Whether performing solo or with respected journalist Giles Smith in Cleaners From Venus, and The Brotherhood Of Lizards, Martin Newell's musical output - stretching from the early 1980's to 1996 - is unashamedly '60s based. The jangly guitar features on nearly every single and album cut here whilst Newell's voice usually charmed with its doleful English resonance. 'Girl On A Swing' and 'Living With Victoria Grey' recall the Hollies at their best; 'I Will Haunt Your Room' and 'Summer In A Small Town' deserve additional plaudits for being darker in both lyrical and musical terms and the whole collection reaches a thrilling pinnacle in the shape of 'Miss Van Houten's Coffee Shop' and its absolutely glorious harmonies. So whilst Newell was essentially a one-trick pony (in the musical sense at least) it was a very fine low-budget trick indeed.
Whether performing solo or with respected journalist Giles Smith in Cleaners From Venus, and The Brotherhood Of Lizards, Martin Newell's musical output - stretching from the early 1980's to 1996 - is unashamedly '60s based. The jangly guitar features on nearly every single and album cut here whilst Newell's voice usually charmed with its doleful English resonance. 'Girl On A Swing' and 'Living With Victoria Grey' recall the Hollies at their best; 'I Will Haunt Your Room' and 'Summer In A Small Town' deserve additional plaudits for being darker in both lyrical and musical terms and the whole collection reaches a thrilling pinnacle in the shape of 'Miss Van Houten's Coffee Shop' and its absolutely glorious harmonies. So whilst Newell was essentially a one-trick pony (in the musical sense at least) it was a very fine low-budget trick indeed.
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