Search - Mike D'Abo :: Handbags & Gladrags

DÁbo at his Most Commercial!

Morten Vindberg | Denmark | 10/26/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Handbags and Gladrags" is the title of one Mike DÁbo's best loved and often covered songs. The song also gives title to this compilation of songs from d`Abo's two President albums released in 1987 and 1988.



These albums were d`Abo try for a come-back as a recording artist - 10 years had passed since his previous album "Smith and d`Abo". d`Abo always had a great skill of writing catchy commercial pop-tunes, and this compilation probably shows him at his most main-stream.



He has fine voice that at times could be mistaken for Phil Collins or Cat Stevens.



The earliest of his President always was "Indestructable" which had few good and memorable songs like "Revival" and "Ships" but most of more or less forgettable.



1988's "Tomorrow's Troubadour" was more or less the same recipe, only slightly stronger. His re-recording of "Handbags and Gladrags" and the title track stand out, but also his revival of two Manfred Mann hits "Just Like a Woman" and "Mighty Quinn" are quite good, though they don't really add anything new to the originals. The Carribean inspired "Isle of Debris" also is quite appealing.



Compared to his early albums such as "Down At Rachels' Place" these album are bound to disappoint a little, on the other hand fans of DÁbo's voice and songwriting, like myself, will still find several moments of enjoyment and pleasure with this compilation."