Billy Boyd Soulfully Swims With Beecake On Their New Album “Soul Swimming… Drowning in Blue”

Beecake' New CD "Soul Swimming… Drowning in Blue"

Beecake' New CD "Soul Swimming… Drowning in Blue"
Beecake’ New CD “Soul Swimming… Drowning in Blue”

First let me talk about Billy Boyd, it is impossible to ignore he is the lead singer in Beecake. I am a Ringer and I admit this review maybe slightly biased.
And yes I am the woman who had her picture taken with Billy and found out when I picked up the photo that  my dress had been unbuttoned exposing my lily white breasts. (no one said a word!) I shall forever be known as the woman that flashed Billy Boyd!
Losillë

Actor Billy Boyd, best known for playing the character Peregrin “Pippin” Took in the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings is a member of the up and coming band Beecake. Boyd first wowed and surprised Ringers by lending his hauntingly beautiful voice to the lovely and sad J.R.R. Tolkien lyrics “Edge of Night (Pippin’s Song)”. The song left fans wishing for more. Their wish came true in 2006 when Boyd joined with top musicians John Crawford (Drums, Vocals), Billy Johnston (Guitar, Piano, Vocals) and Rick Martin (Bass, Vocals) to form Beecake.

“Beecake was formed in late September 2006 over a bottle of malt whiskey in a Glasgow bar when the guys remembered how much they loved making music together.” (“Welcome to Beecake.” Beecake. 03252010. Beecake.com)

To find out more about the name Beecake I went to Penny Gibbs the webmistress of Basically Billy Boyd.

“The name Beecake came about when, Dom (Dominic Monaghan, Flash Forward, Merry in the LOTR series, Lost) was on holiday in Spain and took a pic of a cake covered in bees. The shop owner just knocked the bees off and cut a slice for people. Dom sent the pic to Billy and called it Beecake. Billy liked it!”

Beecake has been busy the past few months, releasing “Soul Swimming… Drowning in Blue”, touring the UK, Europe and the USA and launching their website.

Beecake
Beecake Photo Courtesy Angela Martin

“The official website for all things Beecake.” Beecake.com is easy to navigate with link names that make sense. I did find it was difficult to find the outlet to buy advance concert tickets. The link on their site takes you to a confusing MySpace page rather than a direct link to the ticket outlet. (You can find the direct link to the ticket outlet near the bottom of this page.) When you visit the site add your name to their mailing list to receive their latest updates.

Right now you are thinking, “Losillë that is all well and good but are they hot and how do they rank on the Man Candy Rating System?” I’ll put it this way. I WOULD ABSOLUTELY lie and say I had sex with any one of them. (And of course, I would flash Billy again.)

To be honest I approached the CD with some trepidation. It occurred to me that as beautiful as Boyd’s voice is, like all albums there was a chance it would suck. Thankfully, I will be adding  “Soul Swimming… Drowning in Blue” to the websites music highest ranking category “This Music Doesn’t Suck”.

It is impossible to play this music too loud!

“Soul Swimming… Drowning in Blue”  is sexy, relaxing and dreamy with a hint of jazz. Two tracks stood out for me”This Is Not An Exit” and “Broken Songs”.

“Broken Songs” came in second. Each time the song starts I am slightly taken aback at Boyd’s amazing voice. It is the kind of voice that makes want to possess and some how absorb it into yourself.  Boyd soars through difficult high notes with precise control of his voice. He has the right balance of relaxed vocal chords and power that allow him to hit high notes perfectly. He does it without screaming and without a hint of cracking.  These are kinds of notes that are frequently delegated to back up singers.

“This Is Not An Exit” won out as my favorite. The arrangement and instrumentation broke the tie. Boyd’s exquisite voice sings every word with perfect enunciation. Such a perfect voice has the potential for over powering and obscuring the musicians, fortunately he is surrounded by a strong band. They compliment his voice, bring the heart, soul and the emotional element  into the music. The music is tight and they play in a way that becomes more than the sum total of the instruments.

“Soul Swimming… Drowning in Blue” officially drops June 27, 2010 and can be purchased on their website. The tracks will also be available from all usual sites iTunes, Napster, Best Buy etc on June 28th.

Experience the album “live” at The Official Album Launch Party June 27th. Tickets are on sale now HERE
The price of admission is £7.00 (If you plan to fly over from the US that is $10.50 in US currency.)
O2 ABC2 GLASGOW
300 Sauchiehall Street
Glasgow UK G2 3JA
And if you are lucky you may get a banana pancake.

This is a new segment I am adding to my reviews. My objective is to give artists more feedback their music.
I asked Beecake fans two questions.
Which track do you like the most?
Why do you like it?
I love their responses and I hope you will add your favorites in the comments.
(These three fans were picked because they are on my Facebook page and I am lazy.)
Sharry Smith

1) Lost Direction
2) I spent awhile analyzing the ‘why’…I think it’s because I have had the same types of thoughts in regard to my own life. I’ve experienced different, distinct phases, choices, and pathways throughout my own life. Some part of me always wonders ‘what would have been’ if I had made a different decision at different junctions in my own life. It’s intriguing.

Elaine Edmonds

My favorite track on the album is “Friends and Lovers”
I first heard Beecake perform this at the Barfly gig in Glasgow. And hearing Billy’s storyline behind performing the song really got to me. I think it evokes loneliness and the wistfulness of a lost love.

Penny Gibbs

Its always been really hard for me to pic a fave Beecake song. Its usually whichever one Im listening to at the time! It did take me a while to adjust to the slight changes in the songs from the EP to the CD, and I sometime resist change! But it didnt take too long to adjust! 🙂 I still enjoy both versions of the songs and listen to the EP as much as the new CD.

Boy & Friends and Lovers are so beautiful and poignant (can make me cry if Im in the right frame of mind), Soul Swimming is a classic. Broken Songs, Radio, This is Not an Exit & Somethings Wrong are all incredible songs, and I have always LOVED Ball of Earth! All the lyrics are fantastic (I could start listing all my favorites but this would be way too long), they are all easy to listen to and fun (in my case ‘attempt’) to sing along with. I did REALLY, REALLY miss In My Arms (great song, great arms!) on the CD and I do still miss the laughing guitar at the end of Radio tho! 🙂

But if forced to choose…. I think my fave track on Soul Swimming is Lost Direction. I love, Love, LOVE the harmonica in it, its so soulful and beautiful. And there is just something so romantic about the rail and trains. “All I really need is you” “All people I could have been” “the past and places I should have seen” ” I wish there were words that I could say, but poetry keeps getting in the way” OMG, Great lyrics!

Author: Losillë
Mother, wife and kinda old.

4 thoughts on “Billy Boyd Soulfully Swims With Beecake On Their New Album “Soul Swimming… Drowning in Blue”

  1. Billy and John, Rick and BJ had been playing in Glasgow for years prior to Rings. Their band at that time was called Foreign Country.

    A bit of Trivia: When they first rejoined again in Dec of 05, they started calling themselves Angels Share, but soon found out there was another band called Angels Share.

    Also, if anyone is interested, we have the lyrics to all the songs and the only Beecake Bio…. IN THE WORLD at Basically Billy Boyd!

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