...if you really want it, I can offer a screen shot from iTunes on my pc which shows the album has been played - most tracks 8 times, some 6 times over the past few days, trust me, I'm not here on a whim or with a hidden agenda. I have toned down the review on Amazon as I appreciate the comments before and realised that the terminology was incorrect and it deserved to be more measured.

Alyn. It's not a good idea to write anything remotely negative on this site. I think most of what you have written has been reasonable and measured. I wasn't impressed with the cover either. For a while I thought it was just me. I see the importance of a striking cover:- a showcase for the contents if you like. I think you possibly would have liked the album more if you'd given it a few more plays. I won't be asking for your head on a platter.




I can't stop playing it.

thank you Stella, I appreciate that, and I am making a point here, maybe clumsily, about music I care about but ultimately feel disappointed about. I suppose I am being indignant - expecting more from someone who is a top artist who has made an album that just hasn't hit it with me - I am the minority here, of course, understandably, but there is still pleasure in arguing the toss, against the odds

My apologies to Alyn who, it seems really did buy Stranger, really didn't like it, and really sold it on eBay. You couldn't make it up.

Stella Day wrote:
I've never understood why anyone would want to post anything negative on the fan site provided by Steve himself at his own expense and at no cost to the users.

There are so many places on the internet where people can post self-aggrandizing venom without directly offending the very person they are supposed to be a fan of.

To me it's like getting an invitation to Steve's house and then spitting on the floor. At least if you do it on other (non-fan) sites there is some measure of doing it behind his back! Equally rude and destructive, but at least you are not doing it as his guest.

Steve works extremely hard to write and play his music for our benefit. It's not as if he needs to do it for any other reason than the sheer passion he has for it.

My grandmother often said, "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all."

Anyway, my copy of Stranger arrives next week and I'm looking forward to reviewing it here in due course.

so alyn tells us on here that he listened to it three/four times on the day he received it and listened to it more times since and still sticks to the same opinions he originally posted on amazon.
but when it comes to sell it to claw back an obviously much needed fiver(need a new box of crayons for your album designs alyn?)lo and behold it has been listened to 'once'.
then for someone who slated it so much why on the e-bay description has the following been put on there to aid the sale.....
'Album notes
'Stranger Comes To Town' is the eleventh studio album from British singer/songwriter Steve Harley. Recorded in East Anglia with the help of his touring band, the album sees Harley deliver another strong collection of songs in his inimitable style.' where did this paragraph come from because it cetainly is not on my album cover.
'take the men and the horses away' alyn,but on your way take all the manure you left behind also. another strong collection of songs is not what you put on amazon now is it,the thing about being a good liar is that you must remember the lies or you will soon get found out.