My Simon CD Review

[Wdbedzyk@aol.com]

I'm glad to see some mention of the new Simon Townshend CD, "Bare Bodies / 
Bare Assets", mentioned here. I have been anxiously awaiting this CD for too 
many months and quickly ordered it upon learning of its release. The basic 
premise is straightforward; Simon is a great rhythm guitarist, singer, 
songwriter and performer, so why not showcase all these "assets" in a single 
CD release? The result is this wonderful 20 song CD containing mainly live 
acoustic performances recorded over the past few years with the addition of 
six live in-studio recorded tracks.

As mentioned in Jay's earlier review, I was also concerned by the warning 
that the tracks were "taken from a variety of sources and vary sonically." 
Rest assured this is NOT a problem beyond the occasional unevenness between 
tracks due to the different sources. The real charm here, however, is not 
(supposed to be) the sound, but the music and performances. It is from this 
perspective that this is an outstanding CD!!

Eleven of the tracks have never been officially released; with many of these 
only recently written and/or recorded (such as Naked, Making Waves, Soul 
Searching, Ages and Good Boys). Others (Comeback, Response-Ability, Time the 
Healer and Experience) have been played at shows over the past few years and 
will be familiar to those who have been fortunate to see Simon perform live. 
The best songs from this group, however, are This Haze and Shine Your Light. 
The latter, in particular, is a beautiful, heartfelt and melodic song 
recorded in 1993. This has turned out to be my favorite song on the disc.

The remainder of the CD contains live acoustic versions of previously 
released songs (Blind As A Bat, Highness, For the Money [a very different 
version], Until Tomorrow, The Way It Is, Company, I'm Alright and Girls on 
Girls). From this group, Scaffolding, which is one of the most intricate 
songs from "Sweet Sound" and a personal favorite, is a nice addition to this 
collection as well. 

The CD has a nice mix of new songs, old songs, released song and unreleased 
songs but the one constant is Simon's guitar playing and singing; which shine 
throughout the entire disc. Simon has been an incredible performer for at 
least 16 years (I saw him live for the first time in 1984). If he has changed 
over the years, it has only been for the better – more passion, more energy, 
better playing. This CD is a nice representation of this.

Simon shows are too few and far between. There are rumors that Simon will 
play some shows in the US in the near future. Hopefully these will happen, 
but in the meantime, "Bare Bodies / Bare Assets" will satisfy your quest for 
live Simon material. Get it at: www.simontownshend.com

-Bill