IAN CHARLES: Minutes From Midnight

Ian Charles

Minutes From Midnight

© 2004 Ian Charles / EyeSee Music (829757627021)

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Listen to this one while driving at night. Soulful, Timeless, Driving, Acoustic, Rhythmic, Sonic, Feedbacking... Ballads, Long Lonesome Blues, and melodic Alt-Folk/Psychedelic/Americana for the 21st Century wanderers, wonderers.

tracks

1 Parallel
2 (That I'll) Take With me
3 Paint You A Picture
4 Lonely Symphony
5 Chain Of Rock
6 Sky Open Wide
7 Destination: A Dusty Road
8 Volume
9 Waitin' Too Long
10 Charlie
11 Grace And Fall
12 I Saw The Sun Go Down
13 Call It A Song

notes

IAN CHARLES
"minutes from midnight"...

"Is a CD, preaching musical salvation through thought-provoking poetry that recalls the heyday of Dylan, Guthrie, and Kerouac". ~ Independisc.com

"An acoustic blueprint introduces the foundation of the song. Lyrically and melodically driven Singer/Songwriter, Ian Charles' 5th CD since 1995. On this journey he's surrounded by ghosts of Americana in 21st century America. with Dobro, Slide guitar, Light percussion and atmospheric vintage keyboard textures carrying the listener through moving, mellow, smoky observations of poetics and people"
~ Folkweb.com


It has been said...
"There is a daring promise of the day beyond tomorrow".

"Minutes from Midnight- The NEW album from singer/songwriter IAN CHARLES-


He's following the remarkable critical success of 2000's "Wishing Street" and the subsequent "LIVE at The Puppethouse- Solo Acoustic" EP, in 2002.

Ian further fulfills that promise to himself, his past accomplishments and his past, present, and future listeners with an album that includes 13 amazing new originals. Kind of like...

"Ballads, Blues, and Boasters for 21st Century America".

"There is an obvious continuity from his former incarnations as a Springsteen/Mellencamp/Robbie Robertson type of songwriter and performer with a strong southern gospel and Memphis blues vocal influence.
Though there is a unique and individual entity at play that is both mysterious and engaging to both listen to and watch. Either performing with his full band or as a "solo acoustic" in the most intimate setting of a coffeehouse. As he sings the stories, observations and reflections of their lives and his own. He is almost one on one in his "in person" persona.
Outside the confines of any particular venue, Ian Charles' music connects. It's electricity is obvious and is fully his own but generously given".

Kelly McManus- "Some Rebellion"-(abridged commentary) EyeSee Music Message Board


Ian Charles ~ Minutes From Midnight (ESM334578)
EyeSee Music 2004 / ASCAP. All Rights reserved.

Cover Art by Jim Ward Morris
jimwardmorris.com

reviews

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  • Minutes from Midnight
    author: Debbie Sawyer

    This is a very inspirational CD. When you listen to it , you dont just hear with your ears but with the whole inner being. Like the Spirit is actually speaking to you, can understand and know where this artist is coming from. He is the Work of Art & gift to many. The Lyrics & Music & voice put together in perfection totally AWEsome.

  • Great!
    author: Connor Smith

    Quality cannot be ignored. This is a great set. Buy it!

  • Interesting record
    author: Victor

    I like where this artist direction is going in. The music is not country music. It is very full sounding in both the words and the use of piano and the like for rounding out the sound of the band. I think this is a conceptual art. Like a movie in songs. Very good music with great sound.

  • Wonderous
    author: Anna

    Completely fucking awesome!

  • Poetry, sung with a soundtrack
    author: Roy Cain

    I just got this. Hey, when did this dude become such an amazing lyricist? The music is accessable and then he opens up a lyric which vaccuum's up my brain into some kind of long desert highway. But, this time it's at night.

