Gig review: Paul Carrack, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

By Fiona Shepherd
Published on Wednesday 15 February 2012 02:14

PAUL Carrack acknowledged his position as the nearly man of soulful pop rock with his self-deprecatingly titled 2008 album I Know That Name.

Yet in his time, this modest musician’s musician has played as member or session player with the varied likes of Roxy Music, Nick Lowe, Roger Waters, Elton John, the Pretenders and Squeeze.

The upshot of such long-term industry is that Carrack has quietly amassed a catalogue of musical gems from which he can fashion a passable greatest hits set – although, as last night’s selection attested, he has never bettered the silken easy listening of his debut hit How Long?

Other self-penned songs aired at this Valentine’s show included the sentimental Eagles number Love Will Keep Us Alive, the solid adult pop of the Mike & the Mechanics’ hit Over My Shoulder, and the decent retro R&B number Move On.

But Carrack is better known as an interpreter, and if he is famous for anything, it is as the voice of The Living Years. This unashamedly mawkish tearjerker was smoothed out with soft choral backing from Glasgow’s Gospel Truth choir.

But his bluesy soulful voice was shown off to best husky advantage on a version of Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying, dispatched by his seven-piece band with a light touch which was missing from the more lumbering moments in the set, such as a disappointing take on Tempted by Squeeze.

Rating: ***

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