CARMEL - Reissues inc The Drum Is Everything, The Falling etc

In light of imminent new studio material from celebrated jazz-soul singer Carmel McCourt later this year (her first since 1995), save for the Edith Piaf collab with ex band-member and bassist Jim Parris, now seems a good time to review the recent reissues of her major-label catalogue. All have been buffed up and expanded by Drumfire Records with b-sides, rarities, informative sleeve notes and interviews with the band. All are worth investing in, a rare compliment these days.

The Drum Is Everything - 1984 - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

After the success of the debut single Storm and its parent self-titled mini-album, Manchester's Carmel were swiftly signed by London Records and unleashed at a time when synth-pop was embedded in music-buyers' minds. Despite (or because) of this, the band's debut major-label single Bad Day was a hit and earned Carmel a slot on Top Of The Pops and a hit-album. TDIE is a mixed bag - some of it is timeless such as the smokey Bad Day, the brassy More More More and the other-worldly Rue St Denis, but some remains a little dated (the title-track has doof-doof synth-drums) or merely a sketch for what was to follow. The absolute killer on here is Willow Weep For Me - a whirling dervish of drums and McCourt's lung-busting vocal that pre-empts today's so-called shouty soulful female singers by some two decades. It represents Carmel's trademark of reinventing cover versions and transforming them into something almost unrecognisable yet still engaging. It may also be viewed as something of a commercially suicidal track - issued as the follow-up to Bad Day, WWFM was unlikely to repeat that success sadly (More More More might have been a better choice). The extras include extended mixes of Rue St Denis and Willow Weep For Me plus one of their most interesting flips, the bass-heavy That's Cool That's Neat.

The Falling - 1986 - ★★★★★★★★★★

I can't recommend Carmel's second album enough so here goes - again. Ultimately a more accomplished and confident set than The Drum ...., The Falling oozes charm, radiance and atmosphere in equal measures. Opening song I'm Not Afraid Of You possesses the king of bass-lines, a disturbing lyric from the heart and weepy strings throughout and is possibly the band's most enduring song. But the highlights don't end there because The Falling is one in itself - an '80s album that doesn't sound like the '80s, save for the occasional rare element of studio trickery and those syn-drums (mercifully mixed way down this time). As well as INAOY, you get the gospel explosion of Mercy, celebratory soul in Let Me Know, the quirky offbeat harmonious jazz of Tok and saxy pop in the shape of European hit Sally. There's one cover, again as bizarre as it is funky - Randy Newman's Mama Told Me Not To Come is given a thorough stripped-back shoeing that works a treat. Percussion once again plays a significant part - the title-track and Sticks and Stones are inventive enough to warrant repeated plays while Easy For You, the single-that-should-have-been, rattles and clatters with insistence. There's no doubting what a force Darby, Parris and McCourt were at this stage and the extras only serve to strength this statement - check What a Story out, for instance. Under-rated and great, the production work of David Motion, Brian Eno, Hugh Jones and Carmel themselves is to be applauded.

Everybody's Got A Little Soul - 1987 - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Released barely a year later, EGALS is a far more straight-forward collection of songs that marks Carmel's foray into jazz-pop. Opening track A Hey Hey is a frenetic be-bop number that ably demonstrates McCourt's glass-shattering pipes and the band's intent. The Four Tops' pretty soul number It's All In The Game is sweetly sung and really should have been a hit while the bluesier Every Little Bit sounds like a standard of the big band era, rather than the Eighties. Sweet And Lovely reminds me of another criminally-overlooked soul-pop artist from the same era, Isabelle Antena, all harmonies and sassy shuffle-beats topped off with Latin percussion. Some of the album wanders out of focus but in the main, Everybody's Got A Little Soul repeated the energy of their debut, not least because of Mike Thorne's return to the producer's chair. One of the extras, the b-side Long Come Liberty, eclipses the likes of Lay Down by some margin.


Set Me Free - 1989 - ★★★★★★★★☆☆

For album number four, their last for London and their final full-length set of the decade, Carmel ushered in Brian Eno once again for a couple of songs, retained the services of Mike Thorne and promoted bassist Jim Parris to producer. They also employed the concept of extended mixes for 12" releases and issued more tracks as singles than ever before (not that it helped matters - the album bombed in the UK, but sold well enough abroad). From the outset, the listener is greeted with an unfamiliar sound - strings a-plenty adorn Napoli, a lovely song and an unlikely opener that leads into the more customary You Can Have Him and the catchy I Have Fallen In Love (Je Suis Tombee Amoureuse). Things take a turn for the melancholic with the spine-tingling I'm Over You - quite how this wasn't a hit, I'll never fathom - while Eno pushes buttons on the spiritual God Put Your Hand On Me and the versions of the single Take It For Granted. Much of Set Me Free is proper grown-up balladry, such as Circles and Onward, or unsuccessful pop-soul - One Fine Day and Life Is Hard don't quite cut it. Whatever your bent, this collection marked a pivotal point in the band's career as it showcased their progression and included many worthwhile songs. This has been reissued as a double CD due to the amount of extended versions originally unleashed by London.

Good Times - 1992 - ★★★★★★★★☆☆

At a time when Rave, Hardcore and Crusty Techno were indelibly stamped in teenager's heads and Grunge had the music-press in a lather, the likes of Carmel were impossible to market. Hence new label East West's inability to do much with Good Times, their fifth album and first for three years. Ironically in You're All I Need, the second song in this set, they had a stone-wall classic on their hands but nowhere to sell it. Record company reps used to dump dozens (and I do mean dozens) of copies on my counter at Our Price expecting us to sell all formats for 50p a pop. If people can't hear a song on their radio often enough, they won't buy whatever the price. Fact. All of which meant Good Times passed the nation by. Either Carmel had run its course with the public or the live feel of the album failed to cross over. The mix of styles might not have helped. Opening track Java is a forgettable noodle, then there's the easy-going single then there's a spot of atypical reggae on Heaven, followed by a more familiar soul ballad in Angel. Great for fans, not for casual observers and listeners. Well, more fool them because Good Times is really rather special when you scrape away the understated surface. They even get a bit political on Letter To Margaret while final single You're On My Mind again borrows from reggae and includes some toasting which I'm not sure fits but hey. As well as the varied styles on the album - for example, Circle Line has it all, an intimate almost musical-box beginning before a busy climax emulates the Capital itself - the b-sides also cross a few boundaries with Desdemona recalling earlier percussive works and African Bird venturing into bossa-nova territory (it should have been on the album, it's splendid).

World's Gone Crazy - 1995 - ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

For what was to be Carmel's swansong, they opened their last album with a brassy cover of Gregory Isaac's beautiful If I Don't Have You, setting the tone for a generally downbeat album of mixed fortunes. A cover also winds things up - If You Don't Come Back, originally a Miguel Bose standard, became a fitting final curtain. In between these two, you'll find super self-penned tracks such as the plaintive Don't Lose You Love, the gritty Jacqueline and the drifting Africa, the latter no more than a vehicle for some sweet la-la-lahs and a simple infectious rhythm-track. Of the few extras, Good Day is rhythmically inventive and there's a decent reading of Bill Withers' perennial Lean On Me. Despite the band splitting, World's Gone Crazy stands up as a favourable listen.

You can order all six albums by clicking on this link -> Drumfire Records