With Thunder on hiatus what could be better than a solo album from the man behind the songs – guitarist and songwriter Luke Morley? If you are expecting a Thunder-lite release or something akin to his work in Bowes and Morley or even The Union then prepare yourself for something completely different. Camberwell’s favourite son has instead taken a ticket to somewhere a little further away and boarded a plane (or several planes) rather than the tube.
If you’ve watched Luke’s latest single and video ‘Watch The Sun Go Down’ you’ll get the gist – this is music with a more organic feel, stripped down and left open to the air. Loosely ,I suppose, you could term it ‘Americana’ but there’s more to it than that, with a glint of barroom sing along under the clear Blues skies it injects more than a little Englishness into that genre.
‘Songs from The Blue Room’ is a wonderful album whichever way you slice it, the songs are just as compelling and memorable as his work with Thunder but the difference here is that the treatment is completely different. I’m always reminded of the wise words of Steve Marriott when I hear something like this – “A great song is a great song, if you can touch someone with a voice and a guitar it doesn’t matter how you dress it up.” As you might imagine this platter is impeccably produced, caringly crafted and remarkably addictive.
As Luke says himself: “I think that people have expectations of Thunder and see Thunder as being very much a rock band or hard rock band, call it what you will, so the joy of being able to make a solo album is that I can go anywhere I want musically. I don’t think people don’t have any preconceptions about how it’s gonna be and if they do it’s not something that I would worry about because I think the whole point is to make a record that’s not like a Thunder record! This for me is about doing something different and maybe getting a few of those things out of my system that might not be appropriate for Thunder.”
We open with ‘I Wanna See The Light’ the perfect opening song that strikes out for new places yet retains some vestiges of Thunder, retaining and electric guitar but already heading West with sweet, swelling background vocals that fall between The Faces and Muscle Shoals. It’s a great upbeat song that explores
There’s less darkness to ‘Killed By Cobain’ than you might think, it’s a song with a narrative about Thunder (and many of their ilk) being blown away in the U.S. by Nirvana (Thunder were unlucky enough to be on Geffen in the U.S. when their debut wa released all promo funds were shoveled into the Nirvana machine) there’s a certain Travelling Willbur’s sound to the rather jaunty ditty, and a 70’s Kink’- like progressive breakdown that adds a little magic.
‘Errol Flynn’ has a little Alex Harvey in there, even if it rides a rather traditional Country Blues construction. There’s a nice simplicity and simple message that all things pass eventually. ‘Damage’ too, for me, has a real freedom about it like all those wonderful 70’s artists from Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel to the Kinks and all those that followed.
‘Nobody Cares’ like “Errol Flynn’ is another track Luke has had for a while knowing it wasn’t a fit for Thunder. It starts off strummed and vaguely Spanish sounding, building slower than Tom Jones immortal ‘Delilah’ but sharing a little of the same DNA. It’s part of the joy and variety of this record that he can take a song like this, that you imagine Gypsy Bordello running riot with and creating something altogether new. It’s a real stand alone for me and a real highlight.
My favourite though just might be the latest single ‘Watch The Sun Go Down’ which does inject a heady mix of English Barroom Blues into an Americana terrain vid the Travelling Willburys, like all the best songs it’s the blending of ingredients that makes it more than the sum of the individual ingredients. A real highlight for me.
‘Cry Like Rain’ brings it all together, nicely melding the swelling keys and stum of guitar with a retro early 80’s singer songwriter feel. Then there’s the Celtic-tinged acoustic Americana-styled picking and melodies of the fierily romantic ‘Lying To Myself’. It’s beautiful stuff, and the laid back Bluesy Rock of ‘I’m The One You Want’ adds even more weight t this wonderful record. In truth it’s as close as we get to a Thunder song and with a chorus like that it deserves to be played all summer long!
Final cut ‘Don’t Be Long’ is a short, sweet piano ballad that is part Beatles, part Badfinger, and kind of reminds me of Donnie Vie another of my favourite song-writers. It’s all class. The perfect closer.
Luke Morley take a bow. This is a record that you can just lose yourself in and enjoy.
9 / 10
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