PRESS QUOTES
We are delighted to be able to share these press quotes and reviews with you. If you have enjoyed a live performance we would love to hear your views too!
The Polly Morris Band make you feel so much part of the band that you feel as if you are on stage with them while still in your seats!
A fun band – with extra Fun-ness thrown in
The Flanders and Swann of our day, a cultural commentator with her tongue firmly in her cheek!
Good Driver – Album Launch
The Launch of the album “Good Driver” held at the Shelley Theatre in Boscombe was sold out months before the event so there was much anticipation among the audience as to what the evening would hold.
What a superb night. It appears that all of the regular band are solo artists and perform so well on their own as well as together. There must have been a lot of hard work that went into creating both the CD and the show content. But it paid off in multiples.
A very good opening with The Model Car (The Good Driver Song), The Mexican sketch and The drive to Cornwall (Motorway Queue) ‘kicked off’ the evening and was truly hilarious.
The different words to a well-known song were very good, the ‘Holbein’ was my favourite as extremely clever.
I thought the song about ‘Nightingale’ by Terry McDonald was sung with feeling and belief in the words being sung.
The Blue Danube sketch, the Mexican sketch and especially the Choir were so perfectly well delivered; Perfect and as previously advised ‘unexpected’ and still makes me laugh when I think about them now.
I thought all the soloists performed well and added to the blend of the evening, I particularly liked Paul Thomas in the second act, my favourite though being Mandy Stansfield singing and playing piano who was faultless in her performance.
The costumes were so apt, and who would expect the cardinal, (Steve Faulkner) to be in attendance. I didn’t know he sang and played the violin so skillfully. Each time a cast member came on stage they appeared to be wearing something different that related to what they were about to do.
Joel Solomons, the saxophonist was equally as alluring and musical as both a musician a Polo sucking Soloist.
To say that the evening centred around the hugely talented Polly Morris is true, but not quite, as the evening was really centred around the audience who were very firmly engaged from the welcome to the final curtain. The ad-libs and the improvisation and the individual leading of the audience throughout by Brian Harries and Paul Stillwell who played the Blues Brothers and Speeding Piano sketch added to the ‘unexpectedness and sheer delight’ of the evening and kept us all on our toes.
Polly Morris is obviously a very accomplished professional singer/songwriter whose command and use of the English language is truly inspirational. In contrast, the more reflective and quieter songs were well placed in the order of events, as individual events are what they are, and when being performed there was a very respectful hush amongst the audience which was well deserved.
One must never forget those that played various instruments again throughout which gave the band its unique sound; Kate Hunter who played piano and flute, Ben Solomons who also played flute and Si Genaro who played harmonica along with Joel Solomons who played the Saxophone as well as the double bass, again added to the completeness of the evening. Charlie Goodwin, who played the accordion was clearly enjoying himself and amazed the audience with his skill and ability to entertain.
It was wonderful to see the cast give credit to the backstage crew (Vince Sherry, Graham Hall, Dave Styles of PA Pulse Hire) and who evidently did so much to keep the show rolling along without hitch and even using some of them in the sketches.
As in all shows there were a few glitches but to be frank I’m not sure whether these were intentional or not, which goes to prove how convinced the audience is that all things are supposed to be there and well-rehearsed.
It was patently obvious that all members of the cast and crew thoroughly enjoyed performing and that in turn made sure that the audience did so too. There was a humorous point made at the beginning of the second half that the first half alone was a bargain at ten pounds per ticket and therefore the second act wasn’t going to happen. This needs to be considered as the evening was worth so much more than that. A professional show for amateur ticket price! Needs thinking through.
I cannot recount how many instruments, how many players of different instruments, and how many of the cast played so many different roles. Truly amazing.
Brian Harries, the MC, settled us in and made us all feel as if we as the audience were wholly part of the performance. In my opinion, it stunned the audience to be thanked as they were in the closing moments of the show. It brought a tear to my eye. As he said it is always about the audience, and that night it was without a doubt.
In the interval, someone said to me ‘They have come a long way’ I couldn’t possibly make a comment as this is my first experience of the ‘unexpected’ however I am convinced that ‘they will go a long way’. Even if King Wilfred had made it to Boscombe the night could not have been bettered.
