Uplifting, cleverly chosen and beautifully performed, the great Coventry band return with an album of timeless covers from folk to blues and ska, recorded during lockdown and perfectly reflecting the urgency of the times without being dogmatic. The upbeat Staples Singers’ Freedom Highway and an intimate folky version of The Wailers’ Get Up, Stand Up bookend the album, the latter sung by Lynval Golding, but there are many fine numbers here traversing genres. Terry Hall’s voice is clear and strong, with a ghostly version of Leonard Cohen’s Everybody Knows, but perhaps the standout is Frank Zappa’s pointed Trouble Every Day. But there are no weak links here, and among others worth picking out are Hannah Hu singing a refreshing version of Talking Heads’ Listening Wind, the traditional handclap impassioned spiritual of 1924 Ain’t Gonna Let Segregation Turn Us Around, Malvina Reynolds’ I Live In A City, and Jerry McCain’s My Next Door Neighbour, and Rod McKuen’s 1963 anti-war number ‘Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes. A successful covers album must give new life songs familiar and reinvigorate the lesser known, and this release does so with great vitality. Out on Universal.
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