''The Spinning Top'' is the seventh studio album by Blur guitarist

Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...

on new record label Transgressive Records. The album is produced by

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths, The Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album ''Viva Hate'' following the spl ...

and was released on 11 May 2009. It was Coxon's first album since '' Crow Sit on Blood Tree'' (2001) to be released while concurrently a member of Blur, and the first to be released following his returned to Blur in 2008. It is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

that follows a narrative of a man from birth to death. The album was supported by the single " Sorrow's Army", released on 18 May.

Production

The cover art and liner artwork, like previous releases, was painted by Coxon himself. The two music promos Sorrow's Army and In the Morning were filmed by creative director Nick Craske. Dead Bees, the third single from The Spinning Top, was filmed by Chris Hopewell.

Live Album Tour

Coxon took the album on tour around the release date in May 2009 and also in November 2009 after the cool down from July's Blur reform gigs at Hyde Park and Glastonbury. Coxon played with his Power Acoustic Ensemble. Live Members included Coxon (

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

Soprano Saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

), Graham Fox (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), Gareth Davies ( Bass), Lucy Parnall and Jen Clayton (Vocals), Owen Thomas (Bass, Guitar), Louis Vause (

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

), Ranbir (

dilruba The dilruba (also spelt dilrupa) is a bowed musical instrument originating in India. It is slightly larger than an esraj and has a larger, square resonance box. The dilruba holds particular importance in Sikh history. It became more widely k ...

), Bee2 (

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

). The short tour played the full album in order. The last concert on the list was at the Barbican Theatre in London where Coxon would play with some of his all time heroes. The gig featured

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

and

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...

(guitars), Natasha Marsh (

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Vocals) and Max Eastley (The Arc). It also featured Radiohead visual artist Chris Hopewell.

Track listing

# "Look Into the Light" - 3:18 # "This House" - 2:54 # "In the Morning" - 8:26 # "If You Want Me" - 5:43 # "Perfect Love" - 2:51 # "Brave the Storm" - 5:19 # "Dead Bees" - 3:25 # " Sorrow's Army" - 4:20 # "Caspian Sea" - 4:54 # "Home" - 4:21 # "Humble Man" - 3:43 # "Feel Alright" - 4:37 # "Far From Everything" - 4:09 # "Tripping Over" - 4:52 # "November" - 5:40

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinning Top 2009 albums Graham Coxon albums Transgressive Records albums Albums produced by Stephen Street Concept albums