Peter Godwin | DL | 2020
Peter Godwin: You! [Johnson Somerset Mix] US – DL [2020]
- You! [Johnson Somerset Mix] 9:40
When Peter Godwin surfaces with his first new single in too many years, it was with a surprising new musical partner in Garbo Dastorg. The sound of the single featured a strong Rock vibe for the first time in ages for Godwin. Maybe even going back to the first two Metro albums. Mostly bass/drums/guitars over which he plied his sophisticated trade. I enjoyed the change from the expansive Johnson Somerset vibe his last decade of work featured but that’s not to suggest that I felt that the thread with Somerset was played out.
I’m a big fan of Somerset’s vibe. It’s a distinctive and spacious, cinematic sound that has enhanced modern remixes and recordings of favorites like Bryan Ferry and Simple Minds in the last decade or two. So I’d heard that Somerset was going to remix the new Godwin single, and when I chanced to look yesterday, I found out to my chagrin, that it had been issued on July 3rd in iTunes! So naturally, I immediately dropped virtual coin to get this sound …like, pronto.
The 9:40 remix began with a stomping house beat of some finesse. Nothing brutal, as ride cymbals and synth drone enhanced the minor key atmospherics of the number. Like any Somerset remix, it may have had a strong 4/4 beat, but it played out in cinematic slow motion, with builds and breaks occurring over several bars at a time. Dastorg’s stinging guitar leads, along with Godwin’s vocal, were the only elements familiar from the pop version of the song. Of course, here they were drenched in long, slow, reverb as was the style. If this was House music, this was haunting house music.
On the middle eight, and later in the song’s climax, Godwin’s vocal was given tremolo filtration to match the throbbing energy of the mix. This had been done when the original mix dropped out to highlight the devastating lyric in the pop version of the tune. The difference was in the climax, here, that Godwin’s vocal sound degenerated and eventually dropped; leaving the synth harmonics sans beat the last word in this instance. When it’s all over, the new remix was over twice the length of the pop version, but hardly felt it. Johnson Somerset likes them eight to ten minutes long. It’s just the way he rolls, thank goodness.
Sunset Rise | DL | 2009
I appreciate how Peter Godwin is having his cake and eating it too, with both versions of this new single being clear winners. I can only hope that he’s got more music up his sleeve like the relative rash of releases he hit us with in the 2009-2013 period which saw the Neuvo album and several digital singles to break up the long drought from the release of his “Images Of Heaven” compilation. If we want to get picky, in the 37 years since “Correspondence,” Godwin’s gifted us with six solo singles [and a remix or two] and the Neuvo album, which sincerely needs to get back “into print” which shouldn’t be too onerous, seeing as it was DL only! What I’d give for a reissue of Neuvo’s “Sunset Rise” in Bandcamp as a lossless WAV or even better, a CD! Until then, we have this remix to tide us over. Mr. DJ, hit that button.
Post-Punk Monk 
The opening of You! – The Johnson Somerset Remix – travels along a high wire where House beats meet Gothic atmosphere. As Peter’s vocals enter the song after the 2:30 mark, the party really gets started. Godwin is sings through musical storm clouds of straining want and need. It is some of the most gritty and emotional singing I can remember from him. The musical break conjures up a swirling congress of moods and fears. Once Godwin’s treated vocals attempt to return, they seem caught up in the tail end of Somerset’s musical tornado as it takes its leave and drifts away, leaving emotional destruction behind.
One thing I will say about both the single and remix versions of You! is that they both manage to capture a real live performance feel to them. That Somerset’s gorgeous remix doesn’t seem to lose this is quite an accomplishment.
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Echorich – Too true! What either mix does is to ultimately enable the powerful emotional payload of the song, no matter what its style. It’s true that were’re normally accustomed to having Mr. Godwin float over the song with a lighter touch, but certainly not this time!
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Love your analysis Echorich- truly on the money. And your perceptive appreciation has been shared with Johnson via email, because he’s not much of a chat forum guy. He was very pleased with your comment.
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Thank for all the support and interest!
All the best,
Peter Godwin
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Peter Godwin – Welcome to the comments! Always happy to have a guest of honor in the joint! I’ve enjoyed your work for 38 years now and only wish there was more of it to be had. Now that your first comment has been approved, you can drop in any time… just saying! Hopeful that more music with Mr. Dastorg is in the pipeline. While I’m here, I’ll ask why is the epic “Images Of Heaven” version with Mr. Somerset unavailable for purchase? That’s craziness from where I’m sitting.
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You can get Johnson’s remix on about 30 different platforms! Have a look on Apple Music or Amazon for example. It’s on Spotify, Deezer etc. for streaming too.
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Peter Godwin – Aha. I don’t stream. I’m totally old school on the consumption of music. And there are many places online where I prefer not to do business [anything to do with Google, Amazon], so it’s evaded my searches. If I have to buy downloads I use iTunes or Bandcamp. I prefer the latter even though I choose to live in Apple’s “walled garden.”
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The problem nowadays is that the digital distributor Believe is behind every platform- it’s the new Universal of the digital age with a virtual monopoly.
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Peter Godwin – I can’t keep up with the paradigm shifts in distribution any more. I thought Kobalt was the 800 pound. gorilla, but I guess that’s mainly in The States.
At a certain point by choosing not to stream, it’s inevitable that I will miss out on current tunes as physical, and even downloads become incredibly niche. Streaming doesn’t work for me. I don’t like cell phones [and especially their data bills].
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PS- And that’s a smart and eloquent review.
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Peter Godwin – Thanks, but Post-Punk Monk has plenty of high quality comments from the regulars! I think that Echorich managed to make an even stronger point with his pithy comment from his angle.
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Great to see you both chatting together on here!
Two great guys who are passionate about music.Proud to have you both as friends.
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Replied to Echorich once I worked out the thread here haha!
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Another longtime Godwin fan here, and happy that it is available on Apple Music. As the Monk says, though, for those albums that I hold dearest I do enjoy being able to get a CD of it as well. We’re relics of a bygone market, for sure, but thankfully the SDLX crazy is keeping the aluminium-foil-encased-in-plastic disc industry alive!
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Well, music makers have always had to accept new technologies, ever since music went from wax cylinders to Bakelite discs! C’est la vie. I actually enjoy many ways of listening to recorded music. Thanks for following my music in whatever format! 🙏
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