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Paul Carrack should now be considered a national treasure.
The 58 year-old has been part of the British pop scene since the mid-70s with soul one-hit-wonders Ace. Who can forget their smash hit How Long?, one of my all-time favourites as it happens. Even now, it hits the right spot.
Yorkshireman Carrack has also been an integral part of two successful outfits – Squeeze and supergroup Mike And The Mechanics.
On this night – February 20 2009 – at Alban Arena in St.Albans, he turns on the style once again with two sets, the first around 36 minutes and the second about an hour and a quarter, both littered with quality songs.
When you go to a PC gig you don’t expect OTT lights and flashy stage dressing – you magnificent music, with a brilliant voice that’s graced our airwaves for over 30 years and in the region of 30 albums, 14 of them solo albums, sounding as great as it ever was as he nears 60.
As we all know from his material, he writes beautifully intimate songs, - some of then anthemic too - the choice of this venue was perfect.
Cross-checking the setlist with his last live DVD,
At The Opera House,
in 2004, there’s seven songs from that show – Satisfy My Soul, Eyes Of Blue, How Long, Another Cup Of Coffee, Silent Running, The Living Years and Over My Shoulder, included here. He admits there are always certain songs he does on every tour, usually the biggies that people are familiar with, which are unavoidable when you consider his vast repertoire.
Carrack is a rare breed, a truly accomplished songwriter with one of the greatest soul voices ever, and if proof was ever needed, then just check out his set-closer, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s seminal hit What’s Going On.
Before that were treated to a masterclass in live singing with his silky smooth vocals gliding magnificently across some of the most memorable songs of our generation, such as his gorgeous singles Eyes Of Blue and Satisfy My Soul through to a cover of Crowded House’s global smash Don’t Dream It’s Over.
From the album, I Know That Name from 2008, which unbelievably didn’t even chart in the UK, while the singles Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City and No Doubt About It garnered plenty of airplay, again with little commercial success, they still sound great in terms of the live concert.
Twelve of the album’s songs get an airing, except Marmalade Moon. Of them, Love Will Keep Us Alive featuring songbird Lindsay Dracas is arguably the best, but the solo material, as good as it is, doesn’t match-up to the hits like How Long? and the mini Mike And The Mechanics session – Another Cup Of Coffee, Silent Running and The Living Years - along with Squeeze’s brilliant Tempted that make this a very special gig.
To supplement the DVD, there’s a seven track CD from the same show.
The verdict – Everybody should have one.
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DVD: 
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
