Louis Philippe and the Night Mail - Thunderclouds - Tapete Records - LP/DD/CD
Former French chef turned crooner Louis Philippe has been based in London for over three decades, occasionally taking the time to kindly serve us breezy distinguished easy-going retro-pop that has often elicited an age gone by when Carnaby Street was swinging and seasons were seasons.
Very much part of the Cherry Red Records renaissance in the '80s and an infrequent contributor to Les Disques du Crepuscule's boutique back-catalogue as The Arcadians, Louis Philippe now finds himself signed to German imprint Tapete with an accomplished jazz-pop trio The Night Mail and a plethora of sophisticated high-end melodies. His merry band includes a plucky and remarkable guitarist, a former Acid Jazz/Weller band member and an ex-Thrashing Doves drummer, all replete with enough pedigree to satiate Philippe's desire to conjure up hit after hit after hit. Extra trumpets and violins serve to colour in the edges and outlines of what is a seamless collection.
It would be churlish to highlight any one song but, just three songs in, a standout is the epic Rio Grande which has an irresistible trumpet motif in its lengthy instrumental, some sumptuous languid musical interplay in the middle section and a chorus to die for, courtesy of Philippe's honeyed tonsils. Triumph!
With one foot in The Carpenters, Marina Records and the Alessi Brothers and the other in the Kent countryside, Thunderclouds is terrific entertainment and typical of Philippe's attention to compositional detail. He's armed himself with capable musicians he's worked with before and matched them to some truly lovely songs. Living On Borrowed Time, Once Upon a Lifetime of Lies and Love Is The Only Light all purr along not unlike the Tony Christie or Richard Hawley, while the shorter vignettes The Mighty Owl and Willow have just as much right to your attention as the lengthier ballads.
As with this year's sterling collaboration with Stuart Moxham, there isn't a substandard song in this set either. The end.
★★★★★★★★★