sharp, witty and intelligent.
sharp, witty and intelligent.
This is an absolute belter. You may feel like laughing, you may feel like crying. You may want to run out into the street and hug a passer by. You may want to make love to somebody you’ve always fancied, or someone you’ve never known, or even your present partner if you’re not that daring. You may want to sing along with the words. You may want to grab your girlfriend or boyfriend and waltz around the living room. You may not. You may want to stir fry some chicken whilst this is playing in the kitchen or you may just want to have something nice to listen to whilst you may a couple of slices of toast and a nice cup of tea. You may want to lie down in bed after a stressful day’s filing and want to hear something that can take you to another place, somewhere happier. You may want to come home from work, crack open a crate of beer and get absolutely shitfaced. You may want to sit at the table and draw pictures of goats or you may want to bash pots and pans and pretend you’re Keith Moon. You may feel like having a glass of wine, or a bottle of pop, or a wrap of coke. You may want to water the garden, you may want to roll a joint. You may want to roast a chicken or call a long lost friend on the phone. You may want to do lots of things, obviously, but whatever you want to do, you’ll want to do it to this album. If there was ever an album that’s ‘got something for everyone’, then it’s this one.
Absolutely delightful from start to finish, Jacket Full Of Danger is sharp, witty and intelligent whilst also being loose, relaxed and laid back. Adam’s lyrics aren’t quite as bonkers as usual, but don’t worry because the wit and humour are still there in abundance. Musically, this is his most impressive yet, stretching the arrangements into all kinds of patterns and genres. His back up band are truly inspiring, ably tackling any type of rhythm, tempo or musical style Adam cares to throw at them. On top of all that, this is the best Adam’s voice has ever sounded, full, deep and very expressive, although I’m not entirely sure if you’ll be ready for Adam’s transformation into the fat bloated Jim Morrison on White Women quite yet, or what sounds like a Satanic Mass going on in the background of C-Birds either, but you’ll quickly get used to it.
Cast A Shadow is as wonderfully poppy as anything he’s done previous, as is Pay the Toll. Nat King Cole is outstanding. Drugs is wonderfully offbeat and non PC and the ode to hairy nipples that is Hairy Women is they type of song that made us all fall in love with him in the first place.
In the end, this is probably his best album yet. It may not contain as many catchy numbers as Gemstones and Friends Of Mine, but it’s easily the most impressive musically. Even White Women, which is what Kashmir would have sounded like if Jim Morrison had have fronted Led Zeppelin, is marvelous. There’s nobody else out there making music like this. You owe it to yourself to buy this album. It’ll make your life better.
Words : Damian Leslie