- Label
- Mercury
- Release date
- 19th October 2009
- Genre
- Pop
- Buy this album
- Order CD
Auteur leaves Library, meets Kanye, produces curio
It’s one of the stranger journeys of recent pop times. Formerly the amiable front man of so-so pop troupe Mr Hudson and the Library, singer-songwriter Ben Hudson has since been adopted by Kanye West, who, with typical understatement, declares him to be "one of the most important artists of his generation."
West has executive-produced this album, a strange beast indeed, which pits Hudson’s winsome, Sting-like literate pop against an arsenal of special effects, ubiquitous auto-tune and numerous abrupt and unexpected raps from West himself.
Does it work? Yes, surprisingly, partly through novelty value but largely because Hudson is an assured vocalist and a skilled lyricist, ebullient on No 2 single Supernova and lending pathos to break-up anthem Stiff Upper Lip ("Now I’m walking back to our place, which is soon to be your place").
Imagine The Police politely and awkwardly embracing hip-hop and you are pretty much there. Straight No Chaser is an oddity but worth embracing.
More to try:
Richard Hawley: Truelove’s Gutter
Scritti Politti: Songs To Remember
The Police: Regatta De Blanc
