvellous Year refer to the culmination of the last few marvellous years of music? The answer, in fact, is no; yes they have been marvellous, but the title Marvellous Year is borrowed from the Allen Curnow poem The Skeleton of the Great Moa in the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch and is also is the title of one of the album’s key tracks, a very unique song where you’ll hear about many things, including the Briscoes Lady and the Fire of Hades. Don McGlashan Marvellous Year