Ginger Wildheart

Lots of E.L.O. in the chorus of that tune, I kept expecting to see Jeff Lynne make a cameo appearance.

Most definitely catchy and nicely polished, great chorus.

If it ain't broke...



Ginger's next album is due around Christmastime. Yet again, in less than an hour it's nearly 100% funded. Unbelievable.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/practicalmusician

Either way, more Ginger is always a wonderful thing!

And it's funded.

Talk about a rabid fan base!

tohostudios wrote:

Talk about a rabid fan base!

Seriously. The first campaign pulled in nearly a half a million dollars! Not sure what the Mutation campaign resulted in, but it was probably close.

But this guy deserves the success, and they don't skimp on the product either. Unlike other bands.

Looks like this new Ginger campaign will have updates like the 555% one did, all of which were highly entertaining. The Mutation project didn't have as many updates. Maybe there were just too many people coming and going, I don't know.

Anyway, I figured I'd share the videos here. The first two:

So the new album will now be called Albion, not Practical Musician, which is fine by me because I thought Practical Musician was pretty lame.

Ginger is also writing with Courtney Love, which means her next album will probably be awesome.  

First track released from Albion. This is a fan-made video.

I like Ginger Wildheart for doing things a little differently and building up a loyal fanbase.

But his music? I don't really get it.

So I see that Albion will be available as an mp3 download from Amazon on 3/31.  I'm all over it; the sample sound like typical Ginger songs to me (i.e., instantly memorable and melodic).  This guy's ability to crank out consistently outstanding earworms amazes me; I have no doubt that if he wanted to he could do what other composers like Barry Manilow have done and make a ton of cash writing jingles for commercials.

tohostudios wrote:

So I see that Albion will be available as an mp3 download from Amazon on 3/31.  I'm all over it; the sample sound like typical Ginger songs to me (i.e., instantly memorable and melodic).  This guy's ability to crank out consistently outstanding earworms amazes me; I have no doubt that if he wanted to he could do what other composers like Barry Manilow have done and make a ton of cash writing jingles for commercials.

Albion is fantastic. There are a few Mutation moments, but overall it's classic Ginger. The title track has some serious proggy moments, which was really surprising.

Either way, this one rocks.

Might be of interest to some of you...

http://www.g-a-s-s.co/announce/announce.php

Oh god, my poor wallet.

I'm not enjoying Albion at all. I just downloaded it this morning and on first listen I think it's too experimental for me. Body Parts is the only song I like so far.

I don't get the rabid cult-like fanbase this guy has.

I mean, I surely applaud his approach and how successful he has been doing his thing, and that he obviously gives his fans all they could ask for.

But I remember seeing a couple Wildhearts CDs in the used bin in the early 2000s...I checked out some tunes, as the cover art and vibe looked appealing, and just didn't get into it. So I never paid attention. But I just checked out 100% on Spotfy...I really don't see what the fuss is about. I didn't really find it very catchy, nothing special going on at all that I could see. It just did not rock to my ears.

If you didn't like 100% you sure wouldn't like Albion. I really like 100% because I find most of the tracks to be very memorable. I'm not hearing that on Albion.

ZombieHavoc wrote:

I don't get the rabid cult-like fanbase this guy has.

I mean, I surely applaud his approach and how successful he has been doing his thing, and that he obviously gives his fans all they could ask for.

But I remember seeing a couple Wildhearts CDs in the used bin in the early 2000s...I checked out some tunes, as the cover art and vibe looked appealing, and just didn't get into it. So I never paid attention. But I just checked out 100% on Spotfy...I really don't see what the fuss is about. I didn't really find it very catchy, nothing special going on at all that I could see. It just did not rock to my ears.

Wildhearts/Ginger have a few great songs, but yeah, I've never understood all of the hype for him. I remember being pretty disappointed with the few Wildhearts albums I bought. "Vanilla Road" is fantastic though. They never had a song ever come close to that, IMO.

I think Ginger is one of the most talented songwriters around. He could make a living writing jingles for commercials if he wanted to because he can write a melody that will burrow into your brain.

