I've recently been listening to a lot of podcasts from Martyn Ware (Human League and Heaven 17), and he's mentioned Richard Hawley a few times, as have others whose opinion I respect.
I already know and like the title track, but have to confess that despite spending a portion of my student days in Sheffield, was blissfully unaware of Coles Corner as a noted meeting place.
So, on seeing this album very reasonably priced on EBay it seemed time to give it a listen, and see if Hawley is someone whom I should explore further.
Coles Corner is a beautifully evocative piece on Hawley's home city, and the optimism of a night out. It's absolutely lovely, and that alone is worth what I paid for the album. It's followed by Just Like The Rain, more upbeat and jaunty with a slight country feel, reminding me of later Nick Lowe. Hotel Room, has a doo-wop feel which doesn't really work for me, nor does Darlin' Wait For Me, to my ears a Country & Western dirge, while The Ocean completely passed me by on first listen, and hasn't made much impression subsequently. Born Under A Bad Sign delights mey ears a little more, with an opening phrase which brings to mind Divine Comedy's Everybody Know (But You) (and the Eastenders' theme), but it's a lovely song, and I Sleep Alone is an enjoyable rockabilly style song. Tonight is a very minimal ballad, just voice and guitar, quite pleasant, and it's followed by a couple more country dirges, before the ending, Last Orders, a lovely piano led ambient instrument.
Country & Western music really isn't my thing, and where the influence is strong, my ears simply can't appreciate it. So any review of this is more about my prejudices, rather than the quality of Hawley's work. But there's lots of very lovely stuff to be picked out of here, among the bit I find less pleasing
3* - anything with such a large C&W influence is always going to struggle to satisfy me, but there are many bits of beauty here.
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