  • Ian Charles- Minutes From Midnight
    author: Music On Radio

    Ian Charles explores different musical forms. Innovative, acoustic music with the influence of blues, Dylan, The British invasion, and more. Charles's music is drawn on life experiences. His music is a great, moving, and stirring musical experience.

  • Totally get into the music. (Wear headphones for full effect!!)
    author: Ryan Kelly

    I listen to this CD alot. I listen to it on my computer while I write my reports for class at NYU. I got this at one of his shows at The Bitter End. I find that before I know it. The whole thing has finished. It's around 50 minutes long. But, It just kind of rolls by. I really think the casual listener should put it on and take the whole thing in. Not a weak song in the batch. Cool music, great singer.

  • A masterful set from a brilliant songwriter/singer/poet
    author: Alexia Moore

    He told us he was on this site. I just saw Ian in Brewster, New York at The Boonedog. He was alone "solo" in concert. He was in excellent form. He reminds me of a poet with melody. He plays a very sensual style of guitar with a voice unlike almost anyone else. It's not that it's really unique it's just his own sound. No rip offs. He's a brilliant, socially conscious, romantic. With poetry pouring from his spirit. I will not forget his show or his songs. This is a wonderful CD. I picked it up at the show. You should pick one (or two) up right here.

  • Minutes From Midnight and Beyond
    author: Hank Fonda

    Oh yeah, then there was Ian Charles. There is a few Ian Charles' out there making music. None have what this cat brings to the table. This dude digs deep and finds a place I'm really in a vibe on. There is a song cycle here. It has a beginning, middle and end. Like most of his discs there is a sort of album design. Which I like. I think this is his best yet. I heard he is in a cave studio somewhere bring in a couple of dozen new songs. I can't wait. Really great stuff here. Love the cover art too. Remember cover art, downloaders?

  • oh my, my
    author: Fiona Stinson

    This is a mysterious and erotic album of slow burning whispers. I find myself wrecked by the way it makes me yearn for roadside intellectual lovemaking. Damn!

  • What a trip to take until sunrise
    author: Margo Rippington

    I'm driving along tonight through the highways of Kansas. Between Topeka and Wichita. I have listened to this cd all night. It keeps pulling me in. His voice is like a warm blanket. His words are like Rembaud or Keats. Romantic, pain-filled, and beautiful. I'm very moved by the music as it moves me along my road tonight. Rhythmic, and shifting, like making love with a broken hearted soul.

  • Exactly as I saw his music moving
    author: Annie Evaline Miller

    Ian writes songs with a paintbrush. His colors are rich and full, honest and pure. He has taken the sounds that surround us and placed them within the grooves of this album. There are alot of songwriters out there. Many doing cool things and Ian is definitely one of them. But, in a class all his own. goodness, gracious!

  • Thanks Ian
    author: Brian McClain

    This is a complete album. No filler. A keeper for me and one I'll let other people know about. In NYC we hear and see everything. This is a great treat. He brought it home on this one. A classic and one I'll treasure always. Thanks Ian

  • Minutes From Midnight is incredible.
    author: Mitch Taganelli

    I get sad sometimes. Sad when an album I buy is so good. But, i know that it probably won't get heard as much as is deserved. This is a cd like that. It is great from the first note to the last. What is up with that? If you are curious. Just pick this one up. It's an awesome, beautiful thing.

  • Cool sounds from a cool person
    author: Ace

    I saw this guy playing in Fairfield CT at Las Vetas. I was just sittin' with my lady and taking in the sounds of his voice. We were talking for awhile then, we stopped and had to listen. We didn't get a chance to hang with him at the show. But, his stage persona was that of a nice dude with a kickin' voice and songs. I think most people would enjoy this music. Unless your into Heavy Metal.

