I'm still looking through those CDs which never made the main shelves, and wondering what they did to justify their relegation upstairs. And finding very few 'miscarriages of justice'.
This, the 5th album from Ben and Tracey, has an unashamedly smooth jazz feel to it, which would be something joyful, as long as the songs are strong enough to carry this feel.
My thoughts are that the smooth jazz genre is never likely to sound unspeakably awful, and mostly listenable, but it's a genre where only the exceptional songs will stand out. And by halfway I'm feeling this very strongly. Opener Driving is, for me, up there with the best of EBTG, but there's a long lull of average, with only the darkness in Me And Bobby D making an impression. There's a brighter section in the middle with the excellent Imagining America, followed by Letting Love Go, which has an inviting melody, and nice sax break, as does My Baby Don't Love Me, while The Road is a gentle, strong finish, with Watt taking on the vocals.
It's not a bad album, with a few highs, and very few lows - but those highs aren't the rule here.
3* - a pleasant EBTG album, with a couple of lovelies, but a lot of just OKs.
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