The opening song, 'Little Piece Of Magic' is a five minute mini-epic, and shows Naylor at his best. There is a good sense of dynamics, strange lyrics and interesting instrumental passages that appear where you wouldn't expect them. There are many pleasant instrumental passages, particularly the acoustic guitars and keyboards (Marvin plays everything) resulting in some delicate soft pop, such as 'Alice And Marianne' and the folky 'Portrait Of A Woman' which reminds me, instrumentally and vocally of the young Cat Stevens - Shindig review by Phil Suggit ........................... There is a beautiful talent, and that shines persistently throughout the album. The opening track is filled with some serene guitar playing, with beautiful sweeping elements and gentle intelligent strumming that captures the listener beautifully. The accompanying instrumentals add to the piece as well to create a stunning atmosphere. Overall it is hypnotically well composed and brilliantly well produced. Review Subsity Radio................................ "Marvin B. Naylor is not an artist of this time. He's not Stones/Oasis/Libertines rehash either, rather his musical references find him sounding like he's from the 1950s and the 1200s, the orchestral soundtrack to a Disney animation and a Super Furry Animals support act. What holds it all together though is the underpining of radio-friendly proggy folk, drawing from Syd Barrett often and Brian Wilson less so. "Little Piece Of Magic" is overrun with quirky characters and places, Naylor's voice switching between a quaver, a warble and a baritone. There's plenty of Scott Walker style sumptuous richness, too, that has been revitalised by The Last Shadow Puppets, Richard Hawley and Bernard Butler's work on Duffy's album. And, like all of the artists mentioned thus far, Naylor's music is light and dark. Dulcibella Play! and the rustic drone of Little Creatures posses a certain childishness, but Out Of My Mind, with its Middle Ages melodies for the middle aged, is a baleful love song... While there are some genuine odd moments on The Last Flight Of Billy Balloon, Naylor's vocal range impresses and the production surprises even more so. White Lady and Portrait Of A Woman are born of the folkier side of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, not the wild and mad young men that excited people initially. That's not to say that The Last Flight is completely stable, mind. It's a quaint and singular ride." Die, Shellsuit, Die! by Stephen Eddie................................."Dulcibella Play! has tons of personality. The 12 string guitar is picked, creating a counterpoint to Marvins' vocal. Strings and slide guitar are mixed in to add flavour and there's even a banjo section. At its peak, this song feels like The Beatles, circa 'Day In The Life'." - The Mag review ................................... "I've been on a bit of a journey with this particular album...it was only on play nine that the album really fell into place for me, so much so that I now really like this album. It's got a real warmth and gentleness to it, at times folky at others it has a lo-fi pop feel to it which I know sort of contradicts itself a little as a description, but you'd have to listen to get what I mean" - The Beat Surrender review ..............................
" ... the guy's a whiz at acoustic guitar. Most of the production work was done on a 12-string guitar with Mr. Naylor playing other instruments (cello, violin, banjo) as required...As I'm a little quirky and offbeat even on a good day, I was inclined to like this release as soon as I saw the title. My first impression on listening to the music was that "Balloon" was one of those concept albums so popular in the late 60's and 70's when being just good ol' rock and roll wasn't enough. There is a quintessential British feel to this release; at the risk of putting words into the mouth of Mr. Naylor, this feels like a throwback to those experimental times. The songs give an impression of what you'd get from Monty Python if those guys had worked harder at their lyrics…and their melodies…and their singing. At the same time, I felt as though I was listening to Pink Floyd's stuff because I didn't always know where the songs were going, but the trip was enjoyable. There's a taste of the old time folk rock and a little psychedelia. This is one of those CDs where, every time you listen, you hear something that wasn't there before. There's kind of an ethereal feel to the music, befitting the lightness of the title. As I've indicated, Mr. Naylor is a superior sort of guitarist and he creates an interesting audioscape with his instrument and his voice. His voice is a very flexible instrument and he does a good job of emoting through a combination of tone and phrasing - BullFrogMusic.com, Jeremiah Sutherland
Alex here, as you may or may not know we've changed our name to WinterHours. Have a listen to one of the tracks we've got up on the page. be great to know what you think
I love your songs, you have a really original sounds. The lyrics are fantastic as well. Do you do many gigs at the moment?
I work for Fuzzy Bear Music and Marketing Service We run a recording studio in Fareham, and we offer audio recording, music videos, promo photos and web design. We're always updating our page with the things we've been up to, so come and have a look!
Thanks for reading. Stay in touch and let us know what you get up to.
Miss Louise Le May requests the delightful company of Mr Marvin B Naylor in Status and Mood at 9pm where she will be receiving guests in honour of the great Mr Curve Ball. Formal dress code: men in hats, ladies in 80s meringue dresses. Strictly no llamas. X
Hi Marvin, just saying hi really, thanks for your words of encouragement, I will be emailing you soon for a chat. I hope you are well, I often hum Little Speck. I'll speak to you soon, lots of love Louise XXX
Good, here you are in Friends and I am glad. I hope you got the MP3 okay but if it hasn't worked, I'll send you a CD. I will put other songs on it too, just to make it worthwhile. Maybe one day I'll sell CDs. XXX
