Song, by Toad

I’ve written about Donny Hue, both with and without the Colors, on several occasions now and put his last two albums (one with, one without) in my best of the year lists for the last two years running, and yet I don’t get the feeling that they are as much of a favourite with the Toad readership as they are with me myself.  This is a shame because Mr. Hue has now released three superb albums in consecutive years and that level of consistency is beyond the vast, vast majority of bands and puts him at a pretty bloody high level as far as I am concerned.

A bit like the previous Colors album, this is slightly less consistent than the solo record which the two sandwich, but it is still a cracking album.  It’s also put together really well – sequenced in such a way that it flows, and with the right combination of interludes and instrumentals, sad songs and happy ones to make it work extremely well as a single, whole piece of work.  I like it when this happens – it’s good when songs work together to make a larger entity, and it shows that an artist is putting a lot of thought into the broader aspects of what they are doing, rather than the simple ‘well, I wrote some songs’.

The band have a knack for the a gentle, roll-along version of Subterranean Homesick Blues-era Dylan.  It’s a similar sound, but mellowed somewhat.  The piano ambles along, chiming like a player piano, there’s a shuffling beat to the acoustic guitar and a skip-stomp rhythm to the drums.  This Dylan comparison vanishes when they slow right down, such as the gorgeous Lady Tomcat and the Turning Trees, which is a bit more distant and disquieting and very, very lovely.

As with Folkmote there are songs which don’t grab me as much as others, but on the whole this is yet another really enjoyable record.

Donny Hue & the Colors – You’re On Your Own (We Could Help)

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Donny Hue & the Colors – Lady Tomcat & the Turning Trees

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