Opener ‘Hello Alone’ makes for an inviting call, a shared solitude, if you will, that’s at the root of the art experience. But the next song, ‘Speak to Me,’ makes it clear that no one should limit Winston in terms of expectations, the all-vocal beat-boxed tour de force showing one of his many facets, with more to come.
The snappy ‘Happiness’ offers soulful yearning, while ‘The Great Conversation’ is in fact a chat with Beethoven, one of Winston’s musical heroes, whose Moonlight Sonata can be found within the tune, though in shards. ‘She Went Quietly’ is a searching piano ballad (inspired by a heart-wrenching tale of separation involving his great aunt and, to lesser though crucial extent, the movie Million Dollar Baby). ‘Until You’re Satisfied’ is ’80s-referencing pop-funk, celebrating Winston’s Prince fandom.
‘Lift Me Gently’ is a stand out track for Peter Gabriel— “An amazing song, and possibly the best Charlie has ever written….”. ‘Wild Ones’ is charging blues-rock, ‘Rockin’ in the Suburbs’ is all vibrant energy … and that’s just part of the picture. Not a surprise, given that Winston also refers with natural ease to such diverse inspirations as Nick Cave, Steve Reich, and Jacques Brel (and T.S. Eliot, Wim Wenders, and Ingmar Bergman, for that matter) in discussing the album.
Producer Tony Berg talks about the album
Most prominently there’s a sense of joy and discovery throughout the album, which followed the breakthrough of his 2009 Hobo, a big hit throughout Europe and Canada.
Running Still finds Winston and his richly talented band collaborating with veteran Los Angeles producer Tony Berg (Michael Penn, Aimee Mann, Bruce Hornsby, Ozomatli) to reach new emotional and sonic colors. The band features drummer Medi, bassist Daniel Marsala, and harmonica ace Benjamin “Ben Henry” Edwards, along with Winston’s piano and guitar —and keyboard additions from Patrick Warren and a touch of guitar from “Tiny B” (Berg, under a Winston-bestowed alias).
"My sole objective on the album Running Still was to be able to engage people's feet first and slowly rise to the mind, so by the time they get absorbed in the lyrics, they're fully engaged but realize there's something more going on."
Charlie Winston
A hearty modern gumbo of blues-folk, straight-talking lyricism, and soul, all laced with beatboxing and quirky instrumentation. The album playfully resists easy genre categorization yet maintains a spirited, contagious rootsiness inspired by Winston’s own experiences of busking his way around Europe, getting gigs where he could and making friends along the way.
On his seventh album and first for Real World, Loney dear's Emil Svanängen has undergone something of a rebirth, and a profound artistic awakening. He sees this collection of songs as the beginning of something very new and very potent.
