Search - Andy Fairweather Low :: Sweet Soulful Music

Oh so sweet

Bazarov | Amsterdam, Holland | 12/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those who don't know this man (and far too few do): To really appreciate the wonder of this album, you should explore the 'Wide-Eyed and Legless' set first - three magnificent records from 74, 75, and 76, when AFL was pretty much the embodiment of a genre known as Pub Rock, his second incarnation as a singer after being a genuine pop idol with Amen Corner in the sixties. As Pub Rock's leading voice (or co-leader, if you were a Brinsley Schwarz fan), he churned out scores of catchy, rhythm-and-bluesy rock songs that were ideal for singing along with a pint of lager in your hand, but also gratifying if you wanted to sit back and enjoy the humorous, or pointed, or even moving, but always highly original lyrics.

And then his record deal with A&M ended, and things got quiet.

And then, thirty (!!) years later: Sweet Soulful Music. With that trademark gravelly voice, second only to Rod Stewart's in the seventies, now in a class of its own, matured beyond belief. With his strongest lyrics ever (there's a distinct religiosity to them now, but it's an honest, worldly-wise and deeply human faith that shouldn't put anybody off - nothing preachery, just a good man bearing his soul). With tunes that make you want to get up and grab your lady, real or imagined, for a snug little dance. With a band of veterans (Dave Bronze, Henry Spinetti, John 'Rabbit' Bundrick) who'll put any under-thirty virtuoso to shame. Music like a glass of thirty year old single malt. When Andy sings that life is good, you actually believe it.

God bless Andy Fairweather Low."