It’s been quite a long time since STRAY released a record, the band’s latest being a live one, but the ensemble’s leader Del Bromham carries on on a solo path, and October 12th will see the issue of the guitarist’s third album under his own name. Titled “White Feather” and dedicated to the veteran’s daughter who tragically passed away fairly recently, it may be Bromham’s defining work outside of the collective he’d steered for decades, because it’s deeply introspective – a poignant reflection on existence itself and even on politics, full of memorable melodies and harking back to the classic era.
Says Del:
“Every album I make is special to me but this one seems even more special. The album is about life; coincidentally, there is a song titled “Life”… I recorded it in Echo Studios, Buckingham, U.K. with the engineer Jamie Masters. He was so important in this recording; he knew exactly what I wanted and more. In fact, I have made it public that I believe I found my George Martin.
My last two solo albums – “The Devil’s Highway” and "Nine Yards" – have been more blues based, but as always had with the emphasis on songs. I believe “White Feather” is possibly more of a return to the type of records I made as STRAY. This was not a calculated decision, I just followed my heart and soul. A lot of things have happened to me in the past ten years or so, and also I guess getting older makes you realize just how precious life is. For someone like me, the only way it comes out is in my compositions.”
As for the songs, they are – with Mr. Bromham’s comments on what’s behind them:
White Feather
1. Let’s Get The Show Started –
“Don’t wait for tomorrow, do it now.”
2. Genevieve –
“The female lead character in a children’s book I started to write and never finished around 1968/69.”
3. Life –
“A song I wrote about 1968 which STRAY played live but it never made the first album.”
4. Land Of The Free –
“A song based on a true story of a black preacher named Ned Turner. Check out the film ‘Birth of a nation’.”
5. My House –
“About respect for my home or my country whatever your beliefs are.”
6. Champagne –
“My mum used to say if you couldn’t afford something, ‘You’ve got champagne taste, but beer money’.”
7. Wicked Man –
“When you’ve had a succession of bad things happen to you, it makes you wonder if you were a wicked man in a former life?”
8. Paradise –
“Finding a piece of paradise in the sun by the beach.”
9. Let It Go –
“Sometimes you can bottle things up and you put off facing up to them.”
10. Monkey (On My Back) –
“Similar to ‘Let It Go’ in taking on too much responsibility for yourself and others. The weight can be too much to carry!”
11. Never Let You Go –
“A friend of mine and his partner split up and he didn’t really want the relationship to end but felt he had to leave. I suppose many people had been through this situation.”
12. White Feather –
“Based on the theory that when a person passes away, they drop a white feather to let you know they are around. Not sure if I really believe this, but it did happen to me when Zoe left us?”
