Category Archives: JOHN FIDDLER
JOHN FIDDLER State Of The Heart
This album has been in the vaults for many years so this is the first time in a very long while that many folks will hear it. These tracks receive the (always impeccable) Angel Air remaster treatment…and will undoubtedly whet folks’ appetite for the rest of Fiddler’s solo catalog. Smart guitar-driven pop cuts include “Strong Heart,” “Time Will Tell,” “Sex in the 90s,” and “Where’s Heaven Now?”
www.babysue.com (April 2013)
…opener ‘Strong Heart’, as airily pompous as the ’80s production rules dictated, springs to life once Laurence Archer’s exquisite guitar and Duncan Mackay’s ivory vignettes decorate Fiddler’s sharp riffs to provide an exquisite casket for his youthful voice to flutter in.
Even the simplest pop cuts, such as the synth-skanking ‘Hearts Of Fire’ or the organ-riding ‘Only The Roses’, have a magnetic undercurrent to them, whereas the harmonica-aided ‘Everybody Has the Blues (Sometimes)’ and finale ‘Where’s Heaven Now’ see John back on the HEAD track.
That’s where his heart lay, obviously. A chameleon may change his colors but not his shape. A worthy addition to the Fiddler catalogue. ***4/5
DME Music Site
State Of The Heart is a musical slice of mood, emotions, and finely tuned texture and flavours. Enjoy with a glass of chilled rose and a box of bitter-sweet chocolates.
Claudia A, music-news.com
Even with this album from 1991, Fiddler doesn’t have a problem convincing us with material he wrote during the late ’80s to 1991. The most convincing part of it is the music and the story behind each song which takes you on a free ride.
Keys and Chords
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JOHN FIDDLER The Big Buffalo
…this CD is an eclectic mixture of up-tempo rockers, ballads and r ‘n’ b classics that should prove to be popular with anyone fortunate enough to hear it…There has been much debate with Classic Rock Society circles as to what actually is classic rock and such is the strength of this album that I would be tempted to put it forward as the sheer definition of this genre.
Terry Craven, Wondrous Stories (May 2000)
It’s a superb album that all lovers of good music will enjoy. Some are acoustic while others are electric but at all times John is in total control, and the results are a tonic…an album to savour
Feedback (June 2000)
…when you spent your early life bashing a bass drum with your foot, computerised percussion’s a piece of cake – sounds like a collection of polished demos of potentially excellent live rock songs.
Classic Rock (June 2000)
…for much of the time synth-heavy AOR rock…There are however echoes, especially on Wish, of the plaintive pop of Crowded House but Fiddler is at his best with just an acoustic guitar and harp for company…
Birmingham Post (June 2000)
…The music is modern and very melodic…a fine example of 90s pop-rock. A far cry from what Fiddler was doing 20 or 30 years ago, but it’s done well, and with extra tracks and sleevenotes that are up to Angel Air’s usual high standards.
Record Collector (July 2000)
…Mindblowing collection of instantly memorable songs, at least half a dozen that Garth Brooks could have a hit with, from one of the great voices of rootsy rock ‘n’ roll…Just listen to songs like Strong Heart, Time Will Tell, Win Or Lose and When I Looked Away and you see Country Number One stamped all over them…An absolute delight from start to finish.
Country Music (July 2000)
…It’s very good…to see it reissued with four bonus tracks and completely repackaged with an informative 16 page booklet (Angel Air are just fantastic at this stuff). The album itself is full of strong material and some excellent performances and kinda fits into a British Jackson Browne pigeon hole, should you need a place to file it. Acoustic based rock music, thoughtful, mature, and very very good…It comes highly recommended…
Free Appreciation Society(August 2000)
…longtime admirers of any of his past bands will be delighted to know that all the old magic is still intact…The Big Buffalo should ensure that Fiddler gets at least some of the due he deserves.
Jo-Ann Greene, Goldmine (July 2000)
“Remastered with four extra tracks this highly entertaining release comes complete with an informative 16-page full colour booklet”
Hartlepool Mail (November 2000)
Sadly overlooked at the time, let us hope that this updated version of the album on Angel Air will attract the sort of attention an artist of John’s stature undoubtedly deserves. The Big Buffalo is full of memorable melodic songs of love and heartache most of which contain John’s trademark features – that rich voice, harmonica and fine acoustic guitar…Angel Air have done a great job repackaging this album with a new cover and a nice booklet with liner notes written by Jay Wyatt and Dale Griffin…if like me you missed this album first time round, you’ve got no excuses now. Buy it!
Two Miles From Heaven Issue 2
…it’s an honest affair with some very effective songs: Time Will Tell, Let The Kids Know, Working Class hero and the acoustic version of Strong Heart – all pretty cracking material. Alongside Fiddler there’s Laurence Archer and Lou Stonebridge – and for three they make a pretty strong argument for an album that deserves to be heard.
Modern Dance Issue 32 (December 2000)
…follows closely in the footsteps of his former band…
It provides a generally good mix of R & B Rockers and ballads…
The two covers are exceptional…but it his own songs which dominate the album, and rightly so….
…overall it is proof positive that John Fiddler still has something to say.
Steve Ward, Wondrous Stories (March 2002)
…light-hearted and pretty enjoyable
Joe Geesin, Record Collector (May 2002)
It takes on board all his experiences, starting from an acoustic base and building electric flourishes and snappy drums around Fiddler’s still-catchy numbers that have always had ‘three-minute pop hit’ written all over them. Two covers define his influences – Robert Johnson’s Walking Blues and John Lennon’s Working Class hero – but the rest is Fiddler at his best, the blues and the tunes all held together by one of Britiain’s best voices…Great timeless music *****
Maverick, Issue 3, September 2002
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