It wasn’t Me – FATEA Review
Polly Morris describes herself as singer/songwriter of “contemporary and comedy songs that you will identify with”. The mention of comedy songs will immediately invite comparison with greats such as Flanders and Swann, Jake Thackery or – inevitably for a female performer – Victoria Wood. The challenge is not just to be funny but combine that with a story arc and then back it with good music people want to listen to. On the strength of this album Polly Morris is certainly a writer of comedy songs but also so much more.
The album opens with ‘Murder In The Fish Tank’, an everyday story of somebody getting an aquarium to help with stress relief, only to find that the fish are being eaten one by one. Eventually there is only one left; the culprit is unmasked. I shall not reveal it’s fate although folk music lovers will find it deliciously appropriate.
That sets the tone for the majority of the album. These are songs people of a certain age and status anywhere will recognise. ‘Puppy Song’ will be familiar theme to many, based on the earnest pleas of children who are trying to convince Mummy to get a puppy and it will be such a brilliant idea
“In fact, having the puppy, we have all decided,
Will help us do our homework and all keep our bedrooms tidy.”
There are other familiar tales, too. In ‘Winter Sales’ the hunt for a bargain lures you into buying something electronic, even if you’re not quite sure what it does, or in ‘Ways To Ignore You’ there are tips on giving a partner the silent treatment in the digital age. There’s Facetime, Email, Skype, Twitter or even letter if you want to be really old-fashioned.
The lyrics are clever and complex in a Gilbert and Sullivan style and the English language is mined for rhymes that really shouldn’t work, but do.
So, yes, Polly Morris is a very good comedy song writer but she also intersperses the laughs with self-written ballads of grace and sensitivity. This change of pace and style transforms the singer from a narrator into a person just like us; a rounded character who has good times and bad. ‘How Come’ explores the tough feisty modern woman who, behind the exterior, still wants to find love and is hurt just as badly as anyone else when it goes wrong.
There are love songs, too. ‘When I’m With You’ reminds us, if needed, that the best thing in the world is being with the ones you love.
The ballads give Polly the opportunity to showcase her fine, rich voice and because the words are so vital to every story each one is clear and distinct. The backing is chosen with great care, from a single guitar to piano and harmony so there’s a good range of styles and tempo across the songs.
The care and production values on the album are replicated in the cover which is lavishly produced, with a three fold cover and stapled lyric booklet.
It, along with Polly’s three previous albums, is available as a download from the website or physical copies can be found on Amazon. If you enjoy music that will cause everything from belly laugh through wry smiles to quiet contemplation then it is certainly worth following up.
What a Superb Night!
THE COMEDY NIGHT Tivoli Theatre
The Tivoli Theatre is a step back in time with its decor and seating which gives it a rather lovely art deco ambience. The front of house staff were very welcoming and the bar manager was very accommodating. Refreshment prices are very reasonable considering this is a leading theatre. The theatre is an obvious asset to the town.
I have not seen the Polly Morris Band before and was very much looking forward to the show as they seem to have a very good reputation and certainly a following. In saying that, this was a festival event rather than a Band event so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
The evening started with a message from the Town Mayor who spoke well and welcomed us all to the Tivoli and also to the festival. He was followed by Sarah Breese who engaged us and made us laugh, not all comedians do, and certainly was a fine link throughout the first half introducing acts. Sarah is obviously a professional performer. There was also another comedian, Andrew White, who gave a short spot and also made the audience laugh.
I felt the first half was very much to do with the festival and therefore included guests as well as the Polly Morris Band. One of the guests was a magician ‘The Great Baldini’ who certainly had stage presence and involved the audience, as is tradition, with some of his magic tricks. The Polly Morris Band had little to do in the first half, but what they did was warmly welcomed by the audience. The second half, other than an introduction by Sarah Breese, was fully the Polly Morris Band.
The highlights from my point of view and my point of view only are as follows.
There was a spot involving a pianist and a policeman which was extremely well executed and very funny but also clever in its development and delivery. This is certainly a Polly Morris Band trait.
The choir song was extremely funny and well acted by all but more importantly very true to life. The poking of the conductor with his baton by a ‘random audience member’ was again so very well executed.
The female soloist who also played the piano has a very engaging voice and kept the audience attention throughout.
