Stephen Fretwell: Magpie

Elly Roberts reviews

Stephen Fretwell: Magpie
Distributed by
Fiction Records

    Cover

  • Released: November 2004
  • Rating: 8/10
  • Cat.no.: 9868907

After a slow start, Magpie really takes off.

It’s a bit like a bird waking up,spreading its wings, waiting for the rightmoment to make its move.

And like all good navigators, it has to be a calculated one. It feels like thenervous fledgling bracing itself to take a plunge into the unknown. It rufflesits plumage – and whoosh it’s gone. When it finds its wings and hits the rightthermals – it’s on its way. Sometimes it falls into the slipstream forreassurance, and when confident enough, it gracefully soars upwards.

The Magpie of course is Scunthorpe’s 23 year old singer-songwriter StephenFretwell’s debut album. Probably appealing to those of you who have a leaningtowards Bob Dylan’s mood and pace. Occassionally,he even sounds like thefolkie legend. Even some harmonica is straight out of Mr.Zimm’s mould: checkLines and Brother.

The ginger one has a fine line in a gentile approach to song delivery, with lyricswhich are earthy, endearing, but above all tender, on what is a stripped downand fragile package.


The acoustic balladeer tells stories about lost love (harsh treatment fromwomen apparently) and the usual gamut of loneliness, tragedy and a strong tadof bitterness all in the mix. On its way it stutters when Fretwell resorts toswearing – an unnecessary tactic by Bad Bad Fretwell – but understandable asthe frustration cracks on New York. Emilie is a tragedy, butFretwell still loves her, apparently, but there’s no going back.

Resplendent in its achievement, it returns to the nest with a hoard of shinygoodies it’s stolen on its maiden journey – the crown jewels being thewonderful final track, If You Go. Misery never sounded so graceful.

Conclusion: slow burner.


The full list of tracks included are (Please note: track 12 has no title – listed as a dash!):

1. Do You Want To Come With
2. What’s That You Say Little Girl
3. Run
4. Bad Bad You, Bad Bad Me
5. Rose
6. Lost Without You
7. Emile
8. Lines
9. Play
10. Brother
11. New York
12. –
13. Rain (UK Bonus Track)
14. If You Go (UK Bonus Track)

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