Record Review - Nathan Persad

NATHAN PERSAD
NATHAN PERSAD IN COLOUR
Mile High CD / download


Since his debut album Since 1978, the south London songwriter and former member of The Fore with the obsession for The Hollies and The Move has been indulging in what sounds like new loves for surf, doo-wop, girl groups, glam rock and Dexys Midnight Runners. Such diverse inspirations has certainly made the results more filling. 


It sounds as if it was a gas to record. Lead track 'We're Back On!' channels the Dave Clark Five beat sensibility, with the handclap football terrace riff  from The Routers 'Let's Go' carefully/cheekily inserted too. The story of 'Tony Bender' is like 'Richard Cory' meets 'Tracy Jacks' sung by Kevin Rowland and set to a Pet Sounds melody. In other words, a glorious pop song - with a cautionary moral tale buried within. My favourite song is probably 'I Don't Want To Surf Alone', a yelping, yearning early Beach Boys style cut, with an unlikely call out to Weston Super Mare nestled within. The inspiration/pastiche tightrope is very hard to walk. Joe Meek, Phil Spector, Lee Hazelwood, King-Goffin, Slade, Hendrix, and Huey 'Piano' Smith could all sue...or just smile and enjoy the offshoots of their not-forgotten work.


Persad is not afraid to name-check his heroes - 'Johnny Echols' is not obviously a tribute to the Love guitarist and more a tongue-in-cheek ruse to win a girl over by playing a rock star. And the freewheeling stomp-along of 'Sweetie' nicks the chorus from 'Wild Thing', whilst 'XB-100' belatedly inserts the melody of ‘Paperback Writer’ as Persads waxes lyrical about Macca's genius. He finishes off  with a frat rock'n'roll party blaster that's heavily indebted to the well-loved 'Don't You Just Know It'.


In summary then, ...In Colour is a fun, non-original paen to Oldies music played on AM radio in all it's glory.


Phil Istine