Notes & Rhymes
Studio album by
The Proclaimers
Released15 June 2009
Recordedat Rockfield Studios by Tom Dalgety, 2008–2009
Genre
Length46:16
LabelW14 Music
ProducerSteve Evans
The Proclaimers chronology
Life with You
(2007)		 Notes & Rhymes
(2009)		 Like Comedy
(2012)

Notes & Rhymes is the eighth studio album by Scottish folk rock duo the Proclaimers, released in 2009. It was produced by Steve Evans and recorded at Rockfield Studios.

Background and release

The European release was on 15 June 2009, with the US release on 11 August 2009. It was simultaneously released as both the standard CD and a 'Special Limited Edition' 2-CD set, the latter being a double, slimline jewel-case. CD2 has ten tracks: four acoustic and six live. The acoustic tracks were produced by John Williams, who had produced the Proclaimers' debut album This Is the Story.

The album, including the bonus CD, was also released as a digital download.

Content

Musical style

The Guardian opined the band on Notes & Rhymes to be "stoutly sticking to their Celtic pop formula".[2] PopMatters detailed the "countrified sobriety" of "It's Always Easy" on what it observed was "otherwise a rock record".[3]

Singles and songs

On 11 June 2009 'I Know' was offered free by Amazon UK as a digital download 'sampler' for the album. 'Love Can Move Mountains' was the single release, having its first play on Scotland's Forth 1 radio station on Wednesday 6 May. 'Sing All Our Cares Away' is a cover of a Damien Dempsey song, which featured on his 2005 album 'Shots'. 'It Was Always So Easy (To Find An Unhappy Woman)' is a cover of the title track of Moe Bandy's 1974 album.

Lyrical themes

The lyrics in Notes & Rhymes concerned a variety of topics including love ("Love Can Move Mountains", "Three More Days"),[4] unemployment ("Sing All Our Cares Away"),[4] and war ("I Know").[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
BBC MusicFavourable[4]
PopMattersMixed[3]
Record Collector[5]

The record received largely positive reception. Michael Quinn of BBC Music described Notes & Rhymes as an "elegant combination of country, pop, bluegrass and soapbox pontificating" with "not a note out of place or a lazy lyric in sight".[4]

In October 2009, PopMatters's Andrew Dietzel acknowledged the record was "not without its shortcomings", but was nevertheless largely praising, commenting that Notes & Rhymes "shows that the talent didn’t run completely dry two decades ago" and lauding the song "It's Always Easy" as "enough to make even Merle Haggard smile".[3]

Terry Staunton gave a mostly favourable review of Notes & Rhymes, particularly praising the lyrics; describing The Proclaimers as "lyrically astute as Chris Difford at his best".[5]

Touring

The Proclaimers embarked on an extensive worldwide tour following the release of Notes & Rhymes. The band played six dates in Australia and three in New Zealand alongside The B-52's.[6]

Track listing

All songs written by Craig Reid and Charlie Reid, except indicated

Disc One

  1. "Love Can Move Mountains"
  2. "Notes & Rhymes"
  3. "Three More Days"
  4. "Just Look Now"
  5. "Sing All Our Cares Away" (Damien Dempsey)
  6. "It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)" (Sanger Shafer, Arthur Owens, Snr.)
  7. "Like a Flame"
  8. "I Know"
  9. "Shadows Fall"
  10. "Free Market"
  11. "Wages of Sin"
  12. "On Causewayside"
  13. "I Know" (reprise)

Disc Two

  1. "Love Can Move Mountains" (Rockfield acoustic session)
  2. "Three More Days" (Rockfield acoustic session)
  3. "Sing All Our Cares Away" (Rockfield acoustic session)
  4. "It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)" (Rockfield acoustic session)
  5. "I'm On My Way" (live at Edinburgh Castle, July 2008)
  6. "Letter from America" (live at Edinburgh Castle, July 2008)
  7. "Scotland's Story" (live at Edinburgh Castle, July 2008)
  8. "Sky Takes The Soul" (live at Edinburgh Castle, July 2008)
  9. "Life With You" (live at Edinburgh Castle, July 2008)
  10. "Whole Wide World" (live at Edinburgh Castle, July 2008)

Personnel

Chart

Charts (2009) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[7] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[8] 30

References

  1. 1 2 Monger, James Christopher. "Notes & Rhymes - The Proclaimers - Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 "CD: Pop review: The Proclaimers". The Guardian. The Guardian. 14 June 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dietzel, Andrew (6 October 2009). "The Proclaimers: Notes and Rhymes". PopMatters. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Quinn, Michael. "The Proclaimers - Notes & Rhymes - Review". BBC - Music. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  5. 1 2 Staunton, Terry (24 May 2009). "Notes & Rhymes - The Proclaimers". Record Collector. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "A day on the green - with The B52s, The Proclaimers and more". UndertheRadar. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  8. ↑ "Proclaimers | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
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