A GOOD THIEF TIPS HIS HAT - 25th Anniversary!!!

The Slambovian Circus of Dreams

April 8, 2000

Rock / Indie Folk

Good Thief was voted "Album of the Year" in Rhythm & News Readers Poll 2000 and picked as one of the "Best Albums of 1999" by Mixx Magazine. "Eerie yet jovial", this description best sums up their music - raggedy-ass hillbilly punk-floyd folk pop with primitive classical elements and spooky surreal overtones. ATTN UK CUSTOMERS: "GOOD THIEF' is available in the UK. PHYSICAL CDS NOW AVAILABLE ON TALKING ELEPHANT RECORDS' BANDCAMP PAGE!!! https://talkingelephantrecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-good-thief-tips-his-hat-25th-anniversary-release NEW 2024 REVIEWS: https://www.folknorthwest.co.uk/music-gandalf-murphy.html "It's clear that the Slambovian Circus of Dreams have created more than just an album-they've crafted a lasting legacy." - FATEA Magazine, UK 2024 ((LIMITED EDITION OF UK RELEASE AVAILABLE NOW ON THIS BANDCAMP SITE)) The 25th Anniversary of the release of "A Good Thief Tips His Hat" is in 2024. These Sleepy Hollow legends draw on the dark mysticism of the Hudson Valley and serve it up with poignant humour, catchy hooks, seductive vocals and hauntingly beautiful songs that go straight to the heart. This music can heal what ails ya. A classic... REVIEWS: EARBUZZ Review 2000: Gandalf Murphy and The Slambovian Circus of Dreams' latest CD, A Good Thief Tips His Hat, is a professionally produced and astonishingly original work by the New York four-piece. Dark, brooding, acoustic, alternative singer/songwriting with vocals reminiscent of Bowie and Dylan. The style is consistent and fresh - with deep and bright acoustic guitar tones, and a lead singer (Joziah Longo) whose baritone to tenor vocal quality is foaming with emotion through each tune. Hypnotic. Soothing. Mesmerizing. And, fortunately for anyone wanting a new sound, you can run a needle through all of the songs as they work together to create this magnificent record. "Good Thief", mp3'd here, is instantly accessible and profound enough to last - it has a quality similar to some of the finest, darker, rock tunes of the past with a spiritual quality - all to the topic of criminal etiquette, as "a good thief tips his hat, a good thief winks his eye, a good thief always smiles, a good thief never lies". It also has a production quality a bit like Queensryche's "Lucidity" with some of the stringed accompaniment - but vocals that are not so operatically trained - Longo's voice is conversational as a friend, and raw, down to earth.. ., or even below earth. All the tracks are so well done. "Radio" starts out with a Neil Youngish harp and guitar, and moves into a terrific dramatic phase with somewhat dissonant arpeggios and Longo's haunting voice. This is not metal, and Longo's voice, although could probably excel at rock/metal musings, instead lays back and adds flavor to this soothing acoustic/dark music. Gandalf Murphy and the SCOD is really something special. This is a band that has all the components neccessary to be succesful in music - (all that presentation stuff, image. .etc.) with the most important ingredient nailed solid. . sincere, fresh, accomplished, and memorable music. They will make it all the way to the top - you read it here first.