- The Coal Porters: Land
Of Hope And Crosby
- (Prima Records, SID002)
- This long awaited release would have had a
difficult job in proving itself a disappointment.
Most of these songs have been around for at least
a year if not 2 or 3, so are already familiar and
popular with fans. That said, hearing tracks in
the comfort of your own home away from the
atmosphere, sweat, smoke and alcohol of a gig can
sometimes be unrewarding to say the least.
-
- A quick look at the credits shows that the album
had four producers, 30 individual musical
contributions (including six drummers!) and was
recorded in two countries several thousand miles
apart over "a lengthy period". Clearly
Sid's not going to get considered for the next
England soccer manager's job with that sort of
player utilisation. But what effect does this
have on the album as a whole? Certainly there are
different musical styles and the production does
vary, and some tracks would probably be more at
home on Rebels Without Applause, but what the
album does show is that Sid's songwriting is far
more flexible and varied than in his Long Ryders
days, and the styles on offer indicate that he
could probably write in any way if he had the
inclination.
-
- Opening the album is opening Imperial Beach, a
song not played live until the recent Birmingham
gig, yet considerably older judging by the
line-up on the recording. This track bugged me
for days because it reminded me of another song -
imagine my shock when I realised the other song
was by Culture Club!! Benefitting from some great
horn work it's a real grower and will hopefully
appear more often in the live set in future. With
its' Byrds-like intro, Death Like A Valentine was
always going to be a strong track on the album,
featuring the great line, "With the world on
my back, I'm a regular porcupine". If the
band were into releasing singles this would be a
strong contender. Former Green On Red man Chris
Cacavas contributes to the song and to the next
track She Loved Me - THE rock/pop song of the
year for sure. With its' singalong lines and
superb piano solo, one of the best things Sid has
ever penned. Play it, sing it, love it!!
-
- What Am I Doin' (In This Thing Called Love)
featuring Greg Sowders on drums (what else?!) is
a tight and powerful version of the live
favourite, whilst How Did We Get This Far? is the
gentlest track on the album. Similar in tempo to
The Light That Shines Within it features Sid's
vocals over simple guitars. More likely to be
played at one of Sid's solo shows than with the
full band, it is nevertheless further proof of
his wide range of song-writing skills.
-
- You Can See Them There is another quieter track
rarely played live by the whole band, but it's a
really lovely song with a real message, helped by
some great backing vocals, slide guitar from
Wiggy along with oboe and mandolin contributions.
Windy City finally gets committed to, er what
ever CDs are made of, and we're at last able to
hear it in all its' glory, complete with aircraft
noise a la Lear Jet Song from Fifth Dimension.
Likewise Playing Dumb #1 (hinting at another
version in the vaults somewhere?) grows with
every hearing and has some great backing vocals
from Pat and John.
-
- Though already available on Whoah, Big Fella the
appearance of Everybody's Fault But Mine is a
bonus with Mr Sowders on drums again and
brilliant harmonies from Billy Bremner and Andy
Steele. What About Tomorrow benefits from added
horns to recreate the sound of the well-aired
live rendition. All The Colors Of The World
sounds like something from the 60s and also gets
Pat his first writing credit. Whilst Sid once
sang "From Tupelo to Natchez" this
lyric includes "From Lands End back to
Harlow" - a far cry from the American
tradition of Native Sons and State Of Our Union.
Only the shortness of this track gives any cause
for complaint. And that's it...or so we think.
But after a half minute gap we get a blast of
We're The Pipsqueaks by, presumably The
Pipsqueaks. This sounds like an out-take from The
Commitments and brings the album to rather an
anti-climactic end and may have faired better
mid-album like the infamous answerphone message
on Rebels Without Applause.
-
- On reflection I was surprised at just how unlike
The Long Ryders this all sounded, something which
had never occurred to me before. Perhaps Sid
feels less restricted now that he no longer has
to compete to get his songs on an album as he did
with The Long Ryders. If so this freedom allows
him to diversify and write more varied material;
a versatility which means that we get albums like
Land Of Hope And Crosby, with great lyrics and
music, which can be rep roduced live, none of
which sounds stale or repetitive. Worth waiting
for.
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