Paul Heaton 'The Cross Eyed Rambler'

Ever wondered what would have happened if Paul Heaton had quit The Beautiful South in the mid-90s and joined Shed Seven?

Thought not. But anyone whose mind has wandered down this particular blind alley need wonder no longer. TracksandGigs has been a supporter of Paul Heaton/TBS even when it has been particularly uncool to be so (i.e most of the time). I believe Heaton to be a superb songwriter and an expert in the human condition. Too often his intelligence and wit is mistaken for irony, many honest and heart-felt sentiments expressed in his songs have been written off as him being clever or knowing.

Since leaving The Beautiful South, Heaton has recorded this album with some veteran Manchester musicians, with the focus on guitar, drums and vocals, meaning this is more Housemartins than Beautiful South. In fact it sounds nothing like Heaton's old band, as we alluded to at the start of this review, it is as if Heaton has joined some mid-90s Indie band. the tunes are upbeat and guitar based but ultimately unmemorable.

Heaton's songwriting remains very good. 'The Pub' is a typical wander down the memory lane of Paul's local, documenting departures of quiz nights and arrivals of karaoke. Elsewhere he focuses on 'issues', most successfully on 'Everything is Everything' where he works himself up into a convincing, irony free, rage at the modern world, with Web 2.0 a particular target "Your my-tube, your tube, their big mouth....Everything is Anything and owt is fucking owt". Its the best thing here by a distance and show how Heaton can grab a song by the throat and rip it apart when he wants to.

....When he wants to. Unfortunately there is filler here and quite a lot of it. Also, the music is bland and uninspiring....like The Beautiful South, but a different kind of bland. Heaton has a great novel in him and undoubtably a fantastic memoir. Maybe he should turn his focus that way if he cannot find musicians to do his songwriting justice.

6.4

['The Cross Eyed Rambler' is out now on W14. Don't bother with the limited edition with the extra tracks. They are bonus tracks for a reason]

*- TracksandGigs is now back from holiday. Beck review coming soon...