Homeland: ye olde isle of England
Album: Bring It Back (2002)
Source: Kirk, who played some samples for me on his last shopping quest into San Francisco (see his own foray into music here)
Sounds Like: upbeat Motown mixed with 70's funk and some sizzlin' hooks . . . I'm imagining Earth, Wind, & Fire discovering a wah pedal and some pop sensibility
More More More: official site, myspace, amazon, iTunes
Listen Now:
This creatively-named duo was comprised of soul singer David McAlmont and rock guitarist Bernard Butler. McAlmont, a successful vocalist in his own right on the other side of the ocean, apparently has a three and a half octave range, which is impressive considering that's a full octave more than the typical keytar. Butler was the guitarist for the britpop band Suede in the early 90's until leaving midway through recording their second album. Additionally, he served as the guitarist for The Verve . . . . but only for one week. Bring It Back was actually the second collaboration between the pair, with the first one (The Sound of McAlmont and Butler) having been released in 1996. They parted ways in a non-harmonious fashion before the first record was even released, but hugged it out in 2002 to bring aural pleasure back to the masses. I fully expect Kirk to chime in with additional particulars on all of this in the comments section.
As for the sound . . . well, I keep coming back to a blend of Incubus' "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)" with vocals being provided by John Legend; give a listen to the title track, "Bring It Back," and tell me if I'm wrong. The album moves from soulful to funky back to soulful, with Butler keeping the guitar-hook addict interested all the way. Supple strings and some choral layers make this more than just some barren duet and will have you singing out "Bring it back, McAlmont & Butler; bring it right back!" Just don't yell that out instead of your girlfriend's name at some inopportune time, if you catch my drift.
The video for the title track is below. Their myspace page has a few songs you can stream, but don't expect web updates anytime soon (considering their official page has a contest that ends on January 10, 2003).
Have a solid weekend; I'm taking a Chinese test then heading to Tahoe for some snowboarding.
4 comments:
That Bring It Back is such a compelling album is all the more amazing when you take into consideration that it was basically a last ditch effort for both artists to save themselves from complete irrelevance after releasing some truly mediocre solo material.
I recommend checking out Bernard Butler attempting to do his own vocals if you're in the mood for a laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQUVyYiJKU
Wow, he really does sound like a crappy Bon Jovi in that solo gig! I'm glad he's sticking to guitar and Mr. 3.5 Octaves is handling the vocals in the duo . . .
There song Falling is pretty sweet. Thanks for keeping me in the music loop :)
He's going a little too crazy with that tambourine, but that's ok because they seem to be having a lot of fun. I'll let him keep the tambourine.
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