While this is on my turntable, I’m experiencing a significant haemorrhaging of man/cool/indie points. In mitigation, I did buy it for my better half, and I’m just checking it so I can leave feedback for the seller on Discogs, honest!
What we have here is an album filled with songs that you used to hear at the end of the night in a club (the erection section) or sound like they should be part of a Rocky training montage/the soundtrack to a million-dollar Pepsi advert.
There is no getting around the fact that he has an incredible set of pipes on him, though; for proof, listen to ‘Georgia On My Mind’ the finale of that track is incredible. What’s more incredible is that the voice comes from a 6-foot Cockapoo.
All the hits you had forgotten are here: the title track, ‘How Can We Be Lovers’ (don’t tell anyone, but I like that song even with the Kenny G sax solo), the aforementioned ‘Georgia On My Mind’ and ‘When I’m Back On My Feet Again’.
But I guess the biggest song from this album is ‘How Am I Supposed To Live Without You’. I used to detest this song with every fibre of my being, but now, after all the years that have passed, I just hate it. Progress.
It was also interesting to hear album tracks for the first time, songs like ‘You Wouldn’t Know Love’ and the excellent ‘It’s Only My Heart’ (featuring Richard Marx on backing vocals, fact fans).
Bolton has an incredible voice, and this is a super slick 80s soul record. The singles are good (except for that one), and despite my snarky remarks, I’ve enjoyed listening to it.
If you fancy a copy, there are tons on eBay and Discogs at reasonable prices, so that you can be picky. This near-mint copy was delivered for £11, but I could have gotten it for less.
Tracks To Try: ‘Soul Provider’, ‘Georgia On My Mind’, ‘It’s Only My Heart’, ‘How Can We Be Lovers’, ‘You Wouldn’t Know Love’, ‘When I’m Back On My Feet Again’.
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