For sure JIMMY SOMERVILLE’s voice is an acquired taste but there is no denying his unique place in British pop and his significant input in finding uncompromised acceptance for openly gay artists in mainstream pop as part of Bronski Beat, The Communards and in his own right as a solo artist. It’s frightening to the think that it’s been 21 years since the release of the classic ‘Smalltown Boy’, with its ‘stranger in my own town’ lyrics that resonate beyond gender in the same way as The Beatles’ ‘She’s Leaving Home’.
It’s also been 5 years since Jimmy’s last solo album and he’s now signed to a new record label. Unlike his contemporaries Erasure who have also returned with a new album that felt stilted and rehashed, Jimmy has openly embraced dance culture and filtered it into his songs. As a result ‘Home Again’ has a freshness about it that, whilst not ground breaking or original in any shape or form, sits comfortably with his own form of expression. A number of collaborators from the dance music world have worked with Jimmy to fashion this album and on the whole their contribution has paid off, creating solid if unexceptional rhythms with a pan-European vibe to underline or counterpoint Jimmy’s lyrics and melodies. This is still pop music through and through and is no more or less worthy of your attention as say the latest release by Kylie.
If there is one failing it is a killer track that draws you into the album in the same way ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ would have done. The opener ‘Could This Be Love’ comes pretty close but is too overgrown in its House roots. ‘It’s So Good’ is another close contender but once again has too much soulful familiarity about it to really catch your breath, although in its favour the euphoria feels real rather than contrived. The cover version of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ is too obvious to register beyond familiarity and becomes insignificant when set against the sublime Lovers Rock of ‘I Will Always Be Around’ that immediately follows.
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The other cover version (Depeche Mode’s ‘But Not Tonight’) is more successful, aided by the unexpected drop in octaves of Jimmy’s voice in the verse. The title track reminds me of Jon and Vangelis with its Eastern tinged melody which is no bad thing while ‘What’s Your Game’ favours the light funk vigorously employed by George Michael. The gypsy violin of the atmospheric ballad ‘Selfish Days’ is a highlight and the song is a welcome break from the dance-floor beats. The downbeat mood carries over into the last track ‘Stay’ where detractors will no doubt cower at the helium powered vocals. There’s more George Michael laced funk on the hidden track.
No great shakes and one too many filler tracks but certainly no where near being an embarrassment or a waste of time. I do have one question though: were Jimmy Somerville and Paul Scholes separated at birth?
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