  • Minutes from Midnight
    author: Mike Jurkovic

    Over the last few weeks, new discs by KD Lang, Patti Scialfa, Wilco, and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have come across the transom for me to review. Yet despite the big names and glossy PR packs, it is Ian Charles' latest CD for his own EyeSee Music label that I keep listening to time and time again. The reason for that is very simple, really. Compelling songs like "Parallel" (where the hammond organ snoodles alongside you to create a warm, meditative environment), the triumphantly lovelorn "(That I'll) Take With Me, "The gospel-colored "Call It A Song", the one-two punch of the raucous "Chain Of Rock", and the quiet "Sky Open Wide", connect deeply with the listener. Charles doesn't bombast you or tease you. He sets his songs in the familiar dawn and dusk of the rock-n-roll sound and, with a voice reminiscent of a young Gregg Allman, he brings you into his travelogue. Once enveloped you'll realize that, although we stubbornly cling to lofty self-delusions, our journeys are all one. Ably assisting Charles are Eric Michael Lichter, Dick Neal, Peter Kazaleh, Mace Vitale, and Jeremy Lichter.

  • A smoke and dust tinged alt-country taste that lingers.
    author: Craig Gilbert

    The slow ballads have a sensitive-traveler vibe-not pathetic or mopey, just somber. And he uses a Hammond B-3! That's damn cool. some tunes feel pushed, but "Lonely Symphony", "Sky Open Wide",and "Charlie" stand out. A decent, truthful, mellow listen.

  • It will save me.
    author: Jim Preston

    This CD is a work of art. Here in the Catskills. It can get a little quiet sometimes. That is when you should listen to this CD. It's cascading songs fall from the pines and rest on my weary bones. Loneliness falls away, my spirit is saved.This is not Gospel. This is the word on this great record. Anyway, enough poetics from me. I'll leave that to Ian Charles. Get this one.

  • Minutes From Midnight
    author: Contributing Editor

    IAN CHARLES “Minutes From Midnight” (EyeSee Music) (3,5) J J J J ’t Is niet al goud, dat blinkt, wil het spreekwoord, maar het nieuwe fonkelende schijfje dat singer-songwriter Ian Charles zopas uit de mouw schudde, komt toch weer aardig dicht in de buurt. Net als bijvoorbeeld ook een Jeff Finlin behoort de man tot die wat aparte categorie singer-songwriters die met een zekere regelmaat erg knappe albums blijven afleveren, maar desondanks de obscuriteit maar ternauwernood weten te ontstijgen. In het geval van Charles gaat het al om zijn vierde plaat. En die opvolger van het verrassend sterke “Wishing Street” uit 2000 en het akoestische tussendoortje “Live At The Puppethouse” van twee jaar later is opnieuw een echt snoepje voor fijnproevers. Meestal wordt Ian Charles prompt in het americana-hokje ondergebracht, maar zelf voelt hij zich eerder een singer-songwriter. En daar valt na beluistering van “Minutes From Midnight” absoluut wel iets voor te zeggen ook. Net zoals bijvoorbeeld een Robbie Robertson dat op zijn soloplaten ook zo graag doet, weet Charles met zijn liedjes regelmatig een bepaald broeierige atmosfeer te evoceren. Songs als de meeslepende opener “Parallel”, het enigzins mysterieuze “Destination: A Dusty Road” en het bijzonder soulvolle en van een fraaie mondharmonica-intro voorziene “Volume” zijn daar perfecte voorbeelden van. Elders, zoals in “(That I’ll) Take With Me” of “Chain Rock”, serveert Charles beheerste roots rock of, zoals in de knappe trage “Sky Open Wide”, aan Springsteens akoestisch materiaal verwant singer-songwriter spul. Benieuwd of het Ian Charles ditmaal w‚l zal lukken om een wat breder publiek aan zich te binden, want laten we wel wezen, hij zou het zeker verdienen. “Minutes From Midnight” is immers wederom een ijzersterk album!

