Gig review: Roddy Frame - ABC, Glasgow

RODDY Frame hasn’t released a new album since Western Skies, five years ago, but the ABC was still packed out for the only Scottish date of his autumn tour.

If this was partly down to simple fan loyalty – there is a huge amount of affection, still, for the former Aztec Camera frontman -– it also had much to do with this being the first time in a decade he has played with a full band.

Three shows into the tour, Frame’s new, five-piece line-up was still a little rough around the edges, but it didn’t matter much to a mostly middle-aged crowd (dominated by men in black leather jackets and blue jeans) who were, ultimately, there to hear the hits.

Frame knows his audience, and didn’t disappoint, throwing in old Aztec Camera favourites such as Oblivious (sounding just as youthfully exuberant as it did three decades ago), Killermont Street and, inevitably, Somewhere in My Heart (a rousing encore, with guitar solo but thankfully not the original’s cheesy 1980s saxophones).

If that’s what you wanted, the gig was a nostalgic triumph; as a fan of Frame’s later and more understated work, though, I found myself missing the solo Frame. This will be heresy to some, but there’s something about a full band that unfortunately foregrounds Frame’s more mawkish, pub rock tendencies – the new song he debuted sounded more like Oasis than the kind of songwriters with whom he is truly a kindred spirit, such as Paddy McAloon, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello. Frame’s great talent, as much as melody, is as a lyricist, and the more delicate moments from his solo albums (and in particular The North Star, probably the best thing he has ever put his name to) got lost among the noise here. When he returned solo for the encore, adding a Bob Dylan riff to the end of one of his own songs, the result was one of the gig’s most exhilarating moments. In whatever form, though, Frame’s music has a powerful emotional pull that’s difficult to resist.

Rating: ***