The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, The Zombies, The Kinks, The Who, The Divine Comedy, Scott Walker, David Bowie, XTC, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, The Smiths, Morrissey, Belle and Sebastian, Blur, Oasis, Pulp, Teenage Fanclub...
"Charles Ramsey is perhaps the most proficient and tasteful guitarist to perform in the [2008 Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition] thus far. Add to this natural (rather extraordinary) songwriting ability, thoughtful lyrics, and a really great voice, and you have yourself a singer-songwriter to keep an eye on."
About "Good Morning and Good Night" (released May, 2009)
"Charles Ramsey's second album has plenty of great songs, and its opening title track evokes those bright melodic Burt Bacharach-Hal David hits of the 70's... The brilliant "My Lost Days" resembles Michael Brown (Left Banke, Stories) with a masterful hook, melody and a gorgeous key change in the chorus... If you like classical 70's pop and folk this is a welcome addition to your album collection."
-Powerpopaholic (powerpopaholic.blogspot.com)
"The latest ‘beautiful’ song moment came courtesy of Charles Ramsey. ‘She Changes You’, from his current album, ‘Good Morning and Good Night’, is a perfect pop song. A gentle drum beat and a stirring string refrain lure you in before Ramsey’s distinctive but utterly soothing vocals take over. It’s not great surprise to see that he counts The Beatles, Burt Bacharach and The Divine Comedy amongst his influences. The presence of both a harpsichord and an English Horn on this track ensure that it is sonically beguiling... The music of Charles Ramsey is so clearly borne of a great musical heritage, absorbed over years of intensive listening to some of the true greats, and yet it avoids being simply derivative and inessential... 'Good Morning & Good Night' is an album that deserves an audience."
-Gareth James, Justplayed.wordpress.com, UK
I purchase dozens of albums every year and find only a scant few songs create a persistence of memory, an impression on your mind that not only makes you whistle it without realising but makes you want to get back to the stereo immediately to listen to that track one more time. Good Morning and Good Night, surprisingly, has more than one of these tracks... After a month of pretty solid listening, the best I can say is this: take Rufus Wainwright, strip away his ridiculous pomp and chintz, replace it with a grounded, middle-American bonhomie and you have Good Morning and Good Night... If you like music that beguiles you, that grabs your attention and renders you unable to do anything other than listen then I cannot recommend this album enough."
-Ben Daubney, Teatunes.wordpress.com, UK
"Anyway, enough of the influences and similar artists - they aren't worth a damn if the songs aren't good. That's not a worry here, as you'll find out right away on the bouncy opening title track with its bright melodies and classic 60s-pop horn section. "Odelia" is another highlight, channeling those early Bee Gees records before they went disco, while "Still Waiting" has me looking for Jimmy Webb in the songwriting credits. And he saves the best for the second half of the disc: "She Changes You" might be the best track on the album, with Ramsey in fine voice and a string section that manages to be very prominent yet not overbearing, and the piano-based "My Lost Days" is where the Bacharach comparisons come in. If this kind of pop is up your alley, this will be a major find."
"Sophomore effort from PA kid whose emulation of Brian Wilson turned left at indie pop and got lost... For fans of Morrissey after The Smiths."
-Philadelphia Weekly
"It's all here: strings, horns, Ramsey’s smooth voice and some truly marvelous songwriting. From the killer, opening title track all the way through 'Oh Annemarie' not a stinker in the bunch. Can’t believe this guy is so unknown. Let’s hope that changes soon."
-www.daggerzine.com (Portland, OR)
*******
Good Morning and Good Night is Charles Ramsey’s second full-length album. Recorded in Philadelphia and State College, PA, the album’s ten songs feature Charles Ramsey (vocals, guitar, piano) along with sixteen other instrumentalists. To celebrate the album’s release on May 21st, 2009, Ramsey hosted a benefit show at Tritone in Philadelphia. The show brought in an over-capacity crowd and raised over $600 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Since the release of his first album, Something New, in 2005, Ramsey has been performing regularly in Philadelphia and New York. He has played at such venues as Tritone, M Room, Grape Street, and World Café Live in Philadelphia, as well as Pianos, Sullivan Hall, Kenny’s Castaways, Sidewalk Café, Southern Hospitality, Bar Matchless, Royal Oak, Lucky Cat, and Laila Lounge in New York City.
