First class versatility
Although
pop was the basis for his hitmaking Sixties
career, Dave Berry has always been a fervent
R'n'B enthusiast.
And
this new album - his first since "Hostage to
the Beat" in 1987 - allows him to indulge his
passion in magnificent fashion. The first has
him striding straight into a slick, assured
groove - and all 11 songs are delivered with
the panache of a committed aficionado with the
talent to match his
devotion.
Longevity
speaks for itself and the quality of the
distinctive Dave Berry voice tells its own
story, even when he's away from his more
familiar domain - reprising his stage theatrics
on the pop nostalgia
circuit.
Here
he is joined in his endeavours by a first-class
team of musicians whose readily apparent
versatility allows them to bring unflagging
creative support to a studio set encompassing a
variety of moods.
The
repertoire - which includes two compositions
apiece from J.J. Cale, John Hiatt and
Arthur'Big Boy' Crudup - covers rollicking
power blues and more laid-back materialal.
Berry's cohorts are the Junkyard Angels, and
his genuine affection for the genre is evident
throughout an album which is enhanced by a
thoroughly contemporary
feel.
One
real highlight is a rendition of Tony Joe
White's "Taking The Midnight Train which has a
poignant stately beauty - and is punctuated by
a guitar solo heartbreaking in its intensity.
The final track is a version of "My Baby Left
Me", harking back to one of the minor Berry
hits in 1964 which preceded his dramatic chart
emergence with "The Crying Game".