black

iPod shuffling can come up with all sorts of almost forgotten songs. Today I heard "Ravel In The Rain" from the first album by Black.

Black was a vehicle for singer / songwriter Colin Vearncombe who possesses a fabulous voice. At times he sounds like 60s Scott Walker, especially on the louder numbers, at others he's more like Paul Buchanan from The Blue Nile in that he effortlessly conveys emotion and passion in his occasionally tremulous voice. It really is a superb instrument.

Most people only remember "Wonderful Life", which although a fine song has probably become a bit of a millstone for him (although I'm sure the royalties are welcome). Sadly, many of the songs on his first two albums - Wonderful Life (1987), and Comedy (1988) are seriously hampered by some terribly cheap production. Although history hasn't been kind to 1980s production techniques I can remember thinking at the time that these albums contained some very cool songs buried under the tinny drum machines and horridly trebly and shrill keyboards. Comedy must have had a slightly bigger budget as a real drummer was employed, but most of these songs could have done with a real string section instead of a cheap keyboard version, and many could have been improved if a small jazz band had been pressed into service. I can't help thinking that the sort of sound achieved by Mark Ronson on the Amy Winehouse albums would have been ideal here, but no - it's weedy digital keyboards pretending to be a full band instead.

So it's to the songs' real credit that that they sound so good in spite of the truly terrible production. And frequently it's the most understated songs which really shine - "Ravel In The Rain" has a lovely loping piano, a jazzy rimshot drum sound and a delightfully sad melody. But, easily the best, is "The Sweetest Smile" with it's wonderfully self pitying lyrics - "so I sit on the floor / with my head in my hands". This track isn't overdone and conjures up smoky late night bars full of sad and lonely people who've all been unlucky in love. The gentle backing vocals and the soft shuffling rhythm are perfect, but the icing on the cake is yet another bit of proof to my theory that almost any sad song can be improved enormously with the addition of an oboe or soprano sax. Here the mournful sax recalls the best of Andy Mackay's quality contributions to many Roxy Music songs and it transforms "The Sweetest Smile" into one of the best songs of the 1980s.

I lost touch with Vearncombe after Comedy, but I've heard that he's still going strong and continues to create excellent music. Might have to check it out...