Album Review: Planet B

This is the ninth album from David, and while he wrote all the songs, he was assisted in the performances by his son Joseph, and between them we get plenty of keyboards, electronic drums, acoustic, bass, Stratocaster, harmonica and vocals. The result is something that does not really sound like a multi-instrumentalist performance, but rather a band, and even before putting it on I had to smile as while the CD booklet itself is low key, I cannot remember before seeing a track listing for Side A and Side B for a CD, plus the album is less than 45 minutes long so it really is harkening back to the 70’s.

Musically this feels like it has come out of the late 70’s London scene, where punk had first exploded and imploded and left behind many different types and styles of bands. Although they gradually morphed into different genres, there were some who had come primarily out of the pub rock scene such as Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe, and this is where this album primarily fits. David is a musical magpie who goes through different styles, all centered around his dry singing style and his use of commercial pop hooks. Some of the keyboard sounds in particular are dated, but the Strat of course cuts through that easily, and the result is an album which really does grow on the listener.

There are times when he drops back further, into more psychedelic tendencies, such as on Is Anybody There? while the delicacy of acoustic guitar and organ on Sixty Seven provides a very different feel again. The use of real harmonica on the introduction to No Blood For Oil is also really effective, both as a different dynamic and creating a totally different ambience as he delivers a protest song for the modern age where he shows there are times where he is influenced by Midnight Oil.

The CD does feel like an independently produced and released album, but anyone who wishes to be taken back in time to when artists could use rock as a base but move in multiple different ways from that, will find much on here to enjoy.