Imelda May – More Mayhem (2010)
Imelda May – More Mayhem (2010)
1 Pulling the Rug 2 Psycho 3 Mayhem play 4 Kentish Town Waltz 5 All for You 6 Eternity 7 Inside Out 8 Proud and Humble 9 Sneaky Freak 10 Bury My Troubles 11 Too Sad to Cry 12 I'm Alive 13 Let Me Out 14 Tainted Love 15 Johnny Got A Boom Boom 16 Road Runner 17 Gypsy 18 Blues Calling 19 Walking After Midnight play 20 Inside Out (Remix) 21 Proud And Humble (Remix) Bass [Upright Bass], Bass Guitar – Al Gare Drums – Steve Rushton Guitar – Darrel Higham Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Percussion – Dave Priseman Vocals, Bodhrán – Imelda May
Imelda May's sophomore album offers more of her jazzy, unabashedly catchy retro pop, so sincere and energetic it gives many a 2000s pop star a run for their money -- though May somehow underexplores the rockabilly vibe, which is her prime gimmick, after all. Not that she abandons it: the first three cuts all sport muscular, bouncy basslines and that rock & roll sleaze that complements her powerful vocals so well. There are also "Sneaky Freak" and the closers, though, admittedly, one's a remix and the other a cover "Tainted Love," no less: a cheeky pick which gets a great tongue-in-cheek rendition here. But all in all, it feels like May just needed to get the rock out of her system and jump into other things, just because she can. Some numbers are classic restaurant jazz, so strong and sensual that, had it been the 1930s, gangsters would have been all over her, and even Roger Rabbit would be prompted to thoughts to infidelity. There is also a waltz; a take on spy movie themes; a tune that sounds almost like a funeral song (though May can't really be depressing even if she tries; she has too much vitality), and a set of country numbers, which are the least impressive of the lot, but still have a low-key allure. The bottom line is that some of the immediacy of her rockabilly jazz is lost once she goes for romance and seduction, but Mayhem is still a fresh, invigorating record that is worth picking up, no matter what your musical convictions are; it's that good. --- Alexey Eremenko, allmusic.com
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Last Updated (Wednesday, 18 April 2018 08:56)