  • Big boys beware, Serious Pop Country music for real people!
    author: Nick Burke/Aka Chandler Bigfoot

    For years artists have been torn between making serious art that’s true to their vision, or selling out to make a commercial record designed for the masses, with little artistic value. During Ian Charles 20 + year career, he’s cared only about connecting with his listeners. The remarkable success of his 4th album Wishing Street brought a national awareness, plus a successful 400 solo date 2 + year sold out tour, & his first live EP the end result. Minutes from Midnight, his 5th could be called his first “Personal album “ In doing so he’s effectively destroyed the “have to sell out myth” Along with the can’t make a natural sounding album with computers as he used the industry standard Pro-Tools” folks! While Minutes From Midnight, utilizes the best in recording technology, for sheer gutsy, human and approachable, no major label supported artist could probably ever pull this off. For us hit orientated folks, Album tracks “Charlie, Volume, Waiting Too Long are especially strong. Stylistically The marketing boys regularly flip a coin as to weather he’s a Americana or New age country artist. But to quote country legend Buck Owens….Folks, anything I do is my music ….doesn’t matter what label you put on it ! Frequently compared to Neil Young, Mellencamp, Springsteen, Dylan, Bob Seger etc, with young Van Morrison class looks. Ian clearly pays homage to the past, seeing today clearly and as always.. thinking forward! There’s not a bad track here folks and he’s even better Live! Memory serves me correctly, you have to have been actively recording for 25 years for Hall of Fame Consideration, and as Ian has released several single recordings prior to his albums, I’d say Class of 2010, he’ll be helping Bob Dylan out in a wheel chair, So Bob can induct Ian into the elite clubhouse! Whatever the cost, I’ll be there….Pick up his whole catalog folks and here the birth and maturation of genius, babies need not apply!

  • What a cracking album!
    author: Ian Charles

    You set up a website to sell your photos, then check Google to see if it gets a listing, and find there's some cheeky bugger who is using your name! So you look at their site to see who they are, and find out that it is full of great Music. “Minutes From Midnight” is my first introduction to my singer/songwriter namesake. And what an introduction! A splendid, first rate album of songs that leave you with that cold shiver running down your spine every time you play it. With some superb arrangements, the music draws you into the vast expanse that is the United States. I've been playing this album constantly for over a week, and everytime I hear something new in his work. If you have never heard Ian Charles I strongly advise you to listen. This guy should be a huge star, and Minutes To Midnight is the album to do it for him. I too would like to see him live, and with luck our paths will cross in the not too distant future. I wonder if he’d like to buy some of my Photos?

