Stuart Wills: Press

SQUEALING FANS IN MY TUNE VOLUME 1 REVIEW


The artwork of this disc is a white background with in the centre a Lego figure with blond hair and a beautiful guitar in his hands.


It's a fun project; a tribute to Evan Dando, the blonde singer from the underrated Lemonheads. This cd can be bought directly on the site www.evandando.co.uk and 35% of the profits will go to cancer research.


On the compilation are no familiar names, but this is not important at all. What makes it important is the initiative and the absolute quality of some of the versions:


Being Around with the beautiful voice and guitar of Jason Appleby, Rancho Santo Fe's remake in a dreamy key from Lizzie London, an irresistible electro-banjo-clash Style by Max Vanremmerden, It’s About Time is too similar to the original and without Juliana Hatfield singing it loses fascination, but [Stuart Wills'] Tenderfoot sounds like a remake done by Husker Du and Hospital sounds like it's done by Franz Ferdinand. _ Fatevi spremere.

EXETER FAN SQUEALS


Exeter-based musician Stuart Wills is featured on a newly released CD which pays tribute to Evan Dando and the Lemonheads.


Squealing Fans in My Tune (volume one) was compiled from over 50 contributions received via an appeal on the fan site www.evandando.co.uk and through NME. Wills' version of Tenderfoot is one of 12 tracks on the album. The artists featured come from Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and the USA as well as the UK.


The album is available exclusively from the fan site www.evandando.co.uk and 35 per cent of the profits will go to Cancer Research UK. Site editor Roo Simpson has had such a good time with volume one, that volume two is already in the works.

SQUEALING FANS IN MY TUNE VOLUME 1 REVIEW


There's nothing worse than an album that outstays its welcome, and Squealing Fans weighs in at a very trim 33 minutes. Eight of the tracks are under 3 minutes long, and the longest clocks in at 3.50. To really grab people though, we needed an opening track that really leapt out, and Stuart Wills' Tenderfoot - storming in and fading out in under 2 minutes - does that in absolutely barnstorming fashion. One thing we looked for in the contributions was versions that could sit comfortably next to the original song without looking embarrassed, and I honestly think that Wills' version does even more than that. His vocal performance is superb, and the riff for me has even more energy in his version than Evan's version on Car Button Cloth. It's an instant highlight for me

SQUEALING FANS IN MY TUNE VOLUME 1 REVIEW


A Tribute To Evan Dando. Compiled via his UK fan site, this is a bunch of unsigned acts paying tribute to the Lemonhead. Stuart Wills' Tenderfoot is a rocking start, followed by a variety of interpretations of Dando's work. It's much better than you'd think, but lacks quality in the recording sometimes. A tender Hospital by The Blood Red Honeymoons and Lizzie London's stunning version of Rancho Santa Fe are the highlights. Sweetly enthusiastic. 7/10

LIVE REVIEW - THREE FAT FISH, EXETER


This evening Stuart Wills blew me away! His set was going to be a quiet affair but he started with a noisy track and just got more and more powerful as his set went on. At the end he was sweating and in a trance, I've never seen him play like that before and it was well worth it.

LIVE REVIEW - THREE FAT FISH, EXETER


Wow, I wasn't expecting that. Stuart Wills, Me and Wiredaisies, what a gig. Stuart was here on his birthday and shone wildly on stage, an excellent half hour set, his voice wickedly resounding in the club.