It's a CD that might be best enjoyed with a bucket of popcorn and box of Ju Ju beans.
That's probably the way Barry Adamson intends for it to be, too. Ever since his first solo album Moss Side Story almost two decades ago, Adamson has parlayed his enthusiasm for classic cinema into nearly every release since. His "soundtracks without movies" have even turned into work on creating actual movie scoring work, most notably from David Lynch. Add to that his affinity for fifties rock-n-roll, sixties soul, and seventies soul-jazz and the results are a music that both looks way back in time and transcends it.
Seven albums later, Adamson makes perhaps his most earnest effort at combining the nickelodeon music with his other passions with today's release of Back To The Cat.
It's an ambitious undertaking that successfully digests such a wide array of influences into a unique imprint. Through it all, Adamson reveals all these influences and more, while maintaining the same vibe; one that combines Ennio Morricone film noir — complete with the sleazy but sentimental outlook — with bright melodies, a lot of soul and a little orchestral jazz.
Somewhere in the mix, Nick Cave's dark influence from Adamson's prior gig as a founding member of the Bad Seeds lurks in the background.
Like a good screenplay, it's an album erupting with character.
You get that overall vibe of this album from the opening second what a single lonely low note emits from a piano and a heavily reverbed flute that slithers around. You can almost smell the smoke from the Lucky Strikes as the half-time cool beat pace the post-war thriller flick undercurrent of "The Beaten Side Of Town." Adamson's seamy, relaxed croon varies from a low seductive growl to full-on shouting as a jazz orchestra roars in and quickly back out again.
The next three selections make up the sweet spot of Cat. "Straight 'Til Sunrise" is a sunny slice of Motown that Holland-Dozier-Holland would have proud to write, with an added bonus of a gritty jazz organ solo.
"Spend A Little Time" is an updated take on Elvis Presley. It's almost as if Adamson replaces Led Zeppelin's early rock-n-roll tribute "Rock And Roll" and swapped Jimmy Page's guitar for horns and an organ. Yet, Adamson still manages to match Zep's swagger note for note.
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