  • Spread The Word
    author: Gary

    Issue #62 May ‘04 Ian Charles – Minutes From Midnight The “Song of the Week” for 05-03-04 is: “I Saw The Sun Go Down” by Ian Charles Listen to it now in streaming RealAudio™ at: http://www.independisc.com/sotw/sungodown.ram Every so often we receive a CD that perfectly illustrates what IndepenDisc is all about... From out of left field comes an unassuming CD which, once placed in the disc player, refuses to leave, forcing us to tell people about how captivating it is, inspiring us to spread the word… Minutes From Midnight is such a CD. Ian Charles is a man preaching musical salvation. His use of poetry is like that of no others since the hey day of a young Bob Dylan. Throw in the feel of Woody Guthrie and the road weary traveler of Jack Kerouac and we have a mirror image of Neil Diamond’s Brother Love, except this Traveling Salvation Show is brought to the masses from a musical disciple on the run from every thing that could possibly haunt him. 11:55 has long been the metaphor for being as close to the end as possible… Minutes From Midnight is Ian Charles’ song cycle of how and why he walked to the edge, yet instead of jumping he took a leap of faith: Faith in music, Faith in the power of healing that a song can deliver, and Faith in life that can be taken in and reflected on for the better due to the insight of musical purity. He has seen the promise land through music and has been inspired to share it with us through his experiences both in life and in song. “For a long time I spent my time / Worrying about things that didn’t mean a thing,” he opens with. “Parallel” is sung using a vocal that automatically reveals a rough traveled life gathered together with a lot of too fast and too soon – the ancient tribal beats chase down a man running from himself. It Relates a ripped-from the-bare-soul confession, which is anointed with the promise of “to spread the word I heard on a twelve inch wonder.” Yet as far as he runs and as much as he preaches the word, there is still the fact that “Far away in the back of my mind / the parallels that I can’t hide from / Save Me.” But it isn’t the parallels that will save him. He cries to be saved *from* them – “Took a breath and reached for my lord / and knew I had a long way to go.” What follows are 12 more songs that personify his lord, the music, and the long way it came about to Save Him. Yet, this isn’t a religious sermon; it is a spiritual one, delivered by a unique talent that has had the gods of music uplift him with an epiphany he must share. New Traditional is the best way to describe the Acoustic Folk, Sonic Rock, Gospel Soul sound that meshes silky smooth vocals, that pronounce passion and bring to mind the elocution of Dan Fogelberg, Cat Stevens, Johnny Cash, James Taylor and Paul Simon, with musical compositions that paint landscapes so real, so familiar, that with the close of your eyes you are easily transported to the scene in which the song/story unfolds and takes place. Both lyrics and music capture together what each accomplishes separately, but when melded as one, bring a fulfilling sense of achievement. It is done through the amazing writing of Ian Charles (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, spinet piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond B-3, drums, percussion, harmonica), the solid playing of Eric Michael Lichter (Hammond T-200, Korg, ARP string ensemble, Wurlitzer, bass, electric guitar, slide acoustic guitar, piano) and Dick Neal (Banjo, Dobro, electric guitar, mandolin), and with guest appearances by Peter Kazaleh (electric guitar), Mace Vitale (bass), and Jeremy Lichter (electric guitar). These guys produce a sound so full that you’ll spend many spins just discovering new “most favorite” musical highlights sprinkled throughout each and every song – A joy that true music fans never grow tired of. Just about every song on this CD has something special to say, and something unique to add, and something that I’d just love to expound on… But, for the sake of space I’ll attempt to (briefly) highlight a few more (while commenting on others)… “Paint You A Picture” is absolute poetry in a love song that contains two lines that touch my heart. “I wanna wait in line with you / I wanna sneak you into the show.” It’s so pure that when he alludes to how some sadness tore them apart and then as a preamble to a crying harmonica he confesses, “I wanna see you as I’m dying / I will love you forever,” you melt into the beauty of the song. It is also where we get the first Coda of many. It’s been a while since I can remember an artist using a coda to allow the song to reverberate through us after it has ended, but Ian Charles not only puts one in, he sprinkles many in throughout the CD, and all of them work with the material in a way that’s both moving and penetrating. “Lonely Symphony” again brings a Bob Dylan sensibility into the poetic styling of the romantic snapshot of a man sitting on a balcony. He observes a weeping woman across the way talking to herself and wonders about her. As he does, he sings his thoughts aloud accompanied by a solemn electric piano, and a lone guitar plucking. He wonders why her suitors have been rejected and asks, “How did the boys that serenade you come to walk away / why did their songs fall flat?” As he sings this, she hears the words and realizes that he has made a correlation with her and her heartache, causing her to stop crying in order to listen to his serenade. It connects her to a point of spiritual bliss, and he recognizes this: “Can’t help but notice as I sing my lonely symphony / That your tears and your lone conversation have stopped.” With an off guard resounding note he stops, and the song stops, leaving us astounded. “Destination: A Dusty Road” takes us to a point that only a masterful painting can. The music, relying on big lush cymbals, Hammond organ, simple acoustics, and a host of instruments, presents all we need to see and feel of this lone and sorrowful dusty road. The atmosphere created by this tripping musical conglomeration hangs heavy over the weary drifter who walks this desolate stretch with no purpose but that of suffering for salvation: “His name he says is Jesus.” And with that we are left to draw our own conclusions as to the allegory, whether implied or not – again classic Dylan takes us by surprise. While many others deserve ink, I’ll point out that “Charlie” is a perfect companion to James Velvet’s “John Alley,” having that distinct medieval sound that Traffic used so well on “John Barleycorn.” It’s no surprise that James’ long time collaborator, Dick Neal, weighs in heavy here with a picking mandolin that has all hell threatening to break loose at any minute. You can see and feel the sinisterness seething like a satanic version of Led Zeppelin’s “Bron-Yr-Aur.” But it’s “I Saw The Sun Go Down” that defines Ian Charles. This protest song is as poetic a musical statement as that of “Blowin’ In The Wind.” Against a subdued yet driving bass and drum rhythm, a tambourine and mandolin lead a document of a day which outlines the horror of war and the devastation that the political agenda of current day Washington has brought to us all in the course of a simple day. Haunting and brief it delivers the message not with a heavy hand, but a heavy heart. It’s 2:44 that covers every anti-war protest since the ‘60s and rebirths them into the ‘00s at a time when they are needed. Instead of ending there, we get one more to close this music revival. “Call it A Song” is sung in a riveting sweet soul sound of a stunning Otis Redding vocal floating over a church organ. This gospel reading ties up the disc as presented in the opening: That faith in music can be the salvation that not only saves you, but makes your life pertinent. “So today the choirs of the valley / Are singing of salvation.” We can hear the choirs, we can hear the choirs of Ian Charles, we are saved by the music, and we are inspired to spread the word…