There were dancers at the end of the first half who again were very clever in what they did. It is too difficult to describe here but certainly worth seeing again as a perfectly timed piece of optical illusion.
The second half was very much in line with the Bands maxim ‘Expect the unexpected’ and how true that was. Violinists popping out of wheelie bins, triangle players playing one note throughout the whole of a song, a man tied to a chair, the Band dressed as Mexicans, ballerinas both perfect and funnily useless along with a story in a language that again I cannot describe here but not only made the audience think very hard but was hysterical in its delivery.
Polly Morris when solo, a very soulful voice, has very much a talent in the style of Victoria Wood and is equally as watchable. Her songs have clever lyrics with a blend of different music styles in each song. The Band play an enormous amount of different instruments and one would imagine is trained in doing so. The quieter songs can bring you to tears if you are not careful, and speak of everyday trials, triumphs and testing of one’s character.
As previously stated this was not necessarily a Polly Morris Band event. However they did play a major part and I for one would have liked to have seen more of them on the evening. The final goodbyes were considerate of all those involved in the show including backstage theatre crew and the audience. How lovely!
Some points to note; There should have been more of the female soloist and also a few more solos by Polly Morris plus more Band involvement throughout the night as a whole. Be that as it may, some of these comments are slightly unfair due to the fact it was really a festival event rather than a Band event.
I would go again, and will go again, particularly to see the Polly Morris Band perform a full evening.
Good Driver
I was fortunate enough to review Polly’s previous album “It Wasn’t Me”, so jumped at the chance to listen to her latest offering, “Good Driver”, released in March. It, like its predecessor, confirms Polly to be at the very top of her game and a writer of comedy songs that are going to be very hard to beat.
Polly has identified an under-represented sector in music; the real in-betweener. Approaching the middle years she’s too old to behave like a youngster whilst being not quite old enough to act her age, yet still too young to grow old disgracefully.
This latter topic is explored to brilliant effect on the album’s opening track “I’ve Turned Into My Mother”. It happens to all of us, of course; who has not both been told, and said, “That plate won’t wash itself, you know”? However, it doesn’t help when your parents start to become surrogate teenagers. In this case it’s the mother who’s “not just off the rails, she’s down the bank and through the fence”. This leads to the 3am conversations of “What time do you call this? I hope you didn’t go out wearing that!” It must be disconcerting to find out that your parents are having more fun than you are.
Good comedy doesn’t just have to be belly laughs; there’s the quieter, observational kind as well. In “Choir” Polly has written a beautiful, whimsical song about a choir; the kind many of us will have seen. The humour is gentle and we laugh with, rather than at, the subjects who obviously love what they do and have a dream of one day impressing Gareth Malone enough to get on TV. I can easily imagine it becoming a standard for exactly the people it has been written about and it has been beautifully orchestrated, I believe by Kate Hunter. Although the harmonies have been exaggerated for effect the voices work well together and the piano with flute accompaniment fits excellently.
Just as good comedy should still be good drama, so good comedy songs still have to be good music if they are to work and Polly and her band never forget that. Each is a good at what they do so ultimately this is an album of good songs.
As we have seen before it isn’t just for laughs either, as Polly writes some excellent, poignant ballads. Particular mention must go to “Only Just Out Of Sight”, This is beautiful, a song about the loss of a loved one, yet it’s in no way mournful or depressing. Instead Polly has chosen to take a more uplifting approach. Whilst they may have departed we can still call on the memory of them to find comfort or help, through the things they’ve taught us.
There’s also a break-up song, of a type we see when relationships reach a certain stage. The couple still love each other, as the song suggest “More Than Ever” and yet these things are left unsaid and it it can be easier to part than carry on. The chorus, with its repetition of “I love you” is quite heart wrenching.
The quality of the album also extends to its packaging, with the now trademark bold cover this time in blue. Will we get the whole rainbow eventually? The excellent lyric book is stapled in place.
As a final thought I cannot leave “Good Driver” without mention of my favourite line. Polly reaches for rhymes that a less confident writer wouldn’t dare touch and this one concerns a woman at nightclub who has attracted the attentions of a man, to her great delight.
“He was fit an’ I was smitten”. I challenge you not to laugh. You should buy this album, which is available from the artist’s website.
