3/5
Review:
Easy on the ear - but what's the point?
I'm sorry to say this of a man whose work has given me so much pleasure over the years, but I really don't think much of this album. There's nothing actively wrong with it, but it never grabs the attention and doesn't add up to much in the end.
Dave Edmunds has taken some classic tracks, more or less recreated the original backing but in a much less convincing way and then played the vocal part on his guitar. He does it very well. Of course he does - he's a damn good guitarist. But really, why has he bothered? The result is just a bit dull and unconvincing, rather like when some of those popular operatic singers have recorded a few pop songs "in their own inimitable style," the style in question being pretty bland and draining most of the character out of the song. I know it sounds implausible when said of Dave Edmunds, but it really does sound like that to me. The effect of the whole album was to make me want to go back to the original, brilliant tracks rather that play what I'd just heard again. Even the rags, which are picked with genuine skill, somehow feel a bit By Numbers, with little of that old Dave Edmunds' joyous "cop this, then!" feel about them.
So - only a very lukewarm recommendation from me, I'm afraid. I'm off to listen to Get It, Repeat When Necessary, Seconds Of Pleasure and a few other favourites which have made me love the man for decades now. That should bring a smile back to my face, and I think I'll just quietly file this away and hope for something better next time.
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