  • Clean up your own backyard
    author: John Quinn

    Minutes from Midnight by Ian Charles is a recording that falls in the very unique wrelm of inventive genius. It is both accessable and mysterious. The sound of this is a step forward from his 2000 CD,Wishing Street. It is a deeper well of scenes from a long cold winter. desolation row and cigarette ash stained dashboards. The songs are a cycle and the final result is that it's up to us to hear it our way. To find our own conclusions. The idea that he is 1) a classic rock performer (see the previous review mentioning Springsteen, Mellencamp, and Seger all mispelled) is not correct. 2) The other formentioned statement that he is old. Is completely out of context to these songs and this guys music. This music is NOW! Anyone who really "hears" his music knows that he makes albums for the present moments in his life and hopefully at a later date to be appreciated as classic. It's one of the best discs on this site. Totally original. if that is possible today. Anyway...

  • ...Can you say "Desert Island CD".
    author: Gregg Michaelson

    Minutes From Midnight- Like a hi-fi smoothe ride along a midwestern highway in the wee small hours of the morning. There is only the lone driver here. Silently watching the road roll along under the headlights shine. It takes him to his safe shelter by being reminded that he can still have the truth in an often untrue world and never forget hope. The songs, "(That I'll) Take With Me","Paint You A Picture", "Lonely Symphony" are a trilogy of song that nears perfection. It's well worth the price of the cd there and frankly has me completely beside myself. But,the rest of the disc is nothing less than a masterpiece from top to bottom. A pending "desert island cd" for me.

  • Awesome
    author: Jeff Stenett

    This is amazing. I'm living with this Cd. I'm telling all of my friends about it. I'm telling you about it now. I wish I'd bought it here because I paid more than this price for it. This is the best CD I've bought this year so far. Check it out and "Turn Up The Volume".

  • Listen to the paintbox of sounds that IS Ian Charles
    author: Fiona Williams

    Ian's music has changed over the last few years, developing a rich, enigmatic, graceful sound that I have only heard from him. Listen in your car - or with the candles on at home, you will hear the colours of the sounds and hear the voice - THE voice, that is Ian Charles. This is a deeper set of tracks than previous CDs, my personal favourites, at the moment, are Volume and Charlie. As I drive home from work, I could be driving in the Midwest, I can even smell the surroundings - and I am in the UK! I love the end - but hey, buy the CD and find out more!! If you have never heard Ian Charles - click on the samples. I did and have got the lot now! Would love to see him live!

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