Ramsey has been featured four times at Jezebel Music’s “Resonance” Songwriter Showcase, a Brooklyn-based event that has played host to some of New York’s top singer-songwriters. In March of 2009, JezebelMusic.com described Ramsey as “one of the finest songsters to perform at Resonance to date.”
Ramsey has opened for such acts as Sean Lennon, Kamila Thompson, and Illinois, and, as a trombone player, performed with the Bullet Parade (State College, PA) and the Spinto Band (Wilmington, DE).
Raised in Flourtown, PA, Ramsey attended St. Joseph’s Prep in North Philadelphia, and Penn State University. He currently lives in Philadelphia.
For more information, visit http://www.charlesramseymusic.com and www.sonicbids.com/charlesramsey
*******
About "Something New" - Charles Ramsey's debut album (released April, 2005)
"Incredibly likeable...with songs such as 'Up and Down' and 'One in a Crowd' immediately finding a niche deep inside your brain."
-Brian J. Stokes, Centre Daily Times (Central PA)
"Truly remarkable...If 'So Much Better Off' doesn't get your foot tapping, then you probably don't have a foot."
-Jason Mulgrew, www.jasonmulgrew.com (NYC)
"Similar to The Cars, The Smiths, and The Cure, Charles proves that there is indeed such an animal as quality pop music."
-Dan D'Ippolito, Jezebel Music (Brooklyn, NY)
*******
About the "So Much Better Off" EP-single (released December 12, 2006)
“If ‘So Much Better Off’ has a flaw, it is definitely one of brevity. With only four songs, the EP paints two distinct sides of Ramsey -- that of incredible pop troubadour and another of acoustic bard who is down on his luck. It's a tempting sound of things to come, and Ramsey pulls off both with ease. Though when in the guise of Liberace on valium, he brings us the pop magic that's hard to forget.”
-Dennis Fallon, Centre Daily Times, WEEKENDER (Central PA)
*******
Tracklisting
1.) So Much Better Off
2.) In a Million Years
3.) Something New (Acoustic)
4.) One in a Crowd (Acoustic)
"So Much Better Off" is taken from Charles Ramsey's 2005 debut album, Something New. "In a Million Years" was recorded in April of 2006 and is previously unreleased. The recording features Charles Ramsey on vocals, piano, and celesta, Vince Fiore on drums, Dave Biser on bass and flute, Derek McDonald on flugel horn, as well as the Penn State Graduate String Quartet. The final two tracks are acoustic renditions of songs from Something New. They were recorded in Philadelphia on September 29, 2006 and feature Charles Ramsey on vocals, guitar, and harmonica.
*******
Charles Ramsey performs solo and with a band.
Something New and Good Morning and Good Night can be purchased online at www.charlesramseymusic.com.
Something New and Good Morning and Good Night are also available on iTunes.
I'd love to get together. I'll be in town around Christmas. I'll drop you a holler then. If you decide to play in Chicago, I can procure a backup band for you. Cheers.
Hey Charles- If you're around, my band will be in town from Chicago to play at the Northstar on Monday night. Drop by for some drinks if you can.
Hope all is well. Sorry I'm missing your tritone show. we played there 2 years ago and my friend steve's band, the Absolute Zeros, run an open mic there. it's a cool place. Break a leg. tell everybody I said hello!
Hey Chuck, just dropping by to listen and say hello! : ) Your music sounds really great, I'm looking forward to hearing the new album. And I hope we get to play together soon! Stay in touch, see you soon ; )
What?!? Now that I've left Northeast Jersey to be back at school in Baltimore, I hear you're going to perform in NYC! Not fair, I tell you! Anyway, can't wait for the new album. :)
Hey, will you be doing that open mic night thing again at the WCL tomorrow night? I am 90% sure I will be there, but for how long I don't know. I liked your music the last time...well only time...I saw you. =]