With 1987s Scallywag Jaz album came a voice that was nothing
short of wonderful. A Toxteth born young
man by the name of Thomas Lang pre-dated the Harry Connick Jr’s and Michael
Buble’s of the World and made Jazz credible, for a while. A version of Billy Paul’s Me And Mrs Jones
shone from the collection like a beautiful diamond, and a star was born. Or maybe not, Lang has been largely ignored
commercially which is nothing short of scandalous.
On his new album The German Alphabet the Jazz influences are
still there and make an early appearance on the title track which opens
proceedings, but it’s slick, modern, pop-jazz which he presents and not a
version that many would turn off after only a few notes.
The production is polished, highly polished and producers
Colin MacKay and Alan Currie can be mightily proud of themselves as they make
every instrument sound alive next to a voice that is pitch-perfect in every
way. High notes, low notes, lingering
long notes are all there from Lang, sometimes sounded gorgeously nasal but
always sounding superbly subtle and delicately soft, each song is as enjoyable
as the last.
Whilst the title track opens the album with a complicated
yet well-arranged modern jazz effort, it doesn’t linger on in the same style
which only adds to the charm. Rain has a
simple if not sometimes experimental backing but it is Lang’s voice which is
rightly the main attraction – it is undoubtedly of the highest quality.
Pale Imitation has more than a hint of themes from 1960s spy
thriller The Saint and dark comedic TV series Roald Dahl’s Tales Of The
Unexpected and the comparisons to early Scott Walker, John Barry, Ennio
Morricone and Burt Bacharach are often fully justified.
Don’t be put off by Lang’s Jazz background either, The
German Alphabet often strays away, in fact tis only on the later part of the
album that that settles in. Pulse and
Film Stars are again left for his voice to do the work with the later
containing a lone piano in a track that one could quite easily find in a classic
movie soundtrack. It’s heartfelt and
genuinely engaging.
There are some impressive orchestral arrangements throughout
too, most notably on Colorado Boulevard which also contains a wonderful trumpet
accompaniment. I Go Wild brings in the
big band sound which is entertaining on many levels and Kiss The Canvas has
some nice effects early on with an affectionate organ to add further depth.
Thomas Lang it would seem has a large and loyal fan base and
as such The German Alphabet will undoubtedly appease every one of them. It is nice to hear an album which centres
around a genuinely brilliant voice, the type of which Lang possesses, and
whether you’re a fan of Jazz or Swing becomes slightly irrelevant in
appreciating his talent.
Album closer, Watchman is dark with compelling violins and
is quite possibly the finest track on the collection again letting the vocals
take centre stage as they rightfully should.
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