Gig review: Paul Carrack, Glasgow

A 2012 BBC documentary dubbed Paul Carrack “the man with the golden voice” and he’s been happy to go with that.

Paul Carrack. Picture: contributed

Paul Carrack

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

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Mind, this is no less an accolade than he has already garnered from his peers – including Jools Holland, the man he replaced in Squeeze – it is only in the last decade or so that Carrack has firmly established his solo career after years as piano man and vocalist for hire with acts such as Roxy Music, Eric Clapton, Ace and Mike & the Mechanics.

Carrack does indeed possess a pleasingly mellow bluesy tone. Yet much of his set tended towards the smooth radio style of Love Will Keep Us Alive, which he co-wrote for The Eagles, and Mike & the Mechanics’ Another Cup Of Coffee.

Possibly in tribute to his own sessioneering roots, he gave his band latitude to jam snoozily through several numbers, but thankfully pulled back to convey the tenderness of Springsteen ballad If I Should Fall Behind.

Slick soul material from his most recent album, Good Feeling, and the forthcoming Rain Or Shine was plentiful and coated liberally with a sax sound which prematurely dated the songs before they have had a chance to make their way in the world.

But there was no mistaking the timeless pop class of Squeeze’s Tempted and his first hit, Ace’s soulful MOR gem How Long, which sounded freshest of all, despite being the longest-standing turn in his repertoire.