STYLE: Roots/Acoustic RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 81521-15600 LABEL: Independent AMOSCD005 FORMAT: CD EP ITEMS: 1 RELEASE DATE: 2009-06-30 RRP: £7.99
Reviewed by Simon Eden
These six songs are powerful folk ballads telling the stories of the 'Broken Heart of Gaza' and the tragic loss of multiple lives. It contrasts this Hell on earth with an accusation as to why the world is strangely silent accompanied with a prayer for the Prince of Peace to bring healing. These are anti-war songs in the vein of 1960's Vietnam protests typical of Neil Young; an acoustic guitar and a mouth organ at home in a peace camp. This is Garth Hewitt's follow up to his song "They've Cancelled Christmas in Bethlehem (The Wall Must Fall)" which portrays Angels singing behind the wall where the Palestinians are contained. Welsh troubadour Martin Joseph contributes a heartbreaking track about the death of a family of five sisters killed in a moment by a rocket while Reem Kelani contributes an Arabic inspired track that can transport a listener to the melancholy of a Gazan funeral or a life in continual suffering that fuels the ongoing hate. As a charity record in aid of a Gazan hospital, this powerful EP deserves wide circulation.
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Product Description
An extended EP of songs for and about Bethlehem, in Garth’s acoustic-roots style. These songs, inspired by Garth’s travels and interviews with those living in this ‘little town’, together raise awareness and concern for what’s happening behind the wall. It follows the launch of Garth's book, Bethlehem Speaks: Voices From The Little Town Cry Out in August.
Following the huge interest in Garth’s song, They’ve Cancelled Christmas In Bethlehem (The Wall Must Fall) last year, this EP is a prayer for the people of Bethlehem who are suffering a devastating impact from the separation wall that now surrounds them. The song received an extraordinary 36,000 hits on internet video site YouTube.