Gig review: Mick Hucknall, Glasgow

IT IS a truth generally acknowledged that musicians reach for the covers album as a safe commercial resort when inspiration is running low.

Mick Hucknall. Picture: Reuters

Glasgow Royal 
Concert Hall

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But one could argue that Mick Hucknall’s most recent release, American Soul, is a natural extension of his long career helming Simply Red, who scored a number of their biggest hits by covering US soul and rhythm’n’blues acts.

His backing band on this accompanying tour could hardly be further from the polished coffee table soul style of Simply Red as they struck up a meaty, bluesy instrumental intro for the now rather hoary Hucknall.

There were opportunities for these guys to show their chops, not least Dave Clayton’s tasty organ licks on Arthur Alexander’s The Girl That Radiates That Charm and guitarist Kenji Suzuki’s hair-tossing soloing.

Hucknall was not averse to hamming it up himself, over-egging the swagger on When Girls Do It and Simply Red’s The Mirror, confident of the audience’s approbation. But he was at his most comfortable and convincing sitting back on the southern soul groove of Tell It Like It Is and showing off his bluesy credentials on pleading versions of Bettye Lavette’s Let Me Down Easy and Etta James’s I’d Rather Go Blind.

Hucknall could only come off second best when he tackled Ray Charles, Otis Redding and Nina Simone but neither was he fazed in this company.

It was a shock to return to the jarring Something Got Me Started following the light touch of Turn Back The Hands Of Time, while a faithful version of Who stomper The Seeker sounded out of place in what was essentially a high-class tribute show.