Reviewed by Stephen Luff

Alvin Stardust had two attempts at chart success, his first as Shane Fenton where he had four top 40 hits between 1961 and 1962, then as Alvin Stardust exploding into the charts with the glam hits "My Coo-Ca Choo" and "Jealous Mind". In the '80s he was a surprise item presenting TV's The Rock Gospel Show with Shelia Walsh. This is Alvin's final recording made months before his sad death from cancer in October 2014. It demonstrated a further stylistic change for the veteran as a moody songsmith not dissimilar to the Rick Ruben-produced 'American' recordings by Johnny Cash. A meeting with Andy Davies (BBC producer) led to the production team of Richard Scott and Scott Ralph (Robbie Williams and Michael Buble) working with the veteran on this album. It's clear this combination worked. Scott and Ralph have written songs here which have allowed Alvin to update his sound (dispensing with the glam pop tinsel) while getting the most out of Alvin's now older voice. The opener "Robbery" is a fine example of the now mature moody sound, while "Tongue Tied" is a Johnny Cash-sounding chugger. "Always In The Rain" is vocally the closest to Alvin's '80s period sounding like a cross between his "Feeling Like Buddy Holly" period and Roy Orbison. You get the impression listening to this that Alvin, at age 72, had more to give.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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