But I also find that he sometimes indulges his eccentric side and his songs either go on too long or meander all over the place. However even in those songs, there's always a memorable melody to be found.

This album seems to be more of the "indulgent" side of Ginger. "Drive" has really memorable parts but I don't think there's a lot of cohesion. Same thing with "Cambria"; it's got thrashy parts but then memorable parts. The only song that seems to have all the pieces stick together for me is "Body Parts".

Ginger's latest few have definitely been more experimental. No less great, though, in my opinion. At least with 555%/100% and Albion. The Mutation albums get a bit too messy for me at times.

Either way, I get it if some people can't quite dig on these new ones. Without label pressure, he's album to branch out a bit and allow other songwriters into the mix. And all that makes for a slightly different beast than we've come to expect.

I suggest you not give up on the albums, though.

I can definitely see why Albion is not everyone's cup of tea - as has been said, it's definitely a lot more indulgent on the experimental side. It took me a few spins to get in to, but it's a good album although not my favourite of his recent output. Similarly, I just couldn't get on board with the second Mutation album, Error 500, at all. The Frankenstein Effect on the other hand is stunning.

Toho, did you ever check out Hey! Hello!, Ginger's other band at the moment? He basically cuts out all the self-indulgence and writes really straight, hooky pop-rock tunes a la Cheap Trick. Their debut album is probably my favourite of last year. I think it'd be more your thing on the basis of what you said.

Coincidentally, I'm seeing The Wildhearts supported by Hey! Hello! tonight. Get in.

Yeah, Hey! Hello! is pure sugary goodness.

ZombieHavoc wrote:

I don't get the rabid cult-like fanbase this guy has.

I mean, I surely applaud his approach and how successful he has been doing his thing, and that he obviously gives his fans all they could ask for.

But I remember seeing a couple Wildhearts CDs in the used bin in the early 2000s...I checked out some tunes, as the cover art and vibe looked appealing, and just didn't get into it. So I never paid attention. But I just checked out 100% on Spotfy...I really don't see what the fuss is about. I didn't really find it very catchy, nothing special going on at all that I could see. It just did not rock to my ears.

I remember way back in the day, my buddy that worked at Tower Records told me I gotta hear this new album 'Earth vs. The Wildhearts'. I bought it, played it, held onto to it for awhile, then eventually ditched it. It was my first & last experience with anything Ginger-related.

He's certainly got his fans, but I don't really get it either.

Smindas wrote:

I can definitely see why Albion is not everyone's cup of tea - as has been said, it's definitely a lot more indulgent on the experimental side. It took me a few spins to get in to, but it's a good album although not my favourite of his recent output. Similarly, I just couldn't get on board with the second Mutation album, Error 500, at all. The Frankenstein Effect on the other hand is stunning.

Toho, did you ever check out Hey! Hello!, Ginger's other band at the moment? He basically cuts out all the self-indulgence and writes really straight, hooky pop-rock tunes a la Cheap Trick. Their debut album is probably my favourite of last year. I think it'd be more your thing on the basis of what you said.

Coincidentally, I'm seeing The Wildhearts supported by Hey! Hello! tonight. Get in.

Yeah, I like Hey! Hello! a lot.

tohostudios wrote:

Smindas wrote:

I can definitely see why Albion is not everyone's cup of tea - as has been said, it's definitely a lot more indulgent on the experimental side. It took me a few spins to get in to, but it's a good album although not my favourite of his recent output. Similarly, I just couldn't get on board with the second Mutation album, Error 500, at all. The Frankenstein Effect on the other hand is stunning.

Toho, did you ever check out Hey! Hello!, Ginger's other band at the moment? He basically cuts out all the self-indulgence and writes really straight, hooky pop-rock tunes a la Cheap Trick. Their debut album is probably my favourite of last year. I think it'd be more your thing on the basis of what you said.

Coincidentally, I'm seeing The Wildhearts supported by Hey! Hello! tonight. Get in.

Yeah, I like Hey! Hello! a lot.

I tried out a few tunes from that Hey! Hello! album and I was kinda on the fence about it. I enjoy a good Cheap Trick-inspired pop rock album. I might pick it up if I found it cheap.