Hideaway does Bond – 8th Dec 2018

Whenever one attends a Janette Mason show at Hideaway, they should expect musical imagination and subversion. From the jazzy, swinging take on Lulu’s ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’, to the ska rendition of Louis Armstrong’s ‘We Have All the Time in the World’, Mason reinvented, and at times bettered, the already brilliant Bond themes. The ‘007’ orchestra soared under Mason’s direction, often with heady arrangements that bled melodrama. David McAlmont brought Shirley Bassey-style theatricality to his solo numbers. He shone particularly on Sheryl Crow’s ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, floating in his falsetto against a fuzzy, distorted arrangement. Likewise with a stripped-back rendition of Dusty Springfield’s ‘The Look of Love’, accompanied by the talented Dave Ital on guitar. Natasha Watts – with a voice which my companion likened to a ‘mug of creamy hot chocolate’ – gets better at every show. She crooned gently on a piano-driven rendition of Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’, and stormed through Gladys Knight’s ‘License to Kill’ with thunderous power. 

Full band: Davide Mantovani (bass), Davide Giovannini (drums), Dave Ital (guitar), Shanti Jayasinha (trumpet), Alam Nathoo (saxaphone), Martin Gladdish (trombone). 

Young Sick Camellia – St Paul & The Broken Bones

St Paul & the Broken Bones – the eight-piece ensemble fusing blue-eyed soul, rock ‘n’ roll, and funk – released their latest album Young Sick Camellia this past September. They combine their symphonic soul influences with psychedelic, futuristic production – resulting in some clear highlights. ‘NASA’ begins light and trippy, leading to a jolting chorus with anguished vocal delivery from soulful frontman Paul Janeway. The silvery, disco groove of ‘Apollo’ has the different elements of the group meshing together tightly. However, Young Sick Camellia certainly isn’t a casual listen. While the political subtext comes through, there are many head-scratching lyrical formulations made even more difficult to decipher by unclear diction.

Standout track: ‘Apollo’ 

One Night Only – Gregory Porter 

In contrast to the above, One Night Only by Gregory Porter, recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, is eminently more graspable. That warm, husky voice is delicately wrapped around jazz standards (mostly those recorded by Porter’s idol Nat King Cole). Perhaps a touch more urgency would have been welcome on certain numbers (‘L.O.V.E’, ‘For All We Know’), but Porter’s characteristically laid-back phrasing is a pleasure to listen to. 

Standout tracks: ‘Nature Boy’, ‘Quizas, Quizas, Quizas’

(Image Copyright: Hideaway, RECORDS, Golden Slipper Publishing)