It has taken some time to
get a single released from Snyder's debut album 'Across The
Pond' which hit the shops last September. However, he is not
a man in a hurry. Snyder has not had the smoothest journey
to the Holy Grail of a record deal as he has been playing
music in various dives on both sides of the Atlantic since
the 1980's.
Before recording his album, Snyder could already lay claim
to a footnote in rock history as the keyboard player on Mercury
Rev's 1998 break through masterpiece 'Deserters Songs'. After
touring that album, he left the band to work on his own songs
and in the process has been involved with two extraordinary
collaborations that have resulted in this single.
Firstly, 'Two Moons' was co-written with electro legend Arthur
Baker. Whatever Baker contributed it certainly was not an
electro influence, because the result is a sweet as candy,
romantic country ballad. The song evokes early acoustic Neil
Young or if I am feeling less charitable it perhaps betrays
more of a James Taylor influence.
The album version is a bonus track on this release because
the single version is a Marius De Vries remix. De Vries has
worked as a producer for a diverse selection of artists (Madonna,
Massive Attack and U2) and he also co-wrote the music to the
movie Moulin Rouge. On 'Two Moons' he has added a lush string
arrangement and crucially he has used B J Cole to coat the
song with some exquisite pedal steel.